[ajamils]

I'm contemplating with idea of building a media server but have not been able to decide which route would be the most flexible and easy. I currently have 4TB worth of data (1TB + 1TB + 2TB) and for the server, I would like to replace the 1TB drives with 3TB drives and start from there.

What's the general recommendation here? I know that Unraid seems to be a common choice around here but how does it compare to flexraid (with either Windows 7 or WHS2011)

[ptsorrell]

If you plan on running WIN 7 or WHS I'd go Flex raid.
Unraid is a basic OS that requires its own hardware. If you go the UNraid route you will have to basically reburn all your drives, i believe UNraid requires blank drives so basically it'll be a longer set-up. With Flexraid you can just install the drives and add them to the pool, no rewriting required.
there are a lot of other factors like parity and drive limits that you should consider as well
there are a lot of folks here that like UNraid on these forums and let them speak of what it brings to the table.
I myself think Flexraid great for a home/media server.

[Andori]

I'm personally going to go WHS 2011/FlexRaid. I've already bought the software as FlexRaid is on offer atm till 15th. Still plotting the hardware. I'm currently thinking of going with 3TB DRUs (as I have 2x 2TB and 2x500GB drives as starters).

I'm thinking of going with slightly more powerful hardware and also use it for doing handbrake encoding as it will be on all the time so can queue stuff up when required.

[Rauf27]

If you want NAS without headache then go with UNRAID - stable + better community support.

[assassin]

FlexRaid for me. Been running it for 6 months now and absolutely love it.

[snowboarder33]

Currently deciding FlexRAID vs. unRAID as well. FlexRAID sale ends this Saturday, so ideally I'll make up my mind before then. If anyone has any links to some comparisons of the two, or any additional information really, it would be much appreciated, otherwise I'll just try to do some searching through here and AVSForums.

[GortWillSaveUs]

I use unRaid for a few reasons,..
- If I lose 2 drives in a catastrophic event,..I can still recover some data. Not true when using RAID5
- The data can be written to a single drive. In my case,...movies. This means that only one drive needs to be spun up while playing movies. IN RAID5,..data is striped to all drives.
- Unused drives are spun down when not in use after x number of minutes that you define.
- I can use different types and sizes of HDDs. Not true with RAID
- I can start with only 2 drives and add drives seamlessly as my budget increases.
- The support I receive for unRaid from Lime Technologies has that personal touch which you don't see from many companies.
- The Forums at Lime Technologies is simliar to XBMC's Forum,..in that you not only get help from employees from Lime,..but you also get help from knowledgeable customers.
- I don't need to install any underlying operating system. Just plug in a USB with unRaid, boot from that USB,..and that's it.
- I love how you can create personal shares for each member of the household.

---

No matter what you choose,...you should always periodically back-up critical data,..such as photos,..documents,..and such.
Never rely on one system or plan. Always have a back-up.

[Andori]

I use unRaid for a few reasons,..
- If I lose 2 drives in a catastrophic event,..I can still recover some data. Not true when using RAID5
- The data can be written to a single drive. In my case,...movies. This means that only one drive needs to be spun up while playing movies. IN RAID5,..data is striped to all drives.
- Unused drives are spun down when not in use after x number of minutes that you define.
- I can use different types and sizes of HDDs. Not true with RAID
- I can start with only 2 drives and add drives seamlessly as my budget increases.

AFAIK these are also true with FlexRAID.

The OP was looking for comparisons between FlexRAID and unRAID, not comparing to RAID5.

[assassin]

Adding that with FlexRaid you can add empty, partially full or completely full drives to your array. Also if one drive dies all the other drives are instantly accessible with any windows machine --- you just plop it into a hard drive dock or attach it to an empty sata port on your motherboard and you can access all of your data like you would on a normal drive or external drive.

[jangjong]

Another thing you need to know about FlexRaid vs unRAID is that FlexRaid would need a Windows OS, and a SATA slot needs to be dedicated to the OS drive.
However for unRAID, you would use a USB sitck to boot the OS and since unraid is an OS on its own, you don't need a windows OS.

