General Questions about v6

[zero_koop]

I currently run UnRAID v5 and I'm thinking about upgrading to v6, but I have some questions about if it's worth it for me.  First of all v5 is running fine for me and I have very little time in my life right now to deal with troubleshooting so my first question is: how stable is v6 and how easy is it to get my applications up and running (obviously this depends on what I want to run, I'll explain)?

 

First off, what I currently use UnRAID for:

1) File server with redundant drives (photos, movies, etc.)

2) Plex server

3) Backup to CrashPlan (although I currently do this via a Windows computer with symlinks to my Networked Drives on UnRAID).

4) Server is located in a closet in a nice central location and is connected to my router/switches and I'd like to keep it there.

 

What I want to do with v6:

1) File server with redundant drives (photos, movies, etc.)

2) Plex server

3) Direct backup to CrashPlan

4) Keep my server in the same physical location

5) Add more drives (I'm maxed out on the free version of v5)

6) Gaming?  I'm fascinated by the ability to play games (either Steam via Windows or SteamOS), but I'm wondering if this is just going to be a really complicated endeavor that is more trouble than it's worth (at least at this point in time while the technology is immature).  This would require me to upgrade the hardware of the server so I really need to understand how feasible this is before doing that.

 

Any thoughts/advice are welcome, but here are some areas I have questions:

1) How easy is it to add applications like Plex/CrashPlan in v6?  I read a little about docker containers, so is there like a library of dockers and I just click to install?

2) Virtualization support sounds awesome because it potentially unlocks unlimited possibilities as it supports any OS.  So how does this work exactly, do I have to have a monitor directly connected to the UnRAID server or can these OSes be accessed from any computer on the network?

3) The same goes for gaming (I mostly use Steam), could I just use a cheap end point computer to receive the video and provide the controller input?

 

If any of these questions could be answered by a video that demonstrates a similar setup that would be great!  I know I'm probably not providing all of the info someone would need to fully answer my questions, but let me know and I'll clarify.  Thanks!

[archedraft]

A few thoughts for you, v6 is very stable for me. If you haven't already read through the official KVM guide http://lime-technology.com/wiki/index.php/UnRAID_6/VM_Management

 

How easy is it to add applications like Plex/CrashPlan in v6?  I read a little about docker containers, so is there like a library of dockers and I just click to install?

There is a "community application" plugin that contains a whole big list of dockers. Plex / crashplan can be found there. Dockers are very easy to install once you figure out what you are doing. There are plenty of docker guides that will help.

 

do I have to have a monitor directly connected to the UnRAID server or can these OSes be accessed from any computer on the network?

I have 4 virtual machines running at all time. 2 of the 4 have there own GPU, Keyboard, Mice and Monitors (one is a Windows 10 VM and the other is a Mac OS X VM) so two people can be physically be working at the same time. The other two are linux servers that are headless and run things for me in the background (I could probably replace them with dockers but I like my VM's). I would say that setting up a VM with GPU passthrough can be hard if your hardware doesn't want to cooperate, it really just depends on what hardware you own. I will say that I have replaced my laptop I used to use and only use my VM's and have done so for well over a year and I love them!

[t3]

i have replaced a 4yrs old v5 (still beta) by 2 v6 installs over the last month - so no real upgrade experience since i built new boxes, but still...

 

- the v6 interface is simply fantastic if you're coming from v5; easy to understand and use, lots of possibilities, managing the boxes is a breeze.

 

- i'm more a windows guy and new to docker and kvm, but managed to replace my win/vmware server with a new v6 box in half a day; have a sophos utm firewall reinstalled, newly set up w10 and an old wxp vm transferred over to it, currently adding osx also; replaced a couple of services running on my old windows server by docker apps and 'am ultimately pleased by the experience so far.

 

- to me it looks very stable - had no issues whatsoever. having that said i strongly believe that vital software (aka unraid) should run on proper and reliable hardware only. i also had some decent hardware for my old win server (dual xeon/server board/ecc/hw-raid), which was running without issues for almost 7yrs, and it was clear to me if unraid is going to play a more prominent part now, i'll again spend for proper hardware.

 

... but you know... never change a running system without need

[zero_koop]

There is a "community application" plugin that contains a whole big list of dockers. Plex / crashplan can be found there. Dockers are very easy to install once you figure out what you are doing. There are plenty of docker guides that will help.

So how easy is it to install this "community application" plugin or is that built into v6?  If it's not built into v6 then are there "official" (non-community) dockers as well?  Or am I misinterpreting the meaning of the word "community"?  It sounds like I could handle the installation of dockers which is what I expected.

 

I would say that setting up a VM with GPU passthrough can be hard if your hardware doesn't want to cooperate, it really just depends on what hardware you own.

Ok, this is very helpful.  I figured it was too good to be that easy.  What I'm thinking now is that I could upgrade to v6 and get priorities 1-5 working without any issue and on the same hardware that I currently have.  Then, as time goes on and I have a little time to dabble here and there with VM then I could better learn how it works.  Then, when I next do a server hardware upgrade, I would be a in a better position to decide if I want to get a server capable of gaming or not.

 

My current hardware is already aging because it cannot transcode HD videos (via Plex) on the fly very well and sometimes struggles with multiple simultaneous SD streams.  At the time I built it I did not consider on-the-fly transcoding as something I would need this server to do.  It was actually built based on a guide here at the Lime-Tech website years ago so the case will hold many HDDs, I just need to upgrade the MB/CPU/RAM.

[Squid]

There is a "community application" plugin that contains a whole big list of dockers. Plex / crashplan can be found there. Dockers are very easy to install once you figure out what you are doing. There are plenty of docker guides that will help.

So how easy is it to install this "community application" plugin or is that built into v6?  If it's not built into v6 then are there "official" (non-community) dockers as well?  Or am I misinterpreting the meaning of the word "community"?  It sounds like I could handle the installation of dockers which is what I expected.

Paste this URL into Plugins / Install Plugin :  https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Squidly271/community.applications/master/plugins/community.applications.plg  then hit the Apps tab on the unRaid menu.  Support thread: http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=40262.0  I'm biased, but I can't even imagine going back to using repositories anymore.

 

But, if you only wish to run the "official docker apps" from limetech, all you have to do is go to the docker tab, hit "Add Container" and then select either PlexMediaServer or Sync (BTSync)