sam9s NAS Project! powered by Unraid!!

[Imrahn]

Wow, awesome write up Sam...am on the same boat as I need a NAS by next month or so.My highest priorities are
1.Ease of access(hence, might settle for WHS)
2.At least 10tb support.
3.Hot swappability of internal 3.5 inch drives.
4.If possible, double the system as a download rig.

Hope its all possible...will be bothering u with my queries very soon, hope u don't mind.

Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk

 

[sam9s]

^^ Why would I mind Bro .... . I want people to go for DIYs always.

About your requirements ...

1. With Unraid free version you can go to max 6TB (without parity protection) 4TB with parity protection. With paid plus version, 12TB (6x2TB) plus parity. i.e 7 total drives. I wont suggest WHS unless you are too keen for a windows setup. Its protecton system is also outdated and is wast of space.

Unraid is every penny worth paid. Its rock solid and absolute pleasure to use. However if you still wanna stick to windows, I would recommend FlexRAID that needs a host like windows to work, but still have Linux features and support parity protection like Unraid as well.

However I would not be able to help you on it as I did not try it personally.

2. Ease of access is the virtue of Unraid. Trust me on this, its super easy and very effective. You must have taken a fair bit of an Idea with the console pictures I shared.

4. Not only we can, have hot swappability, with Unraid, we can also use predefined scripts to mount pen drives, portable drives out side the array. Just like we do in windows.

5. I am not sure I understand, "Download Rig", If you mean like torrent support. Unraid has torrent support via packages ..... Personally I do not use torrents so I have not configured my Unraid for torrent, but I am sure the community people will definitely help you on this.

 

[sam9s]

Your route Sam - unraid as I definitely want the flexibility it offers. Will try (proof of concept) on an existing PC that I have using the new HDDs. But I will go in for a config that has both a smaller form factor as well as a smaller energy footprint. Will have one BD Drive, one HDD for OS(not on USB), 2 Vantec Drives and one HDD for parity. USB 3.0 is a must.

mmm few things,

1. why would you want a BD Drive on your NAS?

2. Unraid not even crosses 512MB when installed with almost all the necessary plugins and extras. Dont wast space by installing unraid on HDD. and no you cannot have a partition on HDD to use it as boot and use the rest for data. It wont work that way. Why wont you want OS on USB.?? Unraid is been recommended to be installed on USB stick, Just make sure USB is of premium quality (Like SanDisk Cruz).

3. Reason for 2 vantec Drives ??

4. USB 3.0 is understandable, however let me also share some technical facts. NAS 98% of activities is done via Network. In practicality once it is up and running you wont even know it exists as it would just lay somewhere in the corner. Copying of data, shuffling of data, installing plugins, maintaining shares every thing is done via Network, so instead of investing on USB 3.0 (mobo or PCIe card) invest or plan your LAN to make it quality. Trust me with proper 1Gbps LAN, and AHCI enabled, transfer speed (practical ofcourse not theoretical) competes USB 3.0.
My USB 3.0 speed vary between 90MBps-150MBps (depending on the type of files being copied, HDD buffer etc), and on my 1Gbps network when I copy my data on my Unraid, My speed vary between 50 MBps to 75MBps easily, which is very very good. Not all people manage to get that speeds over LAN, reason.... quality 1Gbps network cards, Quality Cat 6 cables and Quality router (Linksys E2000) and Unraid on AHCI. Check out few snapshots to make it believable ...

You can see its been copied to \\SamTower (network drive)which is my Unraid.

Here USB 3 speed.

 

[naviworks]

sam, few questions

1) which is your quality network card and cat 6 cable? can u refer some brands?

2) what was the cost of Linksys E2000 and from where did u buy? As per website it is discontinued now and it doesnt have gigabit port... u decided not to have Gb ports?

3)Am planning to import a router through Aramex (Shopnship) and zeroed in for cisco or D-link brands(after reviews in net)

requirements:

Dual band simultaneous operation
wifi n and gb port
max speed 450Mbps

can u suggest some?
(not decided on budget yet)

 

[sam9s]

1) which is your quality network card and cat 6 cable? can u refer some brands?

Both D-Link.

