Hey, guys I'm new, and this is my first post. Hello to all.

 

I was doing research and have discovered unRAID and i love what i've discovered. But because I'm not an IT person. I don't know if unRAID fits my needs. For this I'm asking for some help.

 

I have a small architecture office. We are in total 5 people that work with Allplan software. (BIM solution: https://www.allplan.com/en/) - Allplan is like ArchiCAD (but less known)

We need a server that can permit us to work together on the same project. We need to be able to install our Allplan server (on Windows) in order to centralize our projects and have access within it, all 5 of us, in the same time. 

 

Normal RAID servers with Windows OS and the proper Allplan software permit us that kind of thing, but is very expensive. Does unRAID has the ability to do the same? Can I, a person with no strong IT knowledge make a server running unRAID and make it work for my office? i know that normal NAS like synology can't do that.

 

Hope i was clear on my request

 

 

Edited January 10, 20188 yr by Lucian

I suggest you locate a local IT resource (or become that resource). unRAID may be a good fit, but like any other IT infrastructure, it is not magic and will require some level of attention.

 

unRAID is not known for great write performance. If write performance is important to your application, you'll want to use a cache drive(s).

unRAID is a great DIY (Do It Yourself) platform for the technical enthusiast.  If you feel like Synology is too complicated then I'm afraid unRAID will be a bit more complicated than that (though a lot more capable).  By the way, I'm not clear why you feel unRAID would be a lot less expensive than a Windows server - they'd both need essentially the same hardware.  Again I feel unRAID would be better - but I'm not sure you could generate a huge cost savings.

Thx guys. I was comparing it to synology because i know that syno cant support BIM servers. Not because its hard to “understand” it

So if the cost is almost the same then I just have to be sure that through unRAID i can have a Allplan BIM server. If it already emulates windows it must work wright?

 

i’ll try to seek an local IT specialist, but i dont think that they know about unRAID. 

I've said this before and I'll say it again, Tdallen has already pretty much said it, but unRAID is great for home enthusiasts, however it's not for businesses. You want something that has real support for one, forum based support is ok, but I am talking about getting someone on the phone inside of five minutes when something bad happens.  This is why Tdallen is suggesting a IT specialist, someone who can be feet on the ground to help you when you need it. Anyone with reasonably good linux knowledge will be fine with unRAID. You simply don't want to put your company in a situation where they are relying on unRAID for anything important and it blows up and you need to get it fixed fast. That's why a server running Windows from Dell, or HP or Lenovo with a support contract is a better idea, it may not do all unRAID does and it may be more expensive, but at the end of the day when you need help fast in an emergency you'll have it.

The world is changing and unRAID with support is possible, though it may not be at your price point.

 

See http://45drives.blogspot.nl/2017/11/the-storinator-storage-workstation-ft.html

 

1 hour ago, Lucian said:

If it already emulates windows it must work wright?

unRAID does NOT emulate windows. You would still need a windows license that supports your software.

6 hours ago, Lucian said:

f it already emulates windows it must work wright?

UnRAID is a NAS system.   The NAS functionality is provided using Samba and the OS underlying this is Linux based.  If the desired application software will not work with other NAS based systems that use Samba such as Synology then it is unlikely to work with unRAID.

 

unRAID has additional functionality that allows it to run dockers and VMs but its core functionality is its NAS capability and it is unlikely that unRAID is the correct product if the NAS functionality is not one of the main uses.

To be honest, with a limited budget a small team and no in house IT expertise, I would be looking at cloud based solutions preferably from the software vendors themselves.
 

Thank you guys for the support. I'll seek another option though i really like unRAID  

 

Thank you for your time

Well, if you'd like a suggestion, have a look at a Thecus NAS.  You can get them running Windows Storage Server.  The W4810 runs great, and has 4 bays ready to take drives.  The OS runs off a 64GB SSD that's built in.