Hi All,

 

I have been figuring out the best way for me to implement a NAS on my home network for a while now. I think I have landed on unraid, one reason being virtual machines. My goal here is to have a file server and a VM running Windows ten, mainly for photo editing and video editing.

 

As far as HDDs go I would most likely start out small, 2 drives, but would like to expand overtime as needs become greater. Also want a few SSDs for cache and to aid the VM.

 

All that being said, I'm on a budget and I can reuse an i5 4440 in this build. I need help with the rest of the hardware. Mainly motherboard and adequate video card. I guess is this i5 even capable of handling this?

 

I was looking at the ASUS Z87-plus https://pcpartpicker.com/product/CXK7YJ/asus-motherboard-z87plus

 

any help would be greatly appreciated!

Photo editing -> sure, just need a bit more RAM.

 

Video editing -> depends on quality (and still will need more RAM).

My (overclocked) 5820K workstation can't even reach 1x with 4k (i.e. 10 min clip takes (way) more than 10 mins to export).

Sharing CPU with other NAS processes + your i5 4440 has about half the passmarks => you might be waiting quite a while for things to render.

 

You may want 3 drives in array (1 parity, 2 data) at the beginning to fully utilise unRAID functionalities. 2 drive = basically a mirroring arrangement.

 

For cache, you don't need a few. Just 1 (big one) is enough.

Don't assume you would want to pass through a SSD to your VM by default. VM performance with vdisk on cache CAN be a lot better than one would assume.

You can have 2 (big ones) but only if you need RAID-0 data protection.

 

Not too verse on Z87 mobo. However, make sure you double check, triple check that the mobo supports VT-d, or your plan won't work.

Thanks for the reply! 

 

I was planning on 16 gb of RAM for the build. You mention passmarks, can you explain or add any detail as to what to look for on that site and how it works?  In your honest opinion should I not even bother reusing the 4440?

 

I checked the Z87 mobo manual and it does mention enabling VT-d so I would assume I'm good there.

 

 

The Core i5-4400 3.1GHz is 6400 Passmarks, which is pretty good.  Passmark is an independent measure of CPU performance and can help you compare across CPU generations and brands.  6400 Passmarks is plenty for most unRAID server needs.

 

Re: photo/video editing, the question only you can answer is - is the 4400 enough?  unRAID isn't going to make it faster.  I could run a combo NAS/Win10 VM for my lightweight LightRoom and PhotoShop needs on a 4400 but it depends on what you're doing, especially video editing.  If it turns out the 4400 doesn't cut it, you can upgrade to a Core i7 4790 on the same motherboard.  What platform do you use for photo/video editing today?

 

Regarding memory, plan on giving unRAID at least 4GB and don't forget that there's a few GB of overhead associated with spinning up VM support.  If you can run your VM in 8-10GB you should be fine with 16GB, but again it depends on what you are doing.

Thanks again for the reply!

 

Seems like a logical plan regarding the CPU and updating to the i7 if need be.

 

I use lightroom CC for photo editing currently.  Video is going to be new to me, most likely use an Adobe product.  We ended up getting a DJI Phantom 4 so I wanted something to help compile and edit that video, nothing professional by any means.

 

Honestly, my photo  and video editing is a hobby, I have been looking for a NAS solution for a long time as my pain PC is my work issued HP Elitebook and I really don't like to store personal data on the machine.  When I saw the use of a W10 VM and NAS using unraid I thought it would be nice to end up having my own windows machine in addition to a NAS and for it to be in one box was the most appealing. 

 

You also mentioned earlier that you do not necessarily need to pass through the SSD to the W10 VM, as my budget is fairly limited, at least for the time being, I can pick up some 240gb Samsung 840 evo's on craigslist in my area for a decent price, would this make a decent cache pool?  Is there a certain size cache pool you should have based on the size of the array?

The DJI Phantom 4 is capable of 4K as per spec sheet. You should try with the i5 and upgrade if necessary but I kinda suspect you will upgrade.

 

The cache size depends on your usage, not array size.

So for instance, if you add / move 100GB/day + 1 VM (64GB vdisk + 64GB additional app / game storage) then 240GB is totally sufficient.

If one day, you go camera happy and need 200GB then the first 100GB will be fast but the next 100GB won't be (unless you copy, trigger mover manually, copy more).

You have been a big help, hopefully I'm not bothering you too much with these reply's but I have a couple of follow ups!

 

If I get two 120gb SSDs does unraid automatically make the cache pool have a parity disk or can I use it in a "JOBOD" type of configuration to take advantage of the full 240gb?  120gb with parity may be enough for me considering our house hold is not large and there most likely will be limited writing ot the cache on a daily basis, I could probably get away with less than 50gb unless I did a giant photo/video import.  The cahce is also similar to the array as in I can update SSD size/brand later and no issues correct?

 

My other question for you: to run the windows 10 VM, i'm assuming I need a dedicated video card for this?  any recommendations for a middle of the road video card considering I won't be gaming?  Again, it's something I want to make functional but not spend a ton while I get use to this system and if I can have to upgrade down the ilne, no problem.

If you get 2 120GB SSD then by default unRAID will set you up on a RAID 1 (mirroring) for cache "out of the box".

I read that it is possible to switch to RAID 0 but I have never tested that so can't say much about its usability.

 

I just realised, if you ONLY have 2 drives in array (1 parity, 1 storage), I believe unRAID is smart enough to use a RAID1-like procedure i.e. there's no write penalty. So in other words, there's no need for a cache disk in that case. You might want to double check this with one of the experts, though.

 

Now if you have at least 3 drives then in the case of massive amount of photo / video import, you can turn on Turbo Write using the console (6.1.9) or settings (6.2.0 RC). It will spin up all drives write writing (instead of just parity + the drive being written) but it reduces write speed penalty at the cost of electricity.

So, I thought I had the i5 4440 based on the spec sheet of this old PC but apparently it is an i5 3350p, passmarks as it at 6087.  What are you're thoughts on even using this, still quad core but is it hard to get a 3rd generation motherboard that support VT-D?

 

I see that the 3350p supports VT-x and VT-d which is good for the W10 VM I want but I guess i'm just looking for validation that a 3rd gen i5 is worth it.

The Core i5 3350p makes things a little more complicated since it doesn't appear to support onboard graphics.  That means you need a socket 1155 motherboard that supports VT-d and has several PCIex slots since you'll need to have two graphics cards (one for unRAID and one for your VM).  Or you could just use a simple PCI graphics card for unRAID.

 

I think the ASRock Z77 Extreme4 will work and there are still other 1155 motherboards available that are worth looking into.  That said I think you have a handle on the issues.  You're looking for an older motherboard with a couple of special features and you'll be digging through internet forums to see if each one potentially supports VT-d.  You're not sure if the 3350p will have the horsepower you want, and if it doesn't then you'll be looking for a Core i7 3770 on eBay.  In either case you'd be buying older technology to get this server running.

 

Is it worth it?  I dunno.  If you just wanted an unRAID server the 3350p would be great.  Since you seem to be serious about a stable VM, though, it might be worth investing in newer hardware.  Personally I would not jump into a socket 1155 unRAID/Win10VM setup if the only reusable piece of 1155 technology that I had was a 3350p CPU.

I'm starting to get that realization that the 3350p would most likely make a fine unRAID NAS but supporting VM seems like a headache.  Looks like I'm off to the drawing board.  Now that I would need to look for a new CPU.  Would it make sense to look for a 4th gen i5/i7 or at this point do I just man up and go for 5th/6th gen to future proof a bit?

I just realised, if you ONLY have 2 drives in array (1 parity, 1 storage), I believe unRAID is smart enough to use a RAID1-like procedure i.e. there's no write penalty. So in other words, there's no need for a cache disk in that case. You might want to double check this with one of the experts, though.

Yes, you will get the full write speed if you only have 1 drive.

 

 

Now if you have at least 3 drives then in the case of massive amount of photo / video import, you can turn on Turbo Write using the console (6.1.9) or settings (6.2.0 RC). It will spin up all drives write writing (instead of just parity + the drive being written) but it reduces write speed penalty at the cost of electricity.

While I see your point, would you not save more electricty with having 3 drives spin up for 3 min instead of having 2 drives spin up for 8 min? If you have a big array, I could see the point, but with a small array it would be better tonspin up all drives.