UnRaid build ideas and questions
#1
My HTPC build went well and it's time to start putting together plans to replace my 2TB MyBookLive with a dedicated media server. For the longest time many friends had told me that my only option for adding drives as I go would be a Drobo, thank goodness for finding UnRaid before I went down that road. To start I have a few needs/questions.

1) Do the sickbeard/Sab plugins for unRaid work well and easy? I have very little experience outside windows.
2) Does UnRaid support 3TB drives? Most everything I have read refers to 2TB
3) Case suggestions - It will have to be located in my living room, so looking for something that looks upscale.
4) What happens if power is lost? I've been looking into UPS devices but haven't been sure what to look for. Also don't know if it would need to shutdown in that event.
Reply
#2
(2012-09-25, 18:16)bwall244 Wrote: 1) Do the sickbeard/Sab plugins for unRaid work well and easy? I have very little experience outside windows.
Yes.
(2012-09-25, 18:16)bwall244 Wrote: 2) Does UnRaid support 3TB drives? Most everything I have read refers to 2TB
The last official release (v4.7) supports up to 2TB. If you want to use > 2TB then you need to use v5.0 which is in RC status. There are lots of people using v5.0 so I think it's pretty safe at this point.
(2012-09-25, 18:16)bwall244 Wrote: 3) Case suggestions - It will have to be located in my living room, so looking for something that looks upscale.
How many drives are you planning to run in the server? If you want a nice looking case you almost can't go wrong with anything from Lian-Li.
(2012-09-25, 18:16)bwall244 Wrote: 4) What happens if power is lost? I've been looking into UPS devices but haven't been sure what to look for. Also don't know if it would need to shutdown in that event.
Yes get a UPS. If you lose power the server keeps running. There is an add-on that allows the UPS to communicate with the server and it will shut it down before the battery dies. I use it and it works great. Most of the time the power is only off for a few minutes so the power returns before the UPS battery dies so you'll just see random messages in your syslog that the UPS reported a power failure and then power was restored. Other than that the server just sits there doing its business. The size of the UPS depends on how much power your server will draw and how long you plan to run it without power. My advice would be to build your server first and then use a kill-a-watt meter to measure your power use at idle. I think if you can let the server idle for say 30-45 mins without power then you'd be good.
HTPC: Win 7 Home 64-bit | MB | CPU | GPU | RAM | Case | PSU | Tuner | HDDs: OS, Media | DVD Burner | Remote
Media server: unraid 4.7 | CPU | MB | RAM | Case | PSU | HDDs: Parity-2TB, Data-2x2TB
Reply
#3
Is there any idea about how long until 5.0 becomes official? I had heard talk of dual parity, is this included in 5.0?

My original plan was to use 3TB drives and have atleast 10TB useable after parity, with maybe some (5-10TB) room left over for expansion later on.

I also failed to mention that it will need to serve media to ATLEAST 5 devices at some point in the future. I assume this will be a factor in my hardware/CPU choice.

Reply
#4
(2012-09-25, 18:50)bwall244 Wrote: Is there any idea about how long until 5.0 becomes official?
I don't even want to guess how long it will be because it's been in development for about 2 years, however IMO it definitely seems like it's getting real close. Just looking at the kinds of issues being discussed/worked now as compared to 6 months ago it is obvious (to me at least) that the development cycle on 5.0 is nearly complete.

(2012-09-25, 18:50)bwall244 Wrote: I had heard talk of dual parity, is this included in 5.0?
No.

(2012-09-25, 18:50)bwall244 Wrote: My original plan was to use 3TB drives and have atleast 10TB useable after parity, with maybe some (5-10TB) room left over for expansion later on.
6 - 3TB HDDs would give you 15 TB of useable space (so that's 12 + 3 for expansion). In that case a Lian Li PC-Q08B is a very good looking case. 8 - 3TB HDDs would give you 21 TB of useable space (so that's 12 + 9 for expansion). Here you could go for an Antec 900 but it's a pretty big case. If you really need that kind of capacity you may want to rethink having a server in your living room.

(2012-09-25, 18:50)bwall244 Wrote: I also failed to mention that it will need to serve media to ATLEAST 5 devices at some point in the future. I assume this will be a factor in my hardware/CPU choice.
Pretty much any dual core CPU would be fine. The G530 would be a very good candidate. I have an E5500 in my server and have never had any problems streaming to two devices. Never done 5 but I don't think it would be a problem. I've read posts on the unraid forums where some claim to do it without any problems. You may want to ask this question on the Limetech forums just to be sure though.
HTPC: Win 7 Home 64-bit | MB | CPU | GPU | RAM | Case | PSU | Tuner | HDDs: OS, Media | DVD Burner | Remote
Media server: unraid 4.7 | CPU | MB | RAM | Case | PSU | HDDs: Parity-2TB, Data-2x2TB
Reply
#5
Is the system capable to be updated to a newer version without data issues?
Reply
#6
Yes. I upgraded to 4.7 a while back and it was pretty simple and seamless. From what I've read upgrading from 4.7 to 5.0 is not difficult at all and you will not lose any data.
HTPC: Win 7 Home 64-bit | MB | CPU | GPU | RAM | Case | PSU | Tuner | HDDs: OS, Media | DVD Burner | Remote
Media server: unraid 4.7 | CPU | MB | RAM | Case | PSU | HDDs: Parity-2TB, Data-2x2TB
Reply
#7
How do I go about deciding on UPS? Should it be something that works for my server/htpc/router/tv/avr?
Reply
#8
I don't think you want to be able to watch TV while the power is out but instead the goal should be to protect your devices and have them safely power down. (I don't know if that is what your intent is but that would be mine) Most UPSs have two sets of outlets - those that are only surge protected and those that are surge + battery backup protected. I would put the server, HTPC, and router on outlets with battery backup and the rest would just be surge protected. With that in mind you need to determine what the power draw of the devices you intend to have battery backup for is. Once you know that you'll need to select a UPS that suits your needs. Go to APCs website and I'm sure they have tools for selecting the right UPS once you know how much load you will be protecting and how long you want to power it off the battery.
HTPC: Win 7 Home 64-bit | MB | CPU | GPU | RAM | Case | PSU | Tuner | HDDs: OS, Media | DVD Burner | Remote
Media server: unraid 4.7 | CPU | MB | RAM | Case | PSU | HDDs: Parity-2TB, Data-2x2TB
Reply

Logout Mark Read Team Forum Stats Members Help
UnRaid build ideas and questions0