Media server spec

dan958

dan958

dan958

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14 Oct 2012
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1,444
Hello,

I'm looking to put together a media/file server (in a smallish formfactor case/ normal tower, minimum noise if possible) with a minimum of 4 drives. The server will be for storage, but will also run unraid with programs such as sonarr, radarr, lidarr, sabnzbd in docker containers. This won't be transcoding any video, as it won't be running plex

I'd like the device to be as low powered as possible as it will be on 24/7 - but don't have a clue what sort of specs I should be looking at, and what the price range is for something that fits my requirements.

I'll probably have tio be searching through second hand items for the best deal, but just don't know what I should be looking for.

any ideas?

Thank you.
 
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4 drives? Why not just one 6tb drive. How much porn and illegal content are you intending to download?

Why not get a cheap external drive to backup important files like photos etc. Then buy an android box for streaming any TV you want without all the expense and hassle.
 
Bug One said:
4 drives? Why not just one 6tb drive. How much porn and illegal content are you intending to download?

Why not get a cheap external drive to backup important files like photos etc. Then buy an android box for streaming any TV you want without all the expense and hassle.
Click to expand...

I'll be setting it up in a raid. The server wont be used for the streaming aspect of things, only storage and automation (sonarr, radarr, lidarr, sabnzbd). Those cheap android boxes probably won't be able to run the software that I need it to run (but please correct me if I am wrong)
 
HellDiverUK said:
For that, just go with a simple Synology/QNAP. They use a lot less power, and are rock stable.
Click to expand...

Currently have a QNAP, but having to leave it behind when I am moving (wasn't owned by me). Problem is they are quite pricey and you are limited to their OS. I am also hoping to be able to build something of similar/better specs for cheaper.

Was hoping to be able to pick up a gen7 HP Microserver, but really hard to come by now.
 
Well, I used to run an unRAID box until last year. Was a i5-6500T on a B150 board, NVMe cache drive, etc, etc. Moved to a 4-bay Synology (918+) which was OK but a bit noisy compared to the super-quiet unRAID box (it had a passive CPU cooler, and was in a Define Mini with Corsair ML120 fans). Moved to the QNAP 9-bay about 4 months ago, and once set up I've not looked at it since. It just works. The unRAID always needed something tweaked or tinkered with. I'm not sure why you think the OS is limited, you can get just about everything as a plugin, and what you can't can run in Docker.

But, for your use a 418j would do the job great, and they're pretty cheap.
 
HellDiverUK said:
Well, I used to run an unRAID box until last year. Was a i5-6500T on a B150 board, NVMe cache drive, etc, etc. Moved to a 4-bay Synology (918+) which was OK but a bit noisy compared to the super-quiet unRAID box (it had a passive CPU cooler, and was in a Define Mini with Corsair ML120 fans). Moved to the QNAP 9-bay about 4 months ago, and once set up I've not looked at it since. It just works. The unRAID always needed something tweaked or tinkered with. I'm not sure why you think the OS is limited, you can get just about everything as a plugin, and what you can't can run in Docker.

But, for your use a 418j would do the job great, and they're pretty cheap.
Click to expand...

I do like to do a lot of tinkering, so the ability to install things like unraid and freenas for playing around with is something quite important - but I could just get another box (or use my PI) for tinkering, if it came down to it.

The 418j looks like it can handle what I need it to do - I just look at the specs and wonder how much cheaper it would be to self build.
 
Looks like you just need to hunt around for some 2nd hand kit.

I did what you are doing, I started off with an old Shuttle system with 2 x 2TB drives in RAID.
then when that capacity wasn't enough I bought a rackmount case cheap with a cheapo S1155 Motherboard and 4GB DDR3 ram.
Then I found whilst using NAS4free (now xigmanas) that I needed more Ram for ZFS.

Eventually I discovered that ECC is relly much safer when using ZFS, so ended up upgrading again, to a supermicro server/workstation board with some ECC RAM.
I also bought a new case at the same time as the £50 rackmount I had bought made swapping drives quite fiddly.
Would have been cheaper overall if I had just started with what I have now.
 
Just quickly borrowed a really old PC from work in my lunchbreak. Set up unraid with sonarr, radarr, and sabnzbd as dockers.

As soon as these were installed, the memory maxed out at 100% constantly, but this PC is using 2gb of 800mhz ddr2 (and that is without radarr and sonarr checking rss feeds, and sabnzbd downloading). CPU seems to be fine (i3). 2nd hand kit is what I will be going for, and now have a good baseline of what I need as a minimum. i3 with a more modern ram should do me fine.

Thanks for the help.
 
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