I'm using a Synology NAS right now and im looking to build my own NAS to get more drives (and save a few bucks) and looking through the different NAS software they all seem good but whats the easiest when coming from a Synology? Since i have 8TB of content it would be nice just to plug the harddrives in without deleting everything on them first. I dont care if its running on windows, its own OS, linux or whatever as long as easy to setup and maintain is the keyword.

 

I'm going to use some sort of online backup (just need to figure out what first) so that my content can be auto backupped whenver i add new content and then it needs to get synced into another synology NAS.

 

Hope you can give some advice

unraid is set and forget, but you cannot import existing drives..

unraid is set and forget, but you cannot import existing drives..

Wow quick response. Well i guess thats okay as long as i can upload it to a online backup and then download it back.

That is something you could do.. Although 8tb is a lot to up and then download.. If you can manage an extra disk would be quicker..

I'm using a Synology NAS right now and im looking to build my own NAS to get more drives (and save a few bucks) and looking through the different NAS software they all seem good but whats the easiest when coming from a Synology? Since i have 8TB of content it would be nice just to plug the harddrives in without deleting everything on them first. I dont care if its running on windows, its own OS, linux or whatever as long as easy to setup and maintain is the keyword.

 

I'm going to use some sort of online backup (just need to figure out what first) so that my content can be auto backupped whenver i add new content and then it needs to get synced into another synology NAS.

 

Hope you can give some advice

Tell us more about the current setup.

You mentioned you have 8TB of data. How much storage do you have? How many HDs do you currently have and how large are they?

This might help up give you a direction to go in your migration.

I'm using a Synology NAS right now and im looking to build my own NAS to get more drives (and save a few bucks) and looking through the different NAS software they all seem good but whats the easiest when coming from a Synology? Since i have 8TB of content it would be nice just to plug the harddrives in without deleting everything on them first. I dont care if its running on windows, its own OS, linux or whatever as long as easy to setup and maintain is the keyword.

 

I'm going to use some sort of online backup (just need to figure out what first) so that my content can be auto backupped whenver i add new content and then it needs to get synced into another synology NAS.

 

Hope you can give some advice

 

Right now its on 2 harddrives. Just double checked and it turns out its "only" about 6tb so its a 3TB and 4TB harddrive i have in it. I havent build my nas yet as i dont know what hardware to get.

Tell us more about the current setup.

You mentioned you have 8TB of data. How much storage do you have? How many HDs do you currently have and how large are they?

This might help up give you a direction to go in your migration.

unRAID will be a really fun empowering experience. YOu wil learn to put computer together, and create an awesome device. Have patience, ask questions, and enjoy!

unRAID will be a really fun empowering experience. YOu wil learn to put computer together, and create an awesome device. Have patience, ask questions, and enjoy!

 

 

I know how to put computers together I just dont want another device that needs tinkering every so often in order to run properly as a nas server containing movies and such.

unRAID will be a really fun empowering experience.

 

Especially when unraid 6.2 "soon ™" edition is released.

unRAID will be a really fun empowering experience. YOu wil learn to put computer together, and create an awesome device. Have patience, ask questions, and enjoy!

 

 

I know how to put computers together I just dont want another device that needs tinkering every so often in order to run properly as a nas server containing movies and such.

 

If you just set it and forget it, it'll work, but by the nature of the way the forums work, you end up talking to people who like to tinker with it.

 

Since V6 was released I've been surprised by the number of people coming out the woodwork running really old versions who want to upgrade who've been running it for years and never really done anything with it.

unRAID will be a really fun empowering experience. YOu wil learn to put computer together, and create an awesome device. Have patience, ask questions, and enjoy!

 

 

I know how to put computers together I just dont want another device that needs tinkering every so often in order to run properly as a nas server containing movies and such.

 

If you just set it and forget it, it'll work, but by the nature of the way the forums work, you end up talking to people who like to tinker with it.

 

Since V6 was released I've been surprised by the number of people coming out the woodwork running really old versions who want to upgrade who've been running it for years and never really done anything with it.

 

Cool so i can do both. You have any idea what hardware i should go for? I just need something that can serve the files for me like synology does.

For basic NAS duties a Celeron or Pentium will work but a Core i3 will give you some headroom if you want to do more in the future.  For basic NAS duties 4GB is fine, but again 8GB will give you some headroom.  Try to get a motherboard with an Intel chipset for the LAN adaptor, if possible. 

 

Those are recommendations for a new purchase.  You can give unRAID a try with an old Core 2 Duo and 2GB if you have any spare parts lying around.  You can also use unRAID as an application platform and throw a lot of hardware at it  .  I think it is always worth considering ECC RAM for an always-on server, though it does add to the cost.

For basic NAS duties a Celeron or Pentium will work but a Core i3 will give you some headroom if you want to do more in the future.  For basic NAS duties 4GB is fine, but again 8GB will give you some headroom.  Try to get a motherboard with an Intel chipset for the LAN adaptor, if possible. 

 

Those are recommendations for a new purchase.  You can give unRAID a try with an old Core 2 Duo and 2GB if you have any spare parts lying around.  You can also use unRAID as an application platform and throw a lot of hardware at it  .  I think it is always worth considering ECC RAM for an always-on server, though it does add to the cost.

 

I like to upgrade parts once in a while like i do on my everyday pc so that dosent bother me hell it can even get my old pc parts when i decide to upgrade

 

So a pentium G3220 should work just fine?

For basic NAS duties a Celeron or Pentium will work but a Core i3 will give you some headroom if you want to do more in the future.  For basic NAS duties 4GB is fine, but again 8GB will give you some headroom.  Try to get a motherboard with an Intel chipset for the LAN adaptor, if possible. 

 

Those are recommendations for a new purchase.  You can give unRAID a try with an old Core 2 Duo and 2GB if you have any spare parts lying around.  You can also use unRAID as an application platform and throw a lot of hardware at it  .  I think it is always worth considering ECC RAM for an always-on server, though it does add to the cost.

 

I like to upgrade parts once in a while like i do on my everyday pc so that dosent bother me hell it can even get my old pc parts when i decide to upgrade

 

So a pentium G3220 should work just fine?

Yes.

 

I run a G2120 in my backup server, which is a basic file server, in my case just for backup.  It's plenty powerful enough for basic stuff.  The G3220 is not so different, and will allow you to throw a test setup together so that you can get a feel for how unRAID meets your needs.  If you want to start exploring Docker, and running multiple applications or virtual environments then you'd need to move to a more powerful platform.  But when you do that it's easy to migrate all your existing unRAID storage.  You aren't tied to a particular set of hardware. 

For basic NAS duties a Celeron or Pentium will work but a Core i3 will give you some headroom if you want to do more in the future.  For basic NAS duties 4GB is fine, but again 8GB will give you some headroom.  Try to get a motherboard with an Intel chipset for the LAN adaptor, if possible. 

 

Those are recommendations for a new purchase.  You can give unRAID a try with an old Core 2 Duo and 2GB if you have any spare parts lying around.  You can also use unRAID as an application platform and throw a lot of hardware at it  .  I think it is always worth considering ECC RAM for an always-on server, though it does add to the cost.

 

I like to upgrade parts once in a while like i do on my everyday pc so that dosent bother me hell it can even get my old pc parts when i decide to upgrade

 

So a pentium G3220 should work just fine?

Yes.

 

I run a G2120 in my backup server, which is a basic file server, in my case just for backup.  It's plenty powerful enough for basic stuff.  The G3220 is not so different, and will allow you to throw a test setup together so that you can get a feel for how unRAID meets your needs.  If you want to start exploring Docker, and running multiple applications or virtual environments then you'd need to move to a more powerful platform.  But when you do that it's easy to migrate all your existing unRAID storage.  You aren't tied to a particular set of hardware.

So the G3220 (perhaps even the G2120) will be more than enough for my needs?

So the G3220 (perhaps even the G2120) will be more than enough for my needs?

 

For a set it and forget it server, its perfect.  Some are still running older stuff than that.  unRaid 6 will use much more powerful stuff if you want to make it run VM's and dockers.  See this braggart with his new dual cpu monster:

 

http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=46077.msg444938#msg444938

 

I'm running an older version of unraid (5.04) with below proc and 2 GB of ram and it has been running for years.  It is just used for file storage and sharing tv shows, movies to the network.  Only issue so far was a drive that died.

 

Proc:

AMD Sempron 145 - 2.8 GHz

 

 

So the G3220 (perhaps even the G2120) will be more than enough for my needs?

