New to unRaid and looking for advice


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Hey guys new to the forums from C.A. and I am looking to build my first NAS/server and have spent the last few weeks doing research and trying to pick an OS and raid config has for sure been the hardest. I am brand new to unRaid and was originally looking just at free options. But I think the ease of use and ability of unRaid seems to just make more sense for someone learning the stuff such as myself.

As far as intended use I am looking to build a small form-factor NAS/server that will be only for my personal use. I want to make it accessible from anywhere and it will be used as a storage and media server especially, so I can always access my documents and media from anywhere. Maybe also using it for game streaming down the line if its possible. For me anything that is very important will also be backed-up else where as well, so the single parity disk is more than enough redundancy for my purposes.
 

What is your budget?
I would of course prefer to spend less but about $500 is what I have set aside and if a few more bucks will be a big improvement I am for sure open to it.

How many drives?
I can’t see my self ever using more than 6 especially with this build but maybe more down the line in something larger

How much capacity?

4-10tb

unRAID Add Ons

So, like I said newer to unRaid and in general have not looked into Add Ons enough yet, so I would love suggestions but of course will be continuing my personal research more
 

Build So Far

CPU:This is probably just the best budget CPU for 2018 imo so seems like a no brainer but if I am wrong let me know.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117743&ignorebbr=1&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-PCPartPicker,%20LLC-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=


 

Memory:  I am coming from FreeNas which has pretty high RAM requirements, but I don’t think having 8gb is ever a bad idea as expensive as DDR4 is this was the cheapest I could find with out buying crap.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820158023&ignorebbr=1&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-PCPartPicker,%20LLC-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

 

MoBo: I picked this guy primarily because it’s the cheapest mini ITX I could find with 6 expansion ports.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N2V075M/?tag=pcpapi-20&pldnSite=1
 

 

PSU: I like both of these for the Modularity which I know is not required but will help me a lot inbuilding it to keep cable clutter down in such a small case to help improve airflow.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01B72W0A2/?tag=pcpapi-20&pldnSite=1

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151095&ignorebbr=1&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-PCPartPicker,%20LLC-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=


 

Drives: So far, I was able to grab 3 WD 2tb Reds for $120 so I jumped on that and will probably add more as needed and will likely pick up 2 128gb/256 gb ssds for cache and though I myself am still murky on how VM/docker.

 

Case: I really like this case and dimension wise is nearing the limit on size however

 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DJ6A88G/?tag=pcpapi-20&pldnSite=1

 

So that is what I have so far any advice is appreciated but like I said really new to all of this and very new to unRaid but I am a fast learner.

Cheers,
Captiondozla

Edited by CaptionDozla
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5 hours ago, CaptionDozla said:

I want to make it accessible from anywhere

Be careful with this. The basic unRAID package is rather insecure and should never be exposed directly to the internet. OpenVPN (either on your router or as a docker in unRAID) is a good option for securely accessing your local network.

 

5 hours ago, CaptionDozla said:

unRAID Add Ons

So, like I said newer to unRaid and in general have not looked into Add Ons enough yet, so I would love suggestions but of course will be continuing my personal research more
 

Start with Community Applications. It’s basically an App Store (free) for unRAID.

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2 hours ago, wgstarks said:

Be careful with this. The basic unRAID package is rather insecure and should never be exposed directly to the internet. OpenVPN (either on your router or as a docker in unRAID) is a good option for securely accessing your local network.

Oh I agree with you 100% I had planned on using some VPN just had not settled on one yet but will for sure!

 

 

2 hours ago, wgstarks said:

Start with Community Applications. It’s basically an App Store (free) for unRAID.

Thanks for the suggestion I'll start looking :D

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1 hour ago, CaptionDozla said:

I had planned on using some VPN just had not settled on one yet but will for sure!

It sounds like you may be confused about what a VPN is and does for you. A VPN is a client - server connection that puts the two machines in the same network, just like they were connected to the same physical switch. When you pay a VPN service subscription, you are paying them to keep a server connection in a remote location so you can connect through them and it appears that your machine is actually connected to the internet from their server's location instead of your local ISP.

 

What @wgstarks is referencing is setting up the server end of the VPN connection in your local network, then when you want to connect to your home network from outside, you tell your VPN client on whatever device you are using to connect to your local VPN server, and it's just like you were on your home wireless. There is no fee or subscription service needed.

 

Now, you may wish to also subscribe to a VPN service to obfuscate the point of origin for your internet downloads, but that is a separate issue, it doesn't overlap with connecting to your unraid server while not at home. You may wish to investigate @binhex's excellent VPN enabled torrent and usenet clients for use with a VPN server, PIA is probably the most widely used and easiest to troubleshoot VPN for downloading.

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31 minutes ago, jonathanm said:

It sounds like you may be confused about what a VPN is and does for you. A VPN is a client - server connection that puts the two machines in the same network, just like they were connected to the same physical switch. When you pay a VPN service subscription, you are paying them to keep a server connection in a remote location so you can connect through them and it appears that your machine is actually connected to the internet from their server's location instead of your local ISP.

I believe you are correct I think my only idea of a VPN  was more along the lines of what you pay for and I don't think until now I had recognized the distinction but thanks for pointing it out. 

38 minutes ago, jonathanm said:

What @wgstarks is referencing is setting up the server end of the VPN connection in your local network, then when you want to connect to your home network from outside, you tell your VPN client on whatever device you are using to connect to your local VPN server, and it's just like you were on your home wireless. There is no fee or subscription service needed.

This makes a lot more sense than what I was thinking with the paid service thanks for catching me on that :D

39 minutes ago, jonathanm said:

You may wish to investigate @binhex's excellent VPN enabled torrent and usenet clients for use with a VPN server, PIA is probably the most widely used and easiest to troubleshoot VPN for downloading.

I'll check it out thanks!

Like I may have said, I am really new to all this not just unRaid. I am just wanting to take the time and educate my self instead of just paying for ready-made stuff all the time.

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12 hours ago, wgstarks said:

Another recommendation:

@gridrunner (aka Spaceinvader One) has published many unRAID videos on YouTube. Most are related to specific dockers/apps but there is also a 3 part series for “must have” apps that is very good. There is also a video of his most recent build you might find interesting.

Thanks Ill check them out probably a great way to get all or at least a lot of the info in one place!

Also @wgstarks any thoughts on the build?

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Hi there greetings from Germany,

 

the case you want is limited to maximum 3 3,5" drives if you use the 5,25" bay, see full description of manufacturer http://www.coolermaster.com/case/mini-itx/elite130/

 

Length of PSU should be maximum 180mm or 7,1" 

 

CPU, RAM and Mainboard (because of the small case you won´t be able to use all 6 SATA ports) are okay

 

The system is okay as a small storage and media server 

 

And in the future you can use this tiny system as your backup server with large disks when you have more experience with unRAID and its possibilities/options

 

Peter

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On 6/13/2018 at 2:44 AM, hitman2158 said:

he case you want is limited to maximum 3 3,5" drives if you use the 5,25" bay, see full description of manufacturer http://www.coolermaster.com/case/mini-itx/elite130/

 

Oh Damn you are correct thanks for catching that! The way amazon's description has it worded made it sound like it had more room; so I will have to try to see if I can find another case. Any suggestions?

 

On 6/13/2018 at 2:44 AM, hitman2158 said:

Length of PSU should be maximum 180mm or 7,1

So I would be good then on both of the one I mentioned right?

 

On 6/13/2018 at 2:44 AM, hitman2158 said:

CPU, RAM and Mainboard (because of the small case you won´t be able to use all 6 SATA ports) are okay

Any suggestions for improvement without spending too much more? Also I may be reconsidering the case.

 

On 6/13/2018 at 2:44 AM, hitman2158 said:

And in the future you can use this tiny system as your backup server with large disks when you have more experience with unRAID and its possibilities/options

My thoughts as well! Thanks for the response Peter!

Edited by CaptionDozla
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