I perused the plugin store. It has the software I use but only really for older unRAID versions. the new 6.2+ version requires you use Docker for everything I need. While I am relatively ok with Docker, Id rather not use it for everything I do as it gets quite complicated.
Been pricing out a Synology NAS solutionā¦I think I want to stick with my current setup of EXT4/LVM2. Im looking at over 1K all told.
DS918+ ~$549
4GB RAM module to bump it to 8GB: $74
2 SSDs for Read and Write cache: $209 x2
UPS: ~$300
Total: ~$1334
Alternatively, if I go my current route, I already have a PSU and CPU (assuming my Ryzen APU will work for what I want to do).
My PSU is a Seasonic FOCUS Gold 550W with a 10 year warranty 
Fully modular.
Here is my current part out: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/ggYqdX
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
| Type | Item | Price |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | AMD - Ryzen 5 2400G 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor | Purchased For $0.00 |
| Motherboard | ASRock - Fatal1ty X470 Gaming-ITX/ac Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard | $169.99 @ Newegg |
| Memory | Kingston - FURY 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory | $93.99 @ Newegg |
| Storage | Crucial - MX500 250GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive | $69.99 @ Newegg |
| Case | BitFenix - Prodigy (Black) Mini ITX Tower Case | Purchased For $0.00 |
| Power Supply | SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Platinum 550W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply | Purchased For $0.00 |
| Other | LSI 9300-8i PCI-Express 3.0 SATA / SAS 8-Port SAS3 12Gb/s HBA - SingleāAvago Technologies | $208.99 |
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts | ||
| Total | $542.96 | |
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-06-24 06:04 EDT-0400 |
Thoughts? @Marten @noenken @Adubs @DeusQain
The M.2 is for the OS. This will allow me to dedicate more SATA ports to the Storage drives.
An Alternative to the SAS card is this: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817576027
It would allow me to have an external Type-c 4 bay drive enclosure and open up the PCIe for a possible GPU for hardware encoding should the APU GPU not work.
On the Synology: I donāt know if you actually see a big difference in performance with the SSD caches, pretty sure not for media usage.
The board is way to much for a NAS, you can run that on a board that is one quarter the price. Even the B350 version of that thing is significantly less money. Honestly, I would ditch the case and open up the build for any board.
And is that really the cheapest memory?
Get a used LSI controller on ebay, it is half the price.
The board was selected specifically because it has Ryzen 2k support baked in. I therefore do not need to worry if the board I bought (1st gen) has an updated BIOS or not.
The RAM selected was the cheapest āgoodā RAM that passed QVL. I went with a single 8GB DIMM to allow upgrading in the future without having to replace 2x4GB DIMMS.
I could easily do the controller. I just put it in there as a place holder.
As for the Synology SSD Caches, they are primarily for the Emby server which transcodes damn near everything it streams. The Emby forums have several mentions of SSD caching being very beneficial not only in transcoding but in general media access. Also, in the downloads side of things, caching the writes to the SSD (Write drive), would improve the writes to the drive arrays and hopefully cut down on drive thrashing. Especially if someone is consuming media at the same time as it is downloading and writing.
I am looking to go with a mITX build specifically to cut down on the number of large computer cases I have in my small apartment.
I have added a photo of my current Desktop and Server setup. The Server is on the right. I already have a massive case.
Well that is definitely the wrong ITX case for that.
ITX on a budget is the wrong way on AM4.
how is a case that is about half the size of the current case the wrong case?
not to mention, I am trying to make use of cases I already own.
I already own the prodigy. It was used in another build for a family member.
Ive been trying to find someone to buy my Corsair 600T from me locally so I can downsize without adding clutter to my closet. I still have the prodigy and at least 1 additional empty case in there plus 2 old PCs.
The extra case is an old NZXT Source case.
If I can make use of hardware I already have, I can cut down on the cost of the upgrade.
As it is, once I upgrade this server, I will be either buying or building a Router and buying a Ubiquity WAP. I will also be upgrading my desktop from an i7-4770K to a Ryzen 2700X as my 4770K is bottlenecking the hell out of my GTX 1080.
Following that, I will be building and HTPC for my folks.
The only alternative route I could see would be to use the Ryzen 5 2400G for the HTPC, upgrade my Desktop first, use the 4770k for the server, and go from there. But I would still be left with trying to downsize my Server case footprint as the 4770K is housed in a Gigabyte GA-Z87X board. so, the case would still be large.
The prodigy is not a small case at all. And like I said, ITX on AM4 is expensive, now way around that.
My advice: Sell the prodigy, get an mATX case, put in an Asus A320M-K for fourty bucks or so. Does the same job, isnāt any bigger and saves a ton of money.
DSM wont do that. You have to use SHR or BTRFS.
The bitfenix case only has a possible 6 drives if you populated every bay including your 5.25. Why bother with an 8 port controller?
The m.2 is going to cost you sata ports on the board. I dont get the logic there. m.2 usually shares its BW with sata on smaller boards.
I believe @LinuxMaster9 was saying that after pricing out the Synology, going with custom hardware and LVM2/EXT4 makes more sense.
I think the issue is about physical ports and not bandwidth. m.2 is overkill for OS-only, but if your Emby cache is on there, then I think it makes more sense.
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Thats what im saying. Youd lose a physical port for using m.2
Oh, yeah, if thatās the case then no point really. Although for $70, itās not an insane indulgence.
find me a buyer for a used Prodigy and ill take your suggestion seriously.
I have cases to burn. I dont want to add more to my collection if I can help it.
As for the A320M-K, does it OOTB support the Ryzen 5 2400G?
in this case, it does not appear to affect the SATA ports. Nothing in the manual or specifications indicates that you lose a SATA port for using the m.2.
Also, the SATA expansion card is a placeholder. It shows I could drop in one if I needed. I could also populate it with a TV Tuner card that I have for a GPU.
If thats the case then thats pretty nice.
Docker is less complicated once you wrap your head around it, thatās the point of containerizing everything. You can also of course just run a linux VM and put everything in there. That applies to both unraid and freeNAS.
I agree with your thoughts on finding a motherboard that guaranteed supports 2nd gen Zen. I would find that really annoying too.
With only 8GB RAM Unraid is probably the best choice, but if you plan to add more RAM later on FreeNAS is without a doubt better technology.
I believe @LinuxMaster9 is set on manually configuring LVM2 in order to accommodate the disparate drive sizes.
Could easily run docker on it since itās just a Linux box now.
i have configured another build using a different case and Intel:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
| Type | Item | Price |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Intel - Pentium G4560 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor | $57.75 @ Newegg Marketplace |
| Motherboