I'm looking to setup an unRAID server. I'm wondering if others in the community can share their home architectures with me. I don't know if I should use unRAID solely as a NAS and then use a media server to read my media from the NAS and perform any streaming or transcoding as necessary to my endpoints or should I just use my unRAID box as a NAS and media server. Thoughts?

You can do it either way.  Many use a lot of plugins with UnRAID to do the other functions;  others (myself included) just use UnRAID as a NAS and don't try to make it an "all-in-one" box.

 

Some have combined those two functions by building an ESXi box, and running UnRAID as a standalone NAS in a virtual machine; creating other VM's on the same physical hardware to host the media functions.

 

The advantage to having a media server is that you can use a wide range of multi-function devices you may already own with your TV's. Rather than needing a PC client for every TV, you can use cheap set top boxes like Rokus, Apple TV's or even game consoles you may already own.

 

The advantage of having smart clients is that you can do more than media with them. You can also web surf or play games or do any number of things. Clients such as XBMC can also aggregate streaming sources from online. While the latter is technically possible with some media servers, the options are much slimmer.

I'm moving from a very unusual use case to something more conventional. The new implementation is still in the works, but it's coming along. I'l start by mentioning that I have a very Apple-centric home so that affects design decisions.

 

OLD:

1.) unRAID stored all media conventionally (no plugins).

2.) I mounted the network share onto my hackintosh, which viewed it as a local drive.

3.) I pointed my iTunes media folder to the unRAID share.

4.) Everything went from usenet apps into iTunes.

4.) iTunes media was pushed throughout the house via iTunes to other Macs, iOS devices, and Apple TV.

 

Pros: Apple-native, light unRAID server requirements due to no transcoding or plugins

Cons: lots of moving parts, very delicate infrastructure, required both unRAID and hackintosh to be in 24/7 communication

 

NEW:

1.) unRAID running appropriate usenet apps and Plex for media serving

2.) Plex installed on all Macs, iOS devices, Roku, and jailbroken Apple TV 2

 

Pros: completely de-couples hackintosh from unRAID, no longer dependent on a buggy hackintosh

Cons: auto-remuxing in Linux is more difficult than in OS x, not Apple-native

Thoughts: With the increased horsepower of my upgraded unRAID server, I could just transcode everything and not remux, but I like the idea of being able to pull a media file the server and pop it open in Quicktime if I ever want to. Plus remuxed files don't tax the server when I stream them (not that I can't spare the overhead).

Another suggestion in terms of architecture, don't worry so much about how to build the entire system from beginning to end.  Start with a simple unRAID solution (none or minimal plugins) to get a good sense of how you will use unRAID.  Your hardware for your unRAID server is going to be unique compared to your other hardware anyway.  Have a system you can grow over time with more disks and SATA ports.

 

As you learn unRAID and additional features you want, you can adapt and slowly make changes as needed.  I used to have a separate Mac mini that just ran Transmission, Plex, sabnzbd and Sick Beard.  I have now integrated all of this into my existing unRAID solution to simplify my hardware setup and allow for more efficient access by Plex to my media content (no moving massive files across the network).  From there I have Plex clients on my iPhone, a RasPlex and Roku3 to access my HD content and it works quite nicely.

 

Don't feel you're locking yourself into any one solution.  It's good to experiment before you start relying on it too.