New homeserver build, which OS?

shaf · 30 Nov 2020 at 20:39

Hi,

I'm building a new homeserver build and would like some advise on which OS to choose. I'm quite familiar with most of them and just want to make the right choice for my needs.

I currently have an xpenology box which I am replacing and which is running on a 10gbe network.

My use cases are:
Data storage (NAS)
Plex/Media box (no transcoding)
VMs (Ubuntu, Windows).
SSD array for fast read/write
Surveillance software

Choices (and some of my thoughts):

Unraid -
Easy to use, and VMs supported
Nas array will be slow (not raid)

Freenas -
ZFS will be faster
GUI isn't great and is really built for NAS.

xpenology -
Works and reliable.
No support and installing is a pain.

Based on my use cases, which one would you choose? Are there any others I should be looking at?

bremen1874 · 30 Nov 2020 at 20:51

Unraid. The performance on mine is fine (mirrored SSD cache + 5,400rpm mechanicals). The ease of adding/removing individual drives outweighs everything else.

andy_mk3 · 30 Nov 2020 at 20:59

bremen1874 said:
Unraid. The performance on mine is fine (mirrored SSD cache + 5,400rpm mechanicals). The ease of adding/removing individual drives outweighs everything else.

+1 on this.

Yes array speed is limited compared to raid, but unraid suits home use extremely well.

shaf · 30 Nov 2020 at 21:32

I think Unraid is top of the list at the moment.

I've read that it does not support SSD arrays or it's not a good idea, is that the case?
What is the best configuration for drives? Mirrored SSD cache or RAID 0 cache? And how big?

bremen1874 · 30 Nov 2020 at 22:02

From the manual...

Do not assign an SSD as a data/parity device. While unRAID won’t stop you from doing this, SSDs are only supported for use as cache devices due TRIM/discard and how it impacts parity protection. Using SSDs as data/parity devices is unsupported and may result in data loss at this time.

As the data on the cache is exposed until it gets moved the array I wouldn't want RAID0 (although it's there as an option if you don't mind the additional risk).

The size will depend on what you're going to be caching. I recently ended up with 2 x 1TB in RAID1 because (1.) They were only £80 each (2.) I regularly write some large files (400GB+) which I wanted to be able to cache.

andy_mk3 · 30 Nov 2020 at 22:41

bremen1874 said:
From the manual...

As the data on the cache is exposed until it gets moved the array I wouldn't want RAID0 (although it's there as an option if you don't mind the additional risk).

The size will depend on what you're going to be caching. I recently ended up with 2 x 1TB in RAID1 because (1.) They were only £80 each (2.) I regularly write some large files (400GB+) which I wanted to be able to cache.

Mx500 drives by any chance? Exactly what I just did.

bremen1874 · 30 Nov 2020 at 22:45

Yep.

Have you had problems with spurious attribute 197 SMART notifications? It seems that it's a known issue, but still annoying (I've disabled it).

andy_mk3 · 30 Nov 2020 at 23:05

bremen1874 said:
Yep.

Have you had problems with spurious attribute 197 SMART notifications? It seems that it's a known issue, but still annoying (I've disabled it).

Haha, yes. I disabled it too! Good to know it's a known issue though and not an issue with my config.

bremen1874 · 30 Nov 2020 at 23:17

Apparently, it's a Linux (and Mac?) problem, not a specific Unraid issue.

So far, Crucial can't, or can't be bothered, to fix it.

kayomani · 30 Nov 2020 at 23:49

Installed proxmox over debian with docker and mergerfs on the host. Not as friendly as unraid I guess but it can be done for free.

shaf · 1 Dec 2020 at 08:43

Where do you store the VMs on unraid. I usually keep them on an ssd.

I've read that these can be stored on the ssd cache drive?

BigT · 1 Dec 2020 at 10:49

shaf said:
Where do you store the VMs on unraid. I usually keep them on an ssd.

I've read that these can be stored on the ssd cache drive?

You can store them where you like; on the array, on your cache drive(s) or even a dedicated nvme if you want through the ‘unassigned devices’ plugin. I choose the cache as it gives me enough performance with some resiliency of RAID1.