[Chrisx510]

Official unRAID Thread




unRAID Server


Is an embedded Network Attached Storage server Operating System designed to boot from a USB Flash device and specifically designed for digital media storage:


Digital Video

Digital Music

Digital Images/Photos

Configuration flexibility:


Any combination of IDE and SATA hard drives may be used.

All the hard drives do not need to be the same size or speed.

Hard drives not being accessed may be spun down.

Can rebuild any single failed hard drive.

True Incremental Storage


Unlike other RAID systems, unRAID Server supports true incremental storage expansion. You can add capacity by adding more hard drives or by upgrading existing hard drives. This is a great way to make use of older, smaller hard drives you might have laying around.

Better Fault Tolerance


Similar to other RAID systems, unRAID Server permits reconstruction of a single failed hard drive. However in the unlikely event of multiple hard drive failures, data loss would be isloated to only those hard drives which failed. In traditional RAID systems, multiple simultaneous hard drive failure results in complete data loss.

Network Attached Storage


unRAID Server is compatible with Windows Networking. Individual data disks appear as disk shares under My Network Places. In addition, unRAID Server provides a composite view of all your storage through the use of User shares.


User shares permit you to view your storage as if it were one large file system, even though each data disk has it’s own file system. This lets you define share names such as Movies, Video, Photos, etc. whose actual contents are spread out among multiple hard drives.

USB Flash Storage Device


unRAID server is designed to be installed on, and boot from, a USB Flash Storage device. All configuration data is also kept on the Flash; the hard drives are only used to store user data.



unRAID Wiki
http://lime-technology.com/wiki/inde...le=UnRAID_Wiki


Hardware Compatibility
http://lime-technology.com/wiki/inde..._Compatibility


unRAID Forum
http://lime-technology.com/forum/

Greenleaf Prototype Builds
http://greenleaf-technology.com/blog...ypes/index.php


Recommended Builds
http://lime-technology.com/wiki/inde...mmended_Builds













My Build



After using HP MediaSmart Server with Windows Home Server v1 for the last 2 years I've decide to make the switch over to unRAID. HP MSS was a great first server. As my collection of movies has grown I've come to the conclusion that unRAID just makes more sense for my needs. I have around 330 Blu-Ray's and 150 DVD's in my HP MSS. The last couple months I've been having playback issue when it comes to Blu-Ray. After tons of troubleshooting I haven't been able to solve the problem. So my unRAID build starts now and I thought I'd make a thread for those who have been considering going the unRAID route.



After researching unRAID I've found that it doesn't take much money to build a server. I decided to just build a budget server since all I will be using it for is BD,DVD,Music storage. For those of you that want your server to do transcoding you'll have to go with a more powerful CPU.


Parts List


MB ECS| A885GM-A2 (V1.1)- $45.00


CPU: AMD Sempron 145- $39.00


CASE XCLIO| XCLIO NIGHTHAWK RT- $49.99


RAM: Kingston 2GB DDR3 1333- $15.99


PSU: CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 V2 430W- $34.99


SATA2 Serial ATA II PCI-Express RAID Controller Card- $11.52 x2


Hot Swap Drive Bays: Mobile Rack for 3.5 inches SATA HDD - Open Frame- $14.66 x 9


NSI LK-13813 1x4-pin Molex male to 3x4-pin Molex Female Power Cable Splitter $3.29 x 3


Total Cost- $338.30 plus taxes & shipping charges


UnRAID O/S and HDD will also add to the cost.

 

[Tom899]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Chrisx510 /forum/post/21597904


After using HP MediaSmart Server with Windows Home Server v1 for the last 2 years I've decide to make the switch over to unRAID. HP MSS was a great first server. As my collection of movies has grown I've come to the conclusion that unRAID just makes more sense for my needs. I have around 330 Blu-Ray's and 150 DVD's in my HP MSS. The last couple months I've been having playback issue when it comes to Blu-Ray. After tons of troubleshooting I haven't been able to solve the problem. So my unRAID build starts now and I thought I'd make a thread for those who have been considering going the unRAID route.



After researching unRAID I've found that it doesn't take much money to build a server. I decide to just been a budget server since all I will be using it for is BD,DVD,Music storage. For those of you that want your server to do transcoding you'll have to go with a more powerful CPU.


Parts List


MB ECS| A885GM-A2 (V1.1)- $45.00


CPU: AMD Sempron 145- $39.00


CASE XCLIO| XCLIO NIGHTHAWK RT- $49.99


RAM: Kingston 2GB DDR3 1333- $15.99


PSU: CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 V2 430W- $34.99


SATA2 Serial ATA II PCI-Express RAID Controller Card- $11.52 x2


Hot Swap Drive Bays: Mobile Rack for 3.5 inches SATA HDD - Open Frame- $14.66 x 9


NSI LK-13813 1x4-pin Molex male to 3x4-pin Molex Female Power Cable Splitter $3.29 x 3


Total Cost- $338.30 plus taxes & shipping charges


UnRAID O/S and HDD will also add to the cost.

I built one last year and couldn't be happier with it.

