My unRAID Server

manny9

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Joined
Mar 15, 2011
Messages
250
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Location
Bangalore
Just wanted to share my unRaid server build with you all. I will not go in details on unRaid since Sam has done a excellent job in explaining in his post. So first I would like thank Sam for a wonderful post on unRaid which made do this DIY server so big thanks to him and other who helped me in choosing components and patiently answering all my questions. Thanks guys !!!

I chose unRaid over other OS since I didn't want a Windows based system and liked the futures offered by unRaid. I am still running the free version but soon will be getting the pro version.

My Build:
Intel Core i3-2100T : Rs. 6996
ASUS P8B75-M LE Motherboard : Rs. 6438
Corsair CMPSU-500CXV2UK 500 Watts PSU : Rs. 3900
G.Skill RipjawsX DDR3 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) PC RAM (F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL) : Rs. 3190
Case : Antec 902 V3 and I think paid Rs 7500 for it
HDD : 3 WD Red 2TB each Rs 7,000

8 GB is waaaay tooooo much for unRaid and maybe I should have cut down on this. I took Antec 902 for its fan options and expandability. I could have gone for green drives but couldn't resist the new WD Red NAS drives. I got it for a cheaper rate from my friend.

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Case:
I selected antec 902 case as it has three fans (1 x Top 200 mm TriCool Blue LED 3-speed Fan, 2 x Front 120 mm Blue LED Fan with Front Control Knobs, 1 x Rear 120 mm TriCool Blue LED 3-speed Fan) and due to its expansion options. It has three drive cages and it gives me option to put 9 HDDs. Also these cages can be removed and replaced with bigger HDD cages, in future i'm planning for 3x5.25 to 5x3.5 cages. Hence the 500W PSU. Stock fans are very quite and currently using only couple of them.

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Build Pics

Motherboard with CPU and stock CPU cooler fan installed

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I connected everything outside the case to make sure all components are working as expected

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This is my first build, guess shows in my cable management

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I used couple of things from Amazon.UK

StarTech 2 Port USB Motherboard Header Adapter : With this I attached the USB drive directly in the MB, since unRaid OS runs in USB drive , i wanted to protect it from my son :)

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- Zalman ZM-MC1 Multi-connector PS to Add Fan : Since my MB didn't have enough fan headers used these connectors for my fans
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unRaid:
I am using unRAID 5.0-rc8a in free version. Soon I will be upgrading to pro version. Currently have 3 2TB HDDs out of which one is for Partity. I am also unMenu and SimpleFeatures plugins. Haven't done much expremients on unRaid and will doing adding more plugins soon. SABnzbd, SickBeard, and CouchPotoato are in the line.

I precleared each drive 3 times and took about 22 hrs for each drive.

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Problems:
- Having low data transfer speed via CAT6 , getting around 30-40 Mb/Sec which I feel is not good. I tired with couple of routers and its the same speed. I think it has to do something with MB NIC. Planning to get a seperate NIC
- I power down the system often and use unMenu for it. For the last few weeks for some reason unMenu is crashing. It brings up the page and the first half the page is fine but the rest I get "Webpage Not Available", need to check whats the issue is

Wish List:
- Upgrade to pro version soon
- New Nic
- iStarUSA BPN-DE350SS-BLUE 3x5.25 to 5x3.5 Trayless HDD cages and more drives

As always suggestions and feedback is most welcome....thanks again to everyone who helped with this build
 
Realtek are generally sucky NICs. That is the general consensus of all NAS users. Try and get a Intel 2100CT for around 2300. Do an iperf/jperf test on your NAS if Unraid supports Iperf/Jperf server.
 
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