2) what was the cost of Linksys E2000 and from where did u buy? As per website it is discontinued now and it doesnt have gigabit port... u decided not to have Gb ports?

You gotta be kidding me, E2000 DOES have gigabit ports. All 4 ports are gigabit ports. which website did you refer brother. Here check the official link.

Linksys E2000 Advanced Wireless-N Router

and its not being discontinued, I wonder which website you visited. Here again the link of all the E series routers available in Asia Pacific

Routers

I got it from NP Delhi for 6000, if I remember correctly.

3)Am planning to import a router through Aramex (Shopnship) and zeroed in for cisco or D-link brands(after reviews in net)

I would always go for Cisco and would also always recommend Cisco. Which model you choose is on to your requirements.

 

[naviworks]

Linksys E-Series Product Specs

check out this. even E2500 doesnt have gigabit

 

[sam9s]

Linksys E-Series Product Specs

check out this. even E2500 doesnt have gigabit

FIRST E2000 is not listed there (Not sure how you came to the conclusion it does not have gb port)

SECOND its a US site, every product is not released in every country. E2500 might not have Gb port but it is not released in India. Check the Asia Pacific site I shared, you wont find E2500 there

But if you search E2000 under the US site that you shared it would show E2000 having Gb port ...

Linksys E2000

Also just because the model number looks the next version of the same would not necessarily mean its better. Same is with E2000 and 2500. E2000 has Gbps ports but does not work on 2.5Ghz 5Ghz bands simultaneously (you can only choose one). E2500 on the other hand only has 100Mbps ports but works on both bands simultaneously. So different needs different features ....

 

[santhosh]

Sam,
I need a BD Rom on my NAS as a means to copy data into my NAS quickly (not for watching). USB 3.0 if for copying data quickly between an external HDD and the NAS. I have had a NAS before but never found it fast enough (Probably, my expectation was not realistic. Also, my NAS (eTrayz) was the bottleneck as it could not do gigabit speeds). I use a Linksys WRT610N which is very good. Recently, chanced upon half a roll of Digilink Cat6 cable(same as D-Link??) and did a DIY wiring of my home by replacing all the useless TV cables with Cat6 in the concealed conduits:lol:.

Two Vantec drives because I want to copy from one external HDD to other quickly. I also want be able to see more movie choices in my YAMJ(Yet another Jukebox) as only 30-40 movies get stored in a 2TB HDD. The way my HDDs - 7TB external + 4TB internal (one backed up personal data and the other currently empty) are currently categorised are:
1) Full BD rips on external HDDs for watching on Projector (These will be stored on internal drives to be used in NAS if I am able to stream BD Rips off the network successfully)
2) Another bunch of HDDs have 720p rips or 1080p rips which I watch in my bedroom setup via a HDMI capable laptop and 42" plasma TV. This setup is for casual watching of movie - movies which are more about the story than about special effects etc.

Will go with OS on USB then as per your recommendation.

The way I want to use the NAS is:
1) Access the data from anywhere via network/Internet using Smartphones and PC
2) Use quickest methods for data transfer. Lot of friends means lot of copyinghyeah:
3) Watch movies off the NAS using my Popcorn Hour, stream music using Logitech Squeezebox.
4) All the usual NAS stuff like DDNS, Parity etc and AV related stuff like DLNA, running Squeezebox server, iTunes etc.
5) No torrent client required as I download via a low power consumption laptop.
6) I am very conscious about the energy footprint, so NAS will be switched on only when required. Low power consumption is key, so no unnecessary hard disks spinning when not required.

I hope am still within the boundaries of a NAS. Pls let me know if I am asking for the moon.

 

[sam9s]

Sam,
I need a BD Rom on my NAS as a means to copy data into my NAS quickly (not for watching). USB 3.0 if for copying data quickly between an external HDD and the NAS. I have had a NAS before but never found it fast enough (Probably, my expectation was not realistic. Also, my NAS (eTrayz) was the bottleneck as it could not do gigabit speeds). I use a Linksys WRT610N which is very good. Recently, chanced upon half a roll of Digilink Cat6 cable(same as D-Link??) and did a DIY wiring of my home by replacing all the useless TV cables with Cat6 in the concealed conduits

mmmm what speeds were you getting, then and what speeds are you getting now with all the cables redone. I'd say if with the current network hardware you do manage to get speeds upto 50MBps (like mine) you wont need USB 3 on your server.