 

[chanc]

Looks great Chris and welcome to the unraid community. Just a couple of comments:


The ECS MB is now costing more !!! and the Sempron 145 single core which could be unlocked. Although it's not recommended because of possible errors for the second core. And ah the HDs and their prices, don't forget that the parity drive should be your biggest drive. I wished I put a 3 TB in there instead of the 2 TB I have now.

 

[mlknez]

If you can hold off a couple of weeks, the first publicly available version of Microsoft Windows 8 will be out. It has a software raid system very similar to unraid but with more options and obviously supported in and by the operating system. I have used the internal builds and it is very powerful and simple with fewer of the limitations of unraid. Anything that will currently run windows 7 will work with this build. In my testing, I have an array with 1 3TB drive, 10 2TB drives, 1 1.5TB drive and 2 1TB drives.

 

[GusGus748s]

I've decided to do the same thing. I'm still waiting for my HDD's to get here. I've got 2 2tb drives, and 1 external 2 tb, which I will be taking the hdd out of it to put it in the unRaid server.


This is what I've got so far:


mobo: biostar A750G M2+

CPU: AMD Athlon X2 250

cooler: Thermaltake Copper AMD RX K8 CPU Cooler

RAM: G.SKILL 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 1066 Dual Channel F2-8500CL5D-2GBPK

Case: AZZA Helios 910 CSAZ-910 Mid-Tower Case

PSU: ocz 600w

mobo, cpu and cooler brand new $100.00

ram new $24.00

case: $77.00 (I wanted to spend $50.00, but I ended up liking this one)


I'm building a 4 drive for right now. Once the hdds drop in prices I'll expand.

 

[chanc]



Quote:
Originally Posted by mlknez /forum/post/21599839


If you can hold off a couple of weeks, the first publicly available version of Microsoft Windows 8 will be out. It has a software raid system very similar to unraid but with more options and obviously supported in and by the operating system. I have used the internal builds and it is very powerful and simple with fewer of the limitations of unraid. Anything that will currently run windows 7 will work with this build. In my testing, I have an array with 1 3TB drive, 10 2TB drives, 1 1.5TB drive and 2 1TB drives.

Very interesting!!! I will test it when it comes out!! I did not read up on Win8 but I supposed it will use a new FS backward compatible to NTFS then. The hardware requirements will be much more that unraid's. What is so great about unraid is its simplicity and efficiency.

 

[Brajesh]

Re: Windows 8, can you create a storage pool from externally connected eSata and USB 2.0/3.0 drives as well? I'm hoping 'yes' so I can re-use my Sans Digital storage towers from my current WHS v1 setup.

 

[Chrisx510]



Quote:
Originally Posted by chanc /forum/post/21599675


Looks great Chris and welcome to the unraid community. Just a couple of comments:


The ECS MB is now costing more !!! and the Sempron 145 single core which could be unlocked. Although it's not recommended because of possible errors for the second core. And ah the HDs and their prices, don't forget that the parity drive should be your biggest drive. I wished I put a 3 TB in there instead of the 2 TB I have now.

Yea I noticed that. I got the MB just in time.

As for drives I have some left over from my WHS so i will be reusing those otherwise I would not be starting this build at this time with drive prices way up.

 

[Chrisx510]



Quote:
Originally Posted by mlknez /forum/post/21599839


If you can hold off a couple of weeks, the first publicly available version of Microsoft Windows 8 will be out. It has a software raid system very similar to unraid but with more options and obviously supported in and by the operating system. I have used the internal builds and it is very powerful and simple with fewer of the limitations of unraid. Anything that will currently run windows 7 will work with this build. In my testing, I have an array with 1 3TB drive, 10 2TB drives, 1 1.5TB drive and 2 1TB drives.

I did read some articles on Windows 8. Looks like it might make for a great server. If I needed additional features I probably would of waited but I really just need storage for my movies. A W8 server build might even be a little project I try out to replace my HP MSS.

Quote:
Originally Posted by chanc /forum/post/21601308


Very interesting!!! I will test it when it comes out!! I did not read up on Win8 but I supposed it will use a new FS backward compatible to NTFS then. The hardware requirements will be much more that unraid's. What is so great about unraid is its simplicity and efficiency.

Yes that is exactly why I decided to go with unRAID. I was looking at other RAID systems and unRAID seemed the best fit for media storage.

 

[Chrisx510]

Here's some pics of the case. I wanted a case that had a mesh door to help keep dust out. For $49 can't beat this case. In the future I might add 3-in-4 cages but for now single trays will work just fine.

 

[Chrisx510]



Quote:
Originally Posted by GusGus748s /forum/post/21600494


I've decided to do the same thing. I'm still waiting for my HDD's to get here. I've got 2 2tb drives, and 1 external 2 tb, which I will be taking the hdd out of it to put it in the unRaid server.


This is what I've got so far:


mobo: biostar A750G M2+

CPU: AMD Athlon X2 250

cooler: Thermaltake Copper AMD RX K8 CPU Cooler

RAM: G.SKILL 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 1066 Dual Channel F2-8500CL5D-2GBPK

Case: AZZA Helios 910 CSAZ-910 Mid-Tower Case

PSU: ocz 600w

mobo, cpu and cooler brand new $100.00

ram new $24.00

case: $77.00 (I wanted to spend $50.00, but I ended up liking this one)


I'm building a 4 drive for right now. Once the hdds drop in prices I'll expand.