What this means is that, to get FlexRaid working, you would need to purchase a separate license for the windows. IF you get WHS 2011 i'ts not too bad.. but still that's extra $$ you have to spend.
and if your motherboard only has 4 sata ports, you can only use 3 hdds for the data storage.. where if you were to use unraid, you would be able to use all 4 sata ports for data storage. you can get extra raid cards to add more sata ports, but you still would have one less slot if you were to go with flexraid.

For some people, extra SATA slot may be a huge thing if the motherboard they want to use has limited number of sata slots. Like my unraid build, my motherboard only had 4 ports.


FlexRaid definitely has some advantage over unRAID, but since no one here is mentioning any disadvantage on flexraid, i thought i would say something. I'm not trying to troll. I think both unraid and flexraid are awesome
It just depends on the personal taste.

[assassin]

Another thing you need to know about FlexRaid vs unRAID is that FlexRaid would need a Windows OS, and a SATA slot needs to be dedicated to the OS drive.
However for unRAID, you would use a USB sitck to boot the OS and since unraid is an OS on its own, you don't need a windows OS.

What this means is that, to get FlexRaid working, you would need to purchase a separate license for the windows. IF you get WHS 2011 i'ts not too bad.. but still that's extra $$ you have to spend.

Except for the fact that unRaid is $70 for up to 6 drives and $120 for up to 21 drives. So for me I would have spent $120.

With FlexRaid I spent $40 for WHS2011 and $60 for FlexRaid (or $40 if you don't want pooling) making it actually a cheaper option.

[teaguecl]

I use unRaid for a few reasons,..
- If I lose 2 drives in a catastrophic event,..I can still recover some data. Not true when using RAID5
- The data can be written to a single drive. In my case,...movies. This means that only one drive needs to be spun up while playing movies. IN RAID5,..data is striped to all drives.
- Unused drives are spun down when not in use after x number of minutes that you define.
- I can use different types and sizes of HDDs. Not true with RAID
- I can start with only 2 drives and add drives seamlessly as my budget increases.

AFAIK these are also true with FlexRAID.

The OP was looking for comparisons between FlexRAID and unRAID, not comparing to RAID5.

Gort/Andori have hit the nail on the head here. The things that make Unraid great for home media storage are common with Flexraid. Their differences are minor, and either will be a good choice. The "having to clear drives" thing on Unraid is a non-issue, I'm not sure why people make a big deal out of that. Basically, the people who use Flexraid do so because they are more comfortable with Windows, or they want to use the machine for things other than for media storage. Personally I use Unraid because it's more like a appliance - it stores my media, and nothing more.

[GortWillSaveUs]

I use unRaid for a few reasons,..
- If I lose 2 drives in a catastrophic event,..I can still recover some data. Not true when using RAID5
- The data can be written to a single drive. In my case,...movies. This means that only one drive needs to be spun up while playing movies. IN RAID5,..data is striped to all drives.
- Unused drives are spun down when not in use after x number of minutes that you define.
- I can use different types and sizes of HDDs. Not true with RAID
- I can start with only 2 drives and add drives seamlessly as my budget increases.

AFAIK these are also true with FlexRAID.

The OP was looking for comparisons between FlexRAID and unRAID, not comparing to RAID5.

Gort/Andori have hit the nail on the head here. The things that make Unraid great for home media storage are common with Flexraid. Their differences are minor, and either will be a good choice. The "having to clear drives" thing on Unraid is a non-issue, I'm not sure why people make a big deal out of that. Basically, the people who use Flexraid do so because they are more comfortable with Windows, or they want to use the machine for things other than for media storage. Personally I use Unraid because it's more like a appliance - it stores my media, and nothing more.

Thank you sir! I agree with everything you said, and you said it very well.
I don't think anyone could go wrong if they picked either product.

[assassin]

Personally I use Unraid because it's more like a appliance - it stores my media, and nothing more.

Mine does that too.

Both are fine options. But to say that FlexRaid is not as likable because its more flexible and not as appliance like is just silly.

[mr.sparkle]

if one drive dies all the other drives are instantly accessible with any windows machine --- you just plop it into a hard drive dock or attach it to an empty sata port on your motherboard and you can access all of your data like you would on a normal drive or external drive.

True with unRAID