HP Microserver

I've just bought the HP Microserver (HP ProLiant Turion II N40L MicroServer) and have been looking for the best way to set it up. I just want to use it as a media server, which I can expand as my collection grows.

I was thinking of installing unraid. If I do this how many disks can I start with and can I add disks at a later data (thinking of modifying to increase drive capacity)?

How much RAM would be recommended (I have seen conflicting advice).

Finally a really silly question .... Do I need to plug in a monitor to work through the install process?

Any help is much appreciated.

With Unraid you can create an array with a single disk. You wouldn't have any redundancy but could write files there and share them over the network.

I started with 5. I had 1 parity, 3 data and 1 cache IIRC.

I have 2GB of RAM and have not run into any issues. I run couchpotato/sickbeard/sabnzbd/mysql/php/apache too.

You shouldn't need a monitor if nothing goes wrong. You should be able to access the unraid config page on http:\\tower or by its IP address.

There's plenty of info out there and there are a fair few people on these forums with unraid servers that will be willing to help if you get stuck.

I suggest you just download the free version and have a mess around, if there's anything your not sure about post back here.

you will need a monitor initially because you need to log into unraid first to set things up

here is a good wiki link to start with...
http://lime-technology.com/wiki/index.ph...n_Tutorial

and another good starting point in general http://lime-technology.com/wiki/index.ph...umentation

you may want to post on the unraid forums just to see if anyone there has setup your exact hardware already....and if you need help don't be afraid to ask questions over there

I am in the same boat.

Just purchased an N40L. Deciding if Unraid or WHS 2011 is the best way to go.
If I do go with Unraid, this is what I envision:
I will start out with 2 2TB (1 for storage, 1 for redundancy) drives, add a cache drive soon, and then expand the storage array.

Any input regarding which way to go - Unraid or WHS 2011? Any other tips?

Thanks.

I have recently purchased a n40L too. I have been using it with Openmediavault and it works flawlessly. I installed OMV onto a USB hard drive sitting in the CD drive slot and routed a short cable to the internal USB slot.

(2012-04-03 19:32)jdwoods Wrote:  I am in the same boat.

Just purchased an N40L. Deciding if Unraid or WHS 2011 is the best way to go.
If I do go with Unraid, this is what I envision:
I will start out with 2 2TB (1 for storage, 1 for redundancy) drives, add a cache drive soon, and then expand the storage array.

Any input regarding which way to go - Unraid or WHS 2011? Any other tips?

Thanks.

cache drive does not come with the free version

if your concern is write speed then there are a few ways to look at it
the bulk of your writing at one time in the initial copy of data
if you have the means to copy data from existing to a new drive so that you still have a backup then i would copy first and then install the parity drive and hold on to your original copy until parity has synced
that way you get full write speeds

although write speeds are not as bad as they used to be so one drive worth of data even with parity in place will not be that bad

then daily copies after that can only be so much on any given day which makes the cache drive moot

if your goal with the cache was for other things like running apps on a non array drive or using cache dirs to hold a cache of your media so that when you browse from xbmc your drives do not need to spin up then that is something you have to weigh

i started with 3 drives to test out unraid and by the time i needed an additional drive i was completely satisfied and purchased a license

(2012-04-03 23:17)bigdog66 Wrote:  

(2012-04-03 19:32)jdwoods Wrote:  I am in the same boat.

Just purchased an N40L. Deciding if Unraid or WHS 2011 is the best way to go.
If I do go with Unraid, this is what I envision:
I will start out with 2 2TB (1 for storage, 1 for redundancy) drives, add a cache drive soon, and then expand the storage array.

Any input regarding which way to go - Unraid or WHS 2011? Any other tips?

Thanks.

cache drive does not come with the free version

if your concern is write speed then there are a few ways to look at it
the bulk of your writing at one time in the initial copy of data
if you have the means to copy data from existing to a new drive so that you still have a backup then i would copy first and then install the parity drive and hold on to your original copy until parity has synced
that way you get full write speeds

although write speeds are not as bad as they used to be so one drive worth of data even with parity in place will not be that bad

then daily copies after that can only be so much on any given day which makes the cache drive moot

if your goal with the cache was for other things like running apps on a non array drive or using cache dirs to hold a cache of your media so that when you browse from xbmc your drives do not need to spin up then that is something you have to weigh

i started with 3 drives to test out unraid and by the time i needed an additional drive i was completely satisfied and purchased a license

My path is very close to what you have just outlined.

I currently have data stored this way: 1 2TB drive, and 3-4 externals.
I will download and install the 3 Drive version of Unraid first.
Install 2 fresh 2TB drives in the N40L. (Pre Clear, etc)
Copy the data from the 2TB drive to the array.
After the copy has completed, I will then set up parity (either by deleting data on the original drive or purchasing an extra 2TB if $ permits).

Initially, I will operate Sab, Sick, Couch off the array and then move to the cache drive (and upgrade Unraid) when funds permit. But the idea is to cache media and operate apps (incomplete dls from sab and torrents) off of the cache drive to prevent the drives from constant spin up and spin down.

Other thougthts are:
Crashplan - for computers on the network
iPhoto library - for my macs.
Music Server.

Are you using Unraid 4.7 or 5 Beta?

You might also want to consider FlexRaid as an alternative to unRaid. It offers several benefits to unRaid

Quote:Are you using Unraid 4.7 or 5 Beta?

Nothing that i have needed has required that i run 5 so I am running 4.7

I may be forced to order Unraid Plus for 6 drives.

I totally forgot the HP Proliant N40L comes equipped with a 250GB drive. I will use this drive for cache.