6TB of storage should definitely last you till prices come back down. I started out wanting to do a 15 drive server then went down to 12 and decided on 9. Right now I have about 6-7TB content. So 4 drives will be enough for my current collection. That leaves me with 5 drives. So 1 of course will be a Parity, 1 will be a Cache, 3 2TB data drives which gives me 6TB for future storage. At the rate I rip movies It should take me a year and half to two years to fill up 6TB. By then 3TB or 4TB drives should be affordable so I will then upgrade.

 

[mlknez]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Brajesh /forum/post/21601357


Re: Windows 8, can you create a storage pool from externally connected eSata and USB 2.0/3.0 drives as well? I'm hoping 'yes' so I can re-use my Sans Digital storage towers from my current WHS v1 setup.

Yes

 

[Brajesh]

Great, thanks. Had been looking at unRAID, Synology, etc., but looks like Win8 may be my best bet.

 

[aaronwt]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Chrisx510 /forum/post/21597904


After using HP MediaSmart Server with Windows Home Server v1 for the last 2 years I've decide to make the switch over to unRAID. HP MSS was a great first server. As my collection of movies has grown I've come to the conclusion that unRAID just makes more sense for my needs. I have around 330 Blu-Ray's and 150 DVD's in my HP MSS. The last couple months I've been having playback issue when it comes to Blu-Ray. After tons of troubleshooting I haven't been able to solve the problem. So my unRAID build starts now and I thought I'd make a thread for those who have been considering going the unRAID route.



After researching unRAID I've found that it doesn't take much money to build a server. I decide to just been a budget server since all I will be using it for is BD,DVD,Music storage. For those of you that want your server to do transcoding you'll have to go with a more powerful CPU.




.....................

You don't need much to build a decent unRAID setup. I put one together last year with spare parts. It works great. Although I still use my WHS since I still have 52TB of BD ISOs in use(with duplication).(If the WHS ever dies I'll just setup a second unRAID with spare parts since I got the deal with two licenses)


The thing I did differently with my unRAID setup was using all external enclosures, since I already had several lying around that had been swapped out a couple of years ago on my WHS. So my twenty storage drives are in five external enclosures while my parity and cache drives are in the actual server case.

 

[Chrisx510]



Quote:
Originally Posted by aaronwt /forum/post/21602873


You don't need much to build a decent unRAID setup. I put one together last year with spare parts. It works great. Although I still use my WHS since I still have 52TB of BD ISOs in use(with duplication).(If the WHS ever dies I'll just setup a second unRAID with spare parts since I got the deal with two licenses)


The thing I did differently with my unRAID setup was using all external enclosures, since I already had several lying around that had been swapped out a couple of years ago on my WHS. So my twenty storage drives are in five external enclosures while my parity and cache drives are in the actual server case.

I spent way more on a MSS + 2 Sans Digital Enclosures and twice as many drives needed for WHS due to duplication. unRAID seems like a great bargain. I hope I have my setup running this week.


What kind of external enclosures are you using? I haven't asked this question yet but maybe you can answer it.. Say I fill up all my 9 drives. can I attached my USB Sans Digital Enclosures with unRAID for extended storage?

 

[aaronwt]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Chrisx510 /forum/post/0



I spent way more on a MSS + 2 Sans Digital Enclosures and twice as many drives needed for WHS due to duplication. unRAID seems like a great bargain. I hope I have my setup running this week.


What kind of external enclosures are you using? I haven't asked this question yet but maybe you can answer it.. Say I fill up all my 9 drives. can I attached my USB Sans Digital Enclosures with unRAID for extended storage?

I'm pretty sure the you can't use usb. Otherwise I would have thought I would have tried that for some of my enclosures. I'm using Sans Digital and Rosewill enclosures. They all look the same except for a five bay unit that I'm using with four drives.

 

[Chrisx510]



Quote:
Originally Posted by aaronwt /forum/post/0



I'm pretty sure the you can't use usb. Otherwise I would have thought I would have tried that for some of my enclosures. I'm using Sans Digital and Rosewill enclosures. They all look the same except for a five bay unit that I'm using with four drives.

What media player are you using for playback?

 

[Brajesh]

so aaron, are your unRAID external enclosures eSata?


What I like about WHS is it also supports running Sqeezebox, Boxee (for their iPad app), HDHomerun, and other useful software for streaming. Hoping I can continue to get this, better speed/performance, and efficient data protection with Windows 8.

 

[chanc]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Chrisx510 /forum/post/21603846


What media player are you using for playback?

I have several media players but the one I used the most is the popbox V8 with YAMJ.

 

[Chrisx510]



Quote:
Originally Posted by chanc /forum/post/0



I have several media players but the one I used the most is the popbox V8 with YAMJ.

I have a pch a200 and a popbox v8 that should be arriving today. I currently use YAMJ on my whs.


I would like to start using Eversion. How would I install Eversion on unRAID?