New Build - Synology to Unraid *New Member*


WooperDeeDoo

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New Member, Who Dis? New build thread.

Hello Unraid forums. I'm a long time Synology user who is looking at my first foray into both building my own server and into the world of server OS platforms.

*Current Setup*
I'm currently running a Synology DS918+ with a 5 disc expansion unit that is primarily utilised primarily as a media server (plex, sonarr, radarr, sab, deluge) and a backup location for my photography files. I run a collection a WD red drives for the storage and a Samsung SSD for the Synology OS and Plex metadata files to keep the library snappy.

*Current Use-Case*
Up until recently the above hardware has been sufficient, as I primarily direct stream for a number of home users via my Plexpass setup and the little celeron in the synology unit chugs away happily while consuming next to no power at all. To save myself cpu headway (and my disgustingly slow Australian internet connection) transcoding streams for my friends, I tend to just update hard-drives with media for them manually. It also has plenty of power to keep the searching and libraries downloading and up to date as it goes.

*Expansion Plans/Requirements*
I'm moving into a new house very soon and will actually have access to some decent broadband speeds and alot more space which I'd like to use to house a rack and a new server build that will be able to:
- Transcode for up to 10 users via Plexpass to save me the manual process of updating HD's for my friends media.
- Run all my existing media server applications (plex, sonarr, radarr, sab, deluge)
- Still backup a copy of my photography files
- Potentially grow into the use of some home surveillance for the new house
- Keep to a relatively sensible power draw for an always on solution
- Easy storage expansion over time
- Ability to add a GPU in future for hardware transcoding (P1000, P2000)
- Ability to possibly add 10GBE in future 
 

*Proposed Build Options & Setup*
Ok so this is the part where I could use a little advice.

I currently own the following hardware:

- Array Drives - Will be kept and transferred WD Reds from my Synology NAS
- Case - Supermicro SC933T-R760B - 3U server chassis with 15 hot swappable bays, 760w triple redundant power supplies (3x 380w). The backplane for this case is a simple pass through so drive size won't matter. I've also already swapped out all of the jet engines for Noctua PWM fans to bring the operating volume down. 
- Samsung 850EVO Sata SSD
- 2x Samsung 970 Evo Plus 250GB NVMe M.2 drives

And I'm currently debating a motherboard, cpu combination:

- Intel - ASUS WS C246 PRO LGA1151 ATX Workstation Motherboard with an Intel Core i3 9100 Quad Core at $634AUD
- AMD - MSI MEG X570 Unify Motherboard with an AMD Ryzen 5 3600 at $758

The reason that I have chosen these two CPU's are the power figures associated. Both 65w TDP chips with low/ish power draw.
The reason for both boards is the expandability options with at least 3x PCIe x16 slots for a GPU, pass through raid card (to handle the drives) and potentially a 10GBE nic down the line.

Now while I realise that with the AMD system I would have to get myself a GPU immediately due to lack of built in... is there a better option from the two? Is there a better option i'm not considering (within this sort of price range)? Or am I an idiot and getting it all completely wrong?

P.S apologies for the long post, but I read the guidelines first and tried to include as much context as possible.

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Without looking at anything else really "transcoding 10 stream" is the big one - the one with the biggest unknown / factor due to codec and resolution of your library. Must read:

https://support.plex.tv/articles/201774043-what-kind-of-cpu-do-i-need-for-my-server/ 

May want to go look for a P2000 already...

 

15 drive means you will need an HBA card anyway. Maybe two, depending on the board and 8 vs. 16 port ones. One spare PCIe for 10 GBit networking, one for a transcoding GPU. Unraid itself might need a separate GPU. All interesting questions - none I can really answer. Sorry. 😋   

 

No impact on your build but also always fun times: You mentioned you will reuse your existing HDDs for the array. Think ahead about the logistics of moving the data. E.g. is there a backup you can fetch the data from, do you have access to intermediate storage, can you shrink the Synology array one by one, grow Unraid one by one etc. Like exactly what are the steps are going to be? 

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