Two Vantec drives because I want to copy from one external HDD to other quickly. I also want be able to see more movie choices in my YAMJ(Yet another Jukebox) as only 30-40 movies get stored in a 2TB HDD. The way my HDDs - 7TB external + 4TB internal (one backed up personal data and the other currently empty) are currently categorised are:
1) Full BD rips on external HDDs for watching on Projector (These will be stored on internal drives to be used in NAS if I am able to stream BD Rips off the network successfully)
2) Another bunch of HDDs have 720p rips or 1080p rips which I watch in my bedroom setup via a HDMI capable laptop and 42" plasma TV. This setup is for casual watching of movie - movies which are more about the story than about special effects etc.

HOw many external HDD you want to keep. Its advised to use HDD internally inside the array. However if you do want to have external drives then dont go for 2 vantec as that would land up very expensive. 6-7K. for the same amount go for 4x5.25" Hot swap bays like ...

iStarUSA BPN-DE340SS-BLUE SAS/SATA Trayless Hot-Swap Cage - 3x5.25 to 4x3.5, Blue at TigerDirect.com

I went for Ventec as I wanted to experiment hot swapping before I can go for proper Hot Swap bays. My next buy would be something like the one I suggested above.

Will go with OS on USB then as per your recommendation.

The way I want to use the NAS is:

1) Access the data from anywhere via network/Internet using Smartphones and PC

Can be done, with a little work. I manged to do it.

2) Use quickest methods for data transfer. Lot of friends means lot of copyinghyeah:

Well as I said a well maintained LAN with AHCI enabled can give you very good speeds, but that is for LAN. Over Internet, the fastest way to copy data is via ftp, however it would still be dependent on how much broadband speed you have your server connected and the client from where you are running the ftp

3) Watch movies off the NAS using my Popcorn Hour, stream music using Logitech Squeezebox.

NAS with Popcorn hour ...EASY....very easy. Streaming music using Squeezebox, ....can be done with a little work, I have done it, however I do not use physical Squeezebox as the client, I use s/w application like winamp or foobar, but on Unraid I have the Squeezebox server running.

4) All the usual NAS stuff like DDNS, Parity etc and AV related stuff like DLNA, running Squeezebox server, iTunes etc.

easy no issues ..... iTunes also can be configured on Unraid. I have not done iTunes but it can be done and there are tutorials for the same.

6) I am very conscious about the energy footprint, so NAS will be switched on only when required. Low power consumption is key, so no unnecessary hard disks spinning when not required.


Unraid does not take much power, I mentioned somewhere, 15, 7200 rpm can be run with the hardware I mentioned under 450W. Plus Unraid spins only that disk which is needed. Also you can manually spin up n down the disks needed/not needed. (The process can be automated as well)

I hope am still within the boundaries of a NAS. Pls let me know if I am asking for the moon.

Not only are you within the boundaries, but this actually what NAS is all about. One this thing which you forgot was the security part, we need to make sure that the NAS is secure, when its accessed online, as its very dangerous to let you machine wander on net without proper security.

Shoot for more queries if you have any ....

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Interesting project Sam.

What I wonder is how much of your NAS's capacity will every be used?

 

[sam9s]

^^ Storage wise or capability wise ... ??

Storage wise, yes it less (yet). I managed to fill only about 1TB till now, of the total 5TB
capability wise, I am using every single bit of it. Been accessing my NAS from office almost every day.

Now I dont have to take the risk of carrying a pen drive to office, if I need to bring files to Home to work as I use filezilla ftp to copy all documents directly to my NAS. While in car I stream music directly from my NAS to my Android HTC via Airtel 3G.
AND everything is secure as I use VPN to access my drives from office. Use SSH to access ftp. The only thing which I was not able to secure was to stream music via SSH. It still works on fw port that my squeezbox server uses on Unraid. But I am working on it as well. Once I find a successful way to secure my music streaming, I can stop the port forwarded.

