My First Media Server Build


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Hello all, I'm a complete unRaid newbie and put this together to move my plex server from an old laptop to a real server.Please feel free to tell me where I screwed up and or could have done better, I am learning and want to have a stable media machine for the household now that we have cut the cord..  Would also like any tips on improving things.  The sad thing is I already have fallen to the ills of UCD as I am already looking at things to upgrade/add on to store more and make it faster. :-)

 

Currently only have the Krusader docker installed and am copying my 4TB current Plex library to the array.  Once that's finished I'll be adding and configuring the following dockers:  Plex, PlexPy, Sonarr, Radarr, NZBGet, Deluge, Jacket, DuckDNS, LetsEncrypt and whatever else I need for ebook and music downloading.

 

OS at time of building: unRAID 6.3.5 Trial (To be upgraded within the next 20 days)

CPU: Matched Pair of  SLBV7 Intel Xeon X5670 2.93GHz 12MB 6 Core LGA1366 Processors

Motherboard: SuperMicro X8DTL-3F rev2.01 Motherboard server board Dual LGA 1366 Sockets DDR3

RAM: 48GB (6x8GB) DDR3 PC3-10600 ECC REG 240-Pin 1333MHz

Case: Fractal Design Define R4 Black Window Silent ATX Midtower Computer Case

Power: https://seasonic.com/product/x-850/ (Added a 8 to Dual 8 Pin EPS 12V Motherboard Power Supply Y-Splitter to properly power the board)

CPU Cooler:  ARCTIC Freezer i11 CO, Compact Performance CPU Cooler

Sata Card: IO Crest 4 Port SATA III PCI-e 2.0 x1 Controller Card Marvell Non-Raid with Low Profile Bracket SI-PEX40064

Cables: SUBANG 10 Packs 18 Inches SATA III 6.0 Gbps Data Cable with Locking Latch Blue, StarTech.com 4x SATA Power Splitter Adapter Cable (PYO4SATA)Silverstone Tek Sleeved Extension Power Supply Cable with 1 x Motherboard 24-Pin Connector (PP07-MBW)

Fans: Currently the 2 stock 140mm fans that came with the case

Total cost: $600.22 for above

 

Cache: Mushkin REACTOR 1TB Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) 2.5 Inch SATA III 6Gb/s MLC 7mm MKNSSDRE1TB

Parity Drive: 1 X Hitachi-HGST -  3.5" 2TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 7200RPM 32MB Cache HDD

Data Drives: 5 X  Hitachi-HGST -  3.5" 2TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 7200RPM 32MB Cache HDD

Total Drive Capacity: 12 Drives

Total cost of current media: $494.99

 

Primary Use: Media Server, Plex to stream, Sonarr, Radarr, etc to gather

Secondary Use: OpenHab to finish off my home automation needs

Likes: Very quiet,

Dislikes: Not cool enough yet

Add Ons Used: Community Apps, Fix Common Problems, others suggested in How to install and configure some essential plugins for unRAID

Future Plans: 2 of Thermaltake RIING 140mm Blue LED Ultra Quiet High Airflow Computer Case Fan, Twin Pack CL-F048-PL14BU-A ordered to take care of the cooling issue.  More data Drives, Open to suggestions to improve performance 

 

Pics  and power consumption info to come

 

Thoughts?

 

<Edited to match the preferred UCD layout>

Edited by lux_en_veritas
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Looks like a killer rig with lots of cores and memory.

 

I'd look at something like the LSI 9201 rather than that Marvell based SATA controller card. Marvell chips have an issue with virtualization, and if buying new it's better to avoid. If you already have, there are things to try to get it working properly. If you are constrained to an x1 slot, you'd need to do more searching. Most drives in a PCIe 2.0 x1 slot is 2 before some significant bandwidth limitations.

 

A comment on the drives. 2T is pretty small, and not at the sweet spot on cost per T. Not sure what your eventually capacity is planned for, but minimum I would look at is 4T. (Generally I am recommending 8T.)

 

Welcome aboard and good luck with your build! 

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