Both the G3220 and G2120 would be powerful enough for a basis NAS unRAID server.  However, keep in mind that the G2120 is an LGA1155 (Sandy Bridge, Ivy Bridge) chip, while the G3220 is based on the newer Haswell architecture and uses an LGA1150 socket.  Personally I'd go for the Pentium G3258 which is currently cheaper than either one of those chips.  Both the G3220 and G3258 support ECC RAM, making them excellent server options.

So the G3220 (perhaps even the G2120) will be more than enough for my needs?

 

For a set it and forget it server, its perfect.  Some are still running older stuff than that.  unRaid 6 will use much more powerful stuff if you want to make it run VM's and dockers.  See this braggart with his new dual cpu monster:

 

http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=46077.msg444938#msg444938

Sounds very good! Thanks.

 

 

I'm running an older version of unraid (5.04) with below proc and 2 GB of ram and it has been running for years.  It is just used for file storage and sharing tv shows, movies to the network.  Only issue so far was a drive that died.

 

Proc:

AMD Sempron 145 - 2.8 GHz

 

 

 

Seems like im on the right track then

 

So the G3220 (perhaps even the G2120) will be more than enough for my needs?

Both the G3220 and G2120 would be powerful enough for a basis NAS unRAID server.  However, keep in mind that the G2120 is an LGA1155 (Sandy Bridge, Ivy Bridge) chip, while the G3220 is based on the newer Haswell architecture and uses an LGA1150 socket.  Personally I'd go for the Pentium G3258 which is currently cheaper than either one of those chips.  Both the G3220 and G3258 support ECC RAM, making them excellent server options.

Is ECC ram a must?

Is ECC ram a must?

Not unless you have a motherboard that requires it.  I suspect the majority of unRAID users do not have ECC ram.  However some feel that they are happier having ECC RAM as it is an additional layer of protection for their data.

No, ECC RAM isn't a must have.  But, you are building a fault tolerant storage subsystem so it is worth considering a fault tolerant memory subsystem...  It's also a way you can take advantage of building you own server to build something better than you can generally buy.  Most people run just fine with regular RAM if you decide to go that way, though.

Sounds good guys. Would you buy a SSD to put the OS on or what are people doing these days?

Sounds good guys. Would you buy a SSD to put the OS on or what are people doing these days?

with unRAID the OS is loaded from the (mandatory) USB stick into RAM at boot and then runs from RAM.  Many people use a SSD to either act as a cache drive or (more frequently) to host files relating to docker containers or VMs.

I tihnk its important to know how "drives" can be used un unRAID.

 

You have your Array... these are a bunch of drives of different sizes that are pooled and show as a single drive. You create shares (files in the root folder).

 

To make the array have a single drive failure without loosing data, you need a Parity drive. This has to be as big as the biggest drive in the array. This drive does NOT count for storage.

 

Then you can add a Cache drive. This can act as a temporary holder of files, before files get copied to the array (usually once a day). On unRAID , you can create shares that are "cache" drive only. These share in cache only, can be used to store the main Docker image file, the individual docker config folders along with anything else, like plugins, etc.

 

You can pool cache drive, but I have no experience with this. A cache drive does not need to be huge, and SSD would be beneficial for speed in running your Dockers, and for initial file writing. Remember any file added to the array, first lands on the cache drive. The size depends on how much data you think you will use in a day... unRAID has a built in mover that sends he files from cache to array.

 

You can have other drives, but not sure the value of that other than for external drives to copy large amounts of data into the array... YOu can also map (with additional plugin) external Samba of NFS shares.

 

So when planning your storage, you figure out what you think you will need for the first 6 months or so.... Say you come up with 8 TB total. You could buy three 4TB drives. One parity, and two for the array. If you want to grow to 12TB, later on you can add another 4TB drive, and so on. You want to make sure you have a case and sata ports to allow for the "growth".

 

I probably started with 8 TB like you, backk when only 1 and 2 TB drives were common. I am now at 33TB, with 10 array drives (largest 4TB).

 

I am not sure 4TB is the recommended $/GB value today. It may be 6TB.

 

As mentioned earlier, the OS is on a USB thumb drive. You do not want to store anything there other than the plugins that get installed at boot time.

 

I hope this helps.