unRAID vs FreeNAS (total cost of ownership)

[alans17]

I've read countless posts and articles regarding the merits of various file server OS's, but I've never seen anything regarding total cost of ownership. Can someone point me in the right direction? Thanks in advance.

[marcusone]

Technically both are the same (unless you need to go beyond what the free version of unraid provides then there is a slight difference)

 

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[alans17]

Ok, maybe I should further qualify that statement. What's the total cost of ownership for a 12GB array with parity?

[tr0910]

Most of our total cost of ownership involves time spent, not hardware and software. Now unRaid is final let's hope it just disappears from our to-do list.  For a 12 drive array the other costs are very similar 

 

Another cost is complexity. I'd say unRaid gets that close to right. It just works but there is headroom to add features, and they are getting easier to add.

 

Noobs with some technical skill do fine. Noobs without any technical skills should keep their drobos for now.

 

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[Barziya]

The question about total cost of ownership is kind of pointless.  They have different strengths.  To mention a few:

-- With unRAID, every data disk has its own file system.  In emmergency, you can take a data disk from unRAID and read it in another machine.  You can't do that with FreeNAS.

-- If it so happens that two disks fail at the same time (with single parity), with FreeNAS you lose everything.  With unRAID you'll lose only the files on the two failed disks. (with luck, one of the two failed disks will be the parity disk). Furthermore, you could still attempt some data recovery from the failed unRAID disks, while with FreeNAS disks that would be pointless.

-- With unRAID you can have only one disk spinning and all the other disks nicely spun down while you're watching a movie.  With FreeNAS all disks will be spinning.

-- FreeNAS has ZFS, with embedded checksumming and automatic data recovery, double-parity RAID-Z, file system snapshots, etc., etc..  All that can be priceless.

-- So, Apple vs Orange -- total cost of ownership?

 

 

[garycase]

Ok, maybe I should further qualify that statement. What's the total cost of ownership for a 12GB array with parity?

 

I assume you mean a 12TB array 

 

... that's large enough that you can't do it with the free Basic version -- the largest protected array you can build with that is currently 8TB, and will be 10TB when the 5TB WD Reds are out in a couple months.

 

So you'll need a Plus license -- $69  -- plus the same hardware that you would need to use FreeNAS.

 

The difference, of course, is in the feature set ... UnRAID's shares; security options; etc.    Only you can really decide between them.

 

[c3]

Ok, maybe I should further qualify that statement. What's the total cost of ownership for a 12GB array with parity?

 

I assume you mean a 12TB array 

 

... that's large enough that you can't do it with the free Basic version -- the largest protected array you can build with that is currently 8TB, and will be 10TB when the 5TB WD Reds are out in a couple months.

 

So you'll need a Plus license -- $69  -- plus the same hardware that you would need to use FreeNAS.

 

The difference, of course, is in the feature set ... UnRAID's shares; security options; etc.    Only you can really decide between them.

 

Gary, I think TCO would include operational expense (power), perhaps offset the license cost?

 

I would not run FreeNAS without the added expense of an additional parity drive, raising that TCO by more than a license. But I often deal with a block read error during rebuilds of home storage arrays.

 

TCO does not cover "value", so features like hot spare, auto rebuild, etc would not be factors. Conversely, the frustration of waiting for drive spin up is not included.

 

Prior to beginning a TCO, the complete list of requirements needs to be agreed. Then compare solutions which meet the requirements. Personal requirements for sound levels and heat generation are valid. Unless there are multiple stakeholders, it becomes personal preference, pick one unique feature and there is no other solution.

 

To the question of time, I have not seen anyone post business or hourly impact rates for unRAID. I would suggest the hours spent installing and supporting are $0 and done in "free" time. This is certainly my case. While I value my time, if I have things to do, unRAID is often left until I get "free" time.