Anything left of a typical NAS which I missed or am not using ......

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

I thinking file-serving bandwidth.

Amazing how you are making use of it, though, but there's another thing there, and that's the ISP bandwidth.

How are you accessing the system from outside the LAN whilst maintaining your security?

(Oh, and I'd call it a file server --- but you knew I'd say that )




.

 

[sam9s]

Yep in the end the actual "speed" of everything you do would depend on the ISP speed. I have Airtel 2mbps and my office has a leased line so no bottleneck on that. Airtel 3G easily gives 3-4mbps, so no bottleneck on that as well.

How are you accessing the system from outside the LAN whilst maintaining your security?

VPN as I mentioned and for ftp I use SSH ... . Ofcourse the server is also protected with a very strong password and all my shares are read only except for the admin access ...

 

[sabarirjpm]

Congrats on your new setup. I have been unRAID user for the past one year and it rocks

 

[sam9s]

Wow we have an Unraid user on board ... Welcome Bro ... Share some more experience and your setup configuration ... if you dont. How are you using your Unraid ...etc

 

[sabarirjpm]

Am currently using it as a Media Server having more than 600+ HD movies mostly 1080p and is connected P2P to my Windows machine running XBMC (Do not have a Dedicated HTPC Yet ). Have more music in FLAC, WAV and few MP3s. I have currently the plus version and have 8TB of storage. 4*2TB for storage and 1 * 2TB for parity. Have a old 40GB HDD act as a cache drive. Haev to upgrade HDD as I have just 250 GB free. Adding storage on the fly.. unRAID rocks. This is connected to the APC UPS and the server monitors the battery state and does a clean shut down automatically.

 

[vaibhavyagnik]

Am currently using it as a Media Server having more than 600+ HD movies mostly 1080p and is connected P2P to my Windows machine running XBMC (Do not have a Dedicated HTPC Yet ). Have more music in FLAC, WAV and few MP3s. I have currently the plus version and have 8TB of storage. 4*2TB for storage and 1 * 2TB for parity. Have a old 40GB HDD act as a cache drive. Haev to upgrade HDD as I have just 250 GB free. Adding storage on the fly.. unRAID rocks. This is connected to the APC UPS and the server monitors the battery state and does a clean shut down automatically.

Hardware details please, specifically motherboard, case and Expansion SATA cards if any..

 

[sam9s]

Am currently using it as a Media Server having more than 600+ HD movies mostly 1080p and is connected P2P to my Windows machine running XBMC (Do not have a Dedicated HTPC Yet ). Have more music in FLAC, WAV and few MP3s. I have currently the plus version and have 8TB of storage. 4*2TB for storage and 1 * 2TB for parity. Have a old 40GB HDD act as a cache drive. Haev to upgrade HDD as I have just 250 GB free. Adding storage on the fly.. unRAID rocks. This is connected to the APC UPS and the server monitors the battery state and does a clean shut down automatically.

Nice one dude ... , but how come 40GB cache, I though cache also should be equal to or more then the highest HDD in your array (2TB in your case), just like the parity. Isnt that the case.

600 HD movies amazing. If you are using XBMC, why dont you use sharethe.tv plug in as I have in my sig, that way you can share your huge collection with everybody. The best part is it automatically updates your collection and your signature as we well ......as and when you add movies to XBMC, pretty neat.

 

[sam9s]

Here guys another avid member of AF Forum that has designed his monstrous 40TB NAS with Unraid. Interesting thread .....

Smurf's monster 40TB unRAID NAS build | AVForums.com - UK Online

Note Post # 26.

But I will add to what he said ...

1. Speeds according to him is slow on Unraid, that is not true, it depends on how well you configure and maintain your network. Live example is me, where as I already have shared I get speeds around 50MBps which is pretty good and that is without cache drive.

2. No true hot swappability :: That was true with the version he is using (4.7), or was using at the time he constructed his Unraid. Version 5.0 has true hot swappability. 4.7 also supports it but with the help of plugins

3. Dual Parity is one thing that I would love to see in future versions.

 

[sabarirjpm]

Here you go with the new signature. Will update the hardware specs soon.