Docker vs Windows VM

[ThatNewb]

I'm wondering which is better for my needs. So to start I'll put what I want the server to do:

1. It needs to be able to torrent

2. be able to automatically get rss feed or similar for auto download of torrents

3. be able to stream to another device.

 

Hardware: fx 8320, radeon 7950. 24gb ram

 

 

So I'm setting up everything using dockers as it seems to be the best way to do it with the least wasted resources. I have sonarr, radarr, qbitorrent, & emby.

 

I'm  open to other suggestion for docker replacements if it can accomplish things better.

 

 

So one thing I realized was that there was no way to get rss feed on qbitorrent in the dockers. It is solved via having sonarr/radarr with an indexing site. Honestly I found it bothersome as I would need to pay for the service which on a windows is offered for free. Next I looked into plex/emby. I know plex doesn't support amd at all and switched to emby because I read that it did. However, unraid doesn't allow AMD GPU passthrough to dockers and emby also doesn't offer AMD GPU support on linux (they do in windows).

 

So at this point I was thinking. wouldn't it be better to get a windows VM and just have an qbitorrent client that checks rss feed and autodownload everything and if I have an itch for a movie to just use the search option to search a movie up? It's all in 1 place. I know sonarr/radarr does that but that's just more hoops.

 

So given it's VM vs docker. How much resource do you think it's wasted and is it worth it to do what I'm thinking of doing?

 

 

Also is it possible to pass through AMD gpu to VM?

 

 

Thanks a ton.

[Shadz]

Hiya, I'm having the same dilemma - Windows qbittorrent has more features and is easier to use than the WebGUI (which is required by docker). And then I'd want Plex running somewhere, but not sure where to put it.

 

LIke you, I'm thinking of just running everything in the Windows VM to share resources etc. In my particular case, I don't ever see myself transcoding while I'm using the VM for gaming, so there shouldn't be any undue effects. It also simplifies my hardware setup - right now, I have a little M2 256GB drive for Unraid cache, but if I were to run Plex in a docker, I'd definitely have to increase that to 500 GB or more.

[ThatNewb]

On 10/17/2020 at 6:38 PM, Shadz said:

Hiya, I'm having the same dilemma - Windows qbittorrent has more features and is easier to use than the WebGUI (which is required by docker). And then I'd want Plex running somewhere, but not sure where to put it.

 

LIke you, I'm thinking of just running everything in the Windows VM to share resources etc. In my particular case, I don't ever see myself transcoding while I'm using the VM for gaming, so there shouldn't be any undue effects. It also simplifies my hardware setup - right now, I have a little M2 256GB drive for Unraid cache, but if I were to run Plex in a docker, I'd definitely have to increase that to 500 GB or more.

I ended up using windows vm. It works well enough for my use case without the added hassle. I just wish there is an easy way to back up VM for obvious reasons.

[Shadz]

On 10/22/2020 at 9:01 AM, ThatNewb said:

I ended up using windows vm. It works well enough for my use case without the added hassle. I just wish there is an easy way to back up VM for obvious reasons.

If I understand correctly, you could run two SSDs in your cache, thus it effectively backs up your VM? That could get expensive, of course... Another option is to have a SSD as an unassigned device, and then put your Plex cache data on that?

[JonathanM]

On 10/28/2020 at 10:05 PM, Shadz said:

If I understand correctly, you could run two SSDs in your cache, thus it effectively backs up your VM?

No, that's hardware redundancy, it should allow for one of the SSD's to fail and still keep running. Backup is a whole other concept. A proper backup will allow you to recover from corrupted or deleted files.

[KoNeko]

On 12/27/2019 at 12:20 AM, ThatNewb said:

I'm wondering which is better for my needs. So to start I'll put what I want the server to do:

1. It needs to be able to torrent

2. be able to automatically get rss feed or similar for auto download of torrents

3. be able to stream to another device.

 

Hardware: fx 8320, radeon 7950. 24gb ram

 

 

So I'm setting up everything using dockers as it seems to be the best way to do it with the least wasted resources. I have sonarr, radarr, qbitorrent, & emby.

 

I'm  open to other suggestion for docker replacements if it can accomplish things better.

 

 

So one thing I realized was that there was no way to get rss feed on qbitorrent in the dockers. It is solved via having sonarr/radarr with an indexing site. Honestly I found it bothersome as I would need to pay for the service which on a windows is offered for free. Next I looked into plex/emby. I know plex doesn't support amd at all and switched to emby because I read that it did. However, unraid doesn't allow AMD GPU passthrough to dockers and emby also doesn't offer AMD GPU support on linux (they do in windows).

 

So at this point I was thinking. wouldn't it be better to get a windows VM and just have an qbitorrent client that checks rss feed and autodownload everything and if I have an itch for a movie to just use the search option to search a movie up? It's all in 1 place. I know sonarr/radarr does that but that's just more hoops.

 

So given it's VM vs docker. How much resource do you think it's wasted and is it worth it to do what I'm thinking of doing?

 

 

Also is it possible to pass through AMD gpu to VM?

 

 

Thanks a ton.

im using dockers. Rutorrent and Medusa. Medusa is my Rss thingy and it works very nice. i almost have everything on auto.  I use a Rpi4 on my TV and stream directly to it without plex etc i dont like the overhead and i dont see the extra value it will bring.