January 9, 201610 yr Hi guys..... I'm in the process of looking to replace my ageing i5 2405s setup which is running Windows Server 2012 with a VM for torrents (with VPN). My initial gut feeling was to just make life easy and buy something off the shelf like the QNAP x53 or x71 range which supports virtualisation. But for the money I would pay for the basic x71 8 bay box I could build an unRAID server and use virtualisation. I did make an attempt many years ago to build an unRAID server but some how ended up running FlexRAID on Windows 7 with a HP MicroServer. I'm back again and thinking of unRAID. It's been a good while since I built a PC so appreciate any and all pointers..... Here's my potential use case for the server..... Primarily a NAS for my multiple media players (HTPC running KODI, Mede8er, Dune). I would like native NFS sharing and to have a lot of bandwidth as my movies are 1:1 ripped Blu-rays (anything up to 40GB) A Windows 7 Pro VM which will be used for torrents and a VPN. I'll also look to run MakeMKV. Happy to access via RDP or TeamViewer. This VM I'll download my TV shows before transferring to the NAS storage. If the machine is powerful enough I might consider running a second VM for my web development work. I currently carry a MacBook Air everywhere which I could replace with something like a Surface Pad Pro for on the move and a more powerful machine at home. So this VM I would need to hook up to a 24" monitor/keyboard/mouse as use as if it was a physical PC. The QNAP/Synology can run CCTV software which could be a use for a further VM Hardware wise this is what I'm thinking (if possible) [*]A good CPU, perhaps a Xeon, but be low powered as this will be on 24/7 (as probably much of your unRAID machines are). Due to costs involved, I'd like to get a lot of years out of this [*]This might sound silly, but form factor is a big thing here. I don't want a massive case. A big attraction of the QNAP/Synology is the form factor. I'm liking the look of the Lan Li Q25 and hence thinking mini-ITX. Or is there a similar sized mATX case that gives me additional options? [*]I think 8 SATA ports is loads. 6 for 2TB or 3TB WD Reds, one parity and potentially an SSD for caching (is one SSD enough?). I already have a Dell HERC H200 card if that is of any use to me. [*]I'm open to NIC teaming if possible to ramp up the server output or a dedicated Ethernet for the VM's [*]Enough RAM for my needs Thats kind of it. I know it might be wishful thinking finding a good mini-ITX motherboard with on-board graphics, 8x SATA ports and multiple Ethernet ports. Of course, two out of three would work if I can add on a card. One question I do have. If I'm downloading torrents to a VM and wish to copy them onto the NAS. What's the write speed like going from VM to the storage array? I know it's not great going from my VirtualBox Vm to Windows Server 2012 (but that could be my configuration).
January 9, 201610 yr I'm in the process of looking to replace my ageing i5 2405s setup which is running Windows Server 2012 with a VM for torrents (with VPN). My initial gut feeling was to just make life easy and buy something off the shelf like the QNAP x53 or x71 range which supports virtualisation. But for the money I would pay for the basic x71 8 bay box I could build an unRAID server and use virtualisation. Good decision..... I did make an attempt many years ago to build an unRAID server but some how ended up running FlexRAID on Windows 7 with a HP MicroServer. It's ok I've made the same mistake in the past as well. All will be forgiven... I'm back again and thinking of unRAID. It's been a good while since I built a PC so appreciate any and all pointers..... Here's my potential use case for the server..... Primarily a NAS for my multiple media players (HTPC running KODI, Mede8er, Dune). I would like native NFS sharing and to have a lot of bandwidth as my movies are 1:1 ripped Blu-rays (anything up to 40GB) I don't use NFS but I would imagine that network infrastructure would be the most important thing in achieving this. A Windows 7 Pro VM which will be used for torrents and a VPN. I'll also look to run MakeMKV. Happy to access via RDP or TeamViewer. This VM I'll download my TV shows before transferring to the NAS storage. You might want to check out the delugeVPN docker container, or a combination of the OpenVPN client plugin and any of the torrent containers available, might not need a VM for this... There's also a MakeMKV docker container available as well... If the machine is powerful enough I might consider running a second VM for my web development work. I currently carry a MacBook Air everywhere which I could replace with something like a Surface Pad Pro for on the move and a more powerful machine at home. So this VM I would need to hook up to a 24" monitor/keyboard/mouse as use as if it was a physical PC. I've got a Windows 10 VM and a MacOS X El Cap VM both hooked up to a 23" monitor with their own mouse and keyboard. (I switch between them with a KVM switch) Works like a charm and is like working on bare metal... The QNAP/Synology can run CCTV software which could be a use for a further VM There's a ZoneMinder docker container for this sort of thing, not used it myself but I also know a few people use BlueIris I think it's called in a VM... Hardware wise this is what I'm thinking (if possible) [*]A good CPU, perhaps a Xeon, but be low powered as this will be on 24/7 (as probably much of your unRAID machines are). Due to costs involved, I'd like to get a lot of years out of this [*]This might sound silly, but form factor is a big thing here. I don't want a massive case. A big attraction of the QNAP/Synology is the form factor. I'm liking the look of the Lan Li Q25 and hence thinking mini-ITX. Or is there a similar sized mATX case that gives me additional options? [*]I think 8 SATA ports is loads. 6 for 2TB or 3TB WD Reds, one parity and potentially an SSD for caching (is one SSD enough?). I already have a Dell HERC H200 card if that is of any use to me. [*]I'm open to NIC teaming if possible to ramp up the server output or a dedicated Ethernet for the VM's [*]Enough RAM for my needs Thats kind of it. I know it might be wishful thinking finding a good mini-ITX motherboard with on-board graphics, 8x SATA ports and multiple Ethernet ports. Of course, two out of three would work if I can add on a card. One question I do have. If I'm downloading torrents to a VM and wish to copy them onto the NAS. What's the write speed like going from VM to the storage array? I know it's not great going from my VirtualBox Vm to Windows Server 2012 (but that could be my configuration). Hardware wise is where I think you may have some conflicting ideals. If you want to run a VM and connect it to a monitor then you'll need a discrete graphics card. Otherwise you should be good... But I'd question the point of having 8 sata ports in a SFF case, no point having the ports if you ain't got the space to put drives in... Copying from a VM to host is quick using virtualised networking, can't give you figures but think like gigabit speeds I believe. KVM is a big step up from VirtualBox in terms of capabilities and a lot of us have really been blown away by the VM features.. Personally if I were you I'd look at a matx build in something like a Fractal Design Define R4 as a good tradeoff between form factor and ability to stick a graphics card and perhaps an additional NIC or USB card to allow for some flexibility with virtualisation. If you wanted to run 2 VMs both connected to monitors and running, you'd need two GPUs so ITX would be out of the question.. If you only wanted one VM connected to a monitor and were happy using VNC for the other VM then one would be enough...
January 10, 201610 yr I have 10 ports in my Lian Li PC-Q25, 6 on mobo and 4 on RC-218. That's 5 data drives in the backplane, 2 parity (one waiting) on the bottom rack, and 2 SSDs cache wherever. Last port on eSATA bracket of RC-218 which I use for preclears and mounts outside. Silverstone DS380 some are using has 8x3.5 bays + 4x2.5 bays. So it is possible to use some ports in SFF. Of course you won't have any room for separate video but sounds like you don't need it.
January 10, 201610 yr I really like the mini-ITX format but most of them only have one PCIex x16 slot. You've got use cases for potentially more than one of them - a SATA controller and a GPU to pass into the develoment VM. I'm not a VM expert but I know that it's important for you to map out your VMs and what functionality you want in them along with the controllers you are going to be passing through before you commit on hardware...
January 10, 201610 yr Author Great guys and sincerely thanks for your input..... After reading the responses and thinking overnight I've realised a further use case - replacing my HTPC with a VM. The HTPC is Windows 7 Pro with both KODI and JRiver MC installed. I've been itching to try JRivers high quality settings but doing so required me to change the CPU in the machine and install a powerful discrete GPU (was thinking an ASUS Nvidia 960 Strix with 4GB RAM). So I'm thinking that I could just replace this HTPC and assign a couple of cores from an unRAID machine plus install that ASUS graphics card and dedicate that to the VM. That should give me a very powerful HTPC VM. I'm assuming of course the VM will do everything a bare metal machine would do such as bitstream audio over HDMI etc. If this is the case and I'm removing the HTPC (Silverstone GD04 case) from my AV rack, it now means I can put a full size desktop case in there such as the Silverstone GD08 which has space for 8 x 3.5" HDD's plus ATX, Extended ATX or mATX. This could blow open my possibilities.... OK so requirements are now for a mATX or ATX motherboard with 8+ SATA's (so I don't need to use the HERC 200 unless it's actually beneficial to use it), space for two graphics cards and either multiple 1GB Ethernets or the possibility to install a quad port NIC so I can do link aggregation if I feel I need the extra bandwidth. Xeon is attractive and I'm looking at the 2620v3 a lot. Seems to be powerful but hopefully power efficient at 80w. I have a CPU heatsink which I'll pull from my old machine and hopefully it might fit (old 1150 (or maybe 775) board I think). Guessing I'll want 16-32GB RAM. A few further questions [*]If I'm removing the HTPC it means I'll have a 64GB SSD spare. Can I plonk this into the unRAID machine and dedicate to the HTPC VM? [*]Is virtualisation in unRAID a mature technology? I mean is it reliable enough to start replacing my physical machines with? [*]Years ago when I was looking at unRAID it was recommended not to download torrents direct to the storage array (can't really remember why). Is that still the case and if so, is it ok to download torrents inside a VM instead (or does it even make a difference)? Would I be best installing an addition HDD for my downloading before moving it onto the storage array when complete? [*]How does USB work? Can you assign particular USB ports to particular VM's? Also does anyone extend USB past the 5m max per specification to allow control from another room? [*]If I get a motherboard with onboard graphics can I use this GPU for unRAID setup and configuration only? Then any discrete cards I can use for VM's? [*]How big should an SSD cache drive be? Starting out my unRAID machine might be 18TB including parity
January 28, 201610 yr OK so requirements are now for a mATX or ATX motherboard with 8+ SATA's (so I don't need to use the HERC 200 unless it's actually beneficial to use it), space for two graphics cards and either multiple 1GB Ethernets or the possibility to install a quad port NIC so I can do link aggregation if I feel I need the extra bandwidth. Xeon is attractive and I'm looking at the 2620v3 a lot. Seems to be powerful but hopefully power efficient at 80w. I have a CPU heatsink which I'll pull from my old machine and hopefully it might fit (old 1150 (or maybe 775) board I think). Guessing I'll want 16-32GB RAM. How about the Supermicro X10DRL-i? ATX, 10 x SATA3, dual Intel GbE LAN, onboard video + IPMI, up to 512GB in 8 x DIMM slots, supports VT-d (based on my reading of the manual).
February 2, 201610 yr A few further questions [*]If I'm removing the HTPC it means I'll have a 64GB SSD spare. Can I plonk this into the unRAID machine and dedicate to the HTPC VM? [*]Is virtualisation in unRAID a mature technology? I mean is it reliable enough to start replacing my physical machines with? [*]Years ago when I was looking at unRAID it was recommended not to download torrents direct to the storage array (can't really remember why). Is that still the case and if so, is it ok to download torrents inside a VM instead (or does it even make a difference)? Would I be best installing an addition HDD for my downloading before moving it onto the storage array when complete? [*]How does USB work? Can you assign particular USB ports to particular VM's? Also does anyone extend USB past the 5m max per specification to allow control from another room? [*]If I get a motherboard with onboard graphics can I use this GPU for unRAID setup and configuration only? Then any discrete cards I can use for VM's? [*]How big should an SSD cache drive be? Starting out my unRAID machine might be 18TB including parity [*]Yes, there is an unassigned devices plugin, and you can make use of additional drives outside the array/cache. They still count toward your current liscence [*]Well, sorta. I would say yes here, but GETTING it working can often be a pain. However, plenty of people here are doing just that, so it works [*]I'd just use a share (or maybe a cache only share, if you need to sort things/etc) inside your VM, or mapped from a docker. The real issue is planning ahead for space. If you only need 20GB of scratch space for torrents, thats not too bad. Buf if you think you'll need 500GB at any moment, better plan ahead for that. I use a cache only share for the dockers, then move the file to the array in its appropriate folder (tv/movie/etc) [*]You can passthrough usb devices, ports (i think) or entire controllers. If you wanted 2 VMs with keyboards/mice/etc, I'd probably pass an entire "controller" to them, so you have plenty of ports [*]Yes, get a mb with onboard so that unRAID always has something (if you need it). Then use a pci-e video for passthrough. This you'll need to look into, some prefer AMD, some Nvidia, and different choices for gaming use vs HTPC use, etc. Usually you'll want HDMI out, that way you get audio as well with the card, so you don't need to pass a soundcard separately (or emulate one) [*]IF you are using it for cache, as big as a copy you will do. So if you plan on moving 500GB to your array frequently, you'd want it at least that big. To be honest, a lot of people note that the arrays these days are fast enough, people are skipping the cache "as cache". I have a 10TB array, my cache drive is 120GB, and hosts a bunch of dockers, stores incoming files for sickrage/couchpotato to process, and then move. Its never more than half full. But, if someone stopped by with a 2TB external, and I copied it all to the array, it'd fill up the cache in short order, then write directly to the array. But with sata3, 6tb hdds, haswell+ cpus, etc, sometimes its as fast to skip the "cache" part of the cache drive.
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