I'm am trying to figure out if what I'm about to describe is worthwhile.  I want to run a VM of Ubuntu server so I can play around with running a php server, Minecraft server and whatever I fancy.  I've looked into doing unRAID as a VM but I don't know if I want to deal with the hassle if redoing my current setup.

 

Assuming I do go the route of a VM what kind of hardware do I need?  What is the most energy efficient build?

 

Okay I was thinking about this more last night and this is my true dilemma.  I really want to run Ubuntu server with unRAID as a VM on top of that.  I really want the capability of having an actual server OS so I can start doing more development work on my box without losing the file storage of unRAID.  When I saw VmBox I was all excited because I could essentially do what I described above but just backwards.  The more thought I gave to it though it seemed like I would be setting up a system backwards and I figured the community here could help me out.  I'm very new VMs in the sense of hardware requirements and architecture but I have set them up before to mess with in the past.  I installed ubuntu last night within VmBox but it was so slowwww, partly because my cache disc is a 160gb (8mb cache) so the I/O is pretty bad when I have SAB/SB/Couch/Plex running.  So a couple of questions for the community as I try and figure out this VM thing.

 

[*]Can unRAID be run as a VM within Ubuntu or another distro?

[*]What are the benefits of running unRAID in VM vs. running another server OS in VM on top of unRAID?

[*]Is my current hardware even enough to push what I want?  (Intel i3-3220T, 4gb RAM, ASUS P8H77-I Motherboard, 5 disc array/1 cache)

 

 

Thanks in advance for the help.

I'm not so sure you'll be happy with that configuration.  What helps with speed and virtual machines is cores, large CPU cache and RAM.

While it will work on that processor, you'll need to beef up ram.

 

 

From what I've seen on the forum, people have run virtual box under unRAID for the other virtual environments.

While you can run unRAID virtually under other operating systems, it's usually done with beefier hardware more ram and cores

 

 

1. Can unRAID be run as a VM within Ubuntu or another distro?

Yes, but I've not seen any one do it that way, nor would I recommend it unless is vmware ESX. with ESX and the right hardware, unRAID and other virtual machines can co-exist nicely. I do this on 4 machines without issue. Even on a HP N54L Microserver. Albeit a lil slowly. Still it's usable, even with an XP instance. You need ram.

 

 

2. What are the benefits of running unRAID in VM vs. running another server OS in VM on top of unRAID?

I like the ability to reboot unRAID without affecting the other environments.

For your use and with your hardware, you may find it easier to use unRAID6 with XEN or KVM.

 

 

Running ubuntu under that. Can't give you any advice on how though. Advantages being, it will be closer to bare metal.

 

 

You might prefer running virtual box under unRAID and putting ubuntu under that.

unRAID can host or be hosted, the choice is yours where you want to separate things.

 

 

3. Is my current hardware even enough to push what I want?  (Intel i3-3220T, 4gb RAM, ASUS P8H77-I Motherboard, 5 disc array/1 cache)

It may work with more ram and a CPU upgrade, but I wouldn't stay there long term as it is.

If you had the budget for more ram and beefier CPU, you might be happier.

If you have the budget for new MB/CPU combo you would be happy with some of the Supermicro server board offerings.

if you absolutely wanted to stay on this mobo, I would choose an i7 with the graphics support, that was a quad core and had the largest cache I could afford. For example Intel® Core™ i7-3770S Processor

(8M Cache, up to 3.90 GHz)

 

 

I did a 'quick' look and it looks to be on the supported CPU list if you upgrade the bios, but you will need to verify and double check everything. it was a really quick glance.  With that CPU and increased ram performance will be nice.

 

 

However, I would suggest trying out unRAID6 with KVM and see how you make out, you may find it adequate.