Is unraid right for my use?


Bruce11

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Hi guys

 

I'm new and don't have any experience with unraid but have come across it in discussions and was wondering if anyone could help me. 

I am building my first server for home use, going to use a AMD Ryzen 3400G, and using the system as a NAS, plex server (only 1 transcode stream at worse case) and a Minecraft server with a max of 4 players 3 outside of my local network. I'm wondering if a Linux server or unraid would be the right way to go. Any information/advice is greatly appreciated. 

Thanks in advance

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I use my unRAID machine for all the things you mentioned and more.

 

Do you have much linux experience and or are you expecting to do things the linux way? One sticking point for a lot of newcomers who have a lot of linux knowledge and experience is that unRAID is not just another linux distro (similar to how it is not RAID).  For instance you will not install the plex server or minecraft server on the underlying unRAID OS, rather you will run plex and minecraft docker containers. In reality it is much easier than trying to install applications on stripped down slackware linux, but if you come in thinking you are going to use unRAID exactly like any other linux OS then you may be frustrated by the unRAID way. Another point that seems to bother a lot of linux gurus is that unRAID does not have users in the linux sense. All administration is done using the root user and file/folder access controls are done by the software that servers them over the network (SMB,NFS...). 

 

One other thing that you might want to research a bit more on the forum is the processor/mobo hardware you are planning to use. I myself use a Ryzen 2700 and it works great. If my knowledge of part numbers is on point the 3400G is fairly recently released. It would be worth seeing if others are already using that in unRAID and if they have run into any problem. 

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On 9/11/2019 at 5:32 PM, primeval_god said:

I use my unRAID machine for all the things you mentioned and more.

 

Do you have much linux experience and or are you expecting to do things the linux way? One sticking point for a lot of newcomers who have a lot of linux knowledge and experience is that unRAID is not just another linux distro (similar to how it is not RAID).  For instance you will not install the plex server or minecraft server on the underlying unRAID OS, rather you will run plex and minecraft docker containers. In reality it is much easier than trying to install applications on stripped down slackware linux, but if you come in thinking you are going to use unRAID exactly like any other linux OS then you may be frustrated by the unRAID way. Another point that seems to bother a lot of linux gurus is that unRAID does not have users in the linux sense. All administration is done using the root user and file/folder access controls are done by the software that servers them over the network (SMB,NFS...). 

 

One other thing that you might want to research a bit more on the forum is the processor/mobo hardware you are planning to use. I myself use a Ryzen 2700 and it works great. If my knowledge of part numbers is on point the 3400G is fairly recently released. It would be worth seeing if others are already using that in unRAID and if they have run into any problem. 

Hey, I have a lot of questions because I am currently planning my first server build. A friend suggested Unraid and I have the same usage that is mentioned in this thread (Thanks for that, fellow newbie) and I am planning to use a R7 2700 for my build. You mentioned that you are using one, would u give this a go? or are there big problems? I hope it will have enough power to host 2 gameserver with each about max. 4 player, also an small nextcloud, to test things and stuff and also at least one Windows VM for Workload. Unluckily i am young and bought a alienware laptop about a year before and yes.... wasnt good. I also own a Ipad Pro wich I would use in school (Design focused school) and i hope the Windows VM will be capable of operating Designsoftware like Adobe. Do you have any experience with such workload?

 

I really appreciate any infos you could give me about the processor for this use or else for your use ;)

Wishing a nice evening all of you :)

 

Regards, Justus

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@JustusAurelius I am sorry but i doubt my experience will be of much help to you. My server has a fairly light workload. It handles mainly file-serving and a couple of plex streams, as well as a handful other programming related Dockers. I occasionally run a minecraft server for 6ish people, and do some non-plex trans-coding. I dont really use VMs much less desktop replacement VMs. I should think that the 2700 would be plenty of power for a couple of gameservers and nextcloud (though i dont use nextcloud myself). My gut feeling would be that there would be enough resources to run a windows VM as well. That said i am not familiar with Design software or its system requirements, nor do i have any experience running VMs like that myself.

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Welcome!  I do think Unraid is a great use case for you...

On 9/8/2019 at 11:55 AM, Bruce11 said:

 Any information/advice is greatly appreciated.

@Bruce11 - Best advice is from @primeval_god below:  Knowing basic Linux commands like ls, cd, cp, rm is super helpful.  Know how to SSH into the server.  And learn to use Docker.  The Unraid Web GUI interface can do 90% of it without a problem, but you will eventually run into the need to do 10% using the terminal.  And eventually you will likely want to do more through the terminal.

On 9/11/2019 at 8:32 AM, primeval_god said:

Do you have much linux experience and or are you expecting to do things the linux way? One sticking point for a lot of newcomers who have a lot of linux knowledge and experience is that unRAID is not just another linux distro (similar to how it is not RAID).

 

On 9/14/2019 at 9:17 AM, JustusAurelius said:

I am planning to use a R7 2700 for my build. You mentioned that you are using one, would u give this a go? or are there big problems? I hope it will have enough power to host 2 gameserver with each about max. 4 player, also an small nextcloud, to test things and stuff and also at least one Windows VM for Workload.

@JustusAurelius - I have the AMD 2700x for my build, and I love it (you can read about my server on my blog).  I think it pairs very well with Unraid.  At this moment, though, you will get better bang for your buck with the newer 3000 line of processes.  The 2700x gives you 8 cores (for 16 threads).  For your use case, buy plenty of RAM, at least 32 GB, depending on the gameserver requirements.

 

I use all of the examples you have above, and you should be able to run them just fine.  My server runs 24x7, and I connect to it from external all the time via a VPN I set up.  Example breakdown:

* I use a Windows 10 VM on Unraid as my primary gaming machine, pass-through a Nvida 1070 graphics card.  I dedicate 6 threads and 16 GB RAM here.

* Game servers can be hosted on Docker using the Unraid App, or each their own Linux VM.  Dedicate maybe 2 threads and maybe 2-4 GB RAM each (depending).

* Nextcloud I have running in a Docker container and it takes up almost no CPU or RAM power.

* NAS file share is a breeze, but this is the bread-and-butter of Unraid

 

What do you think?  Would love to hear how it goes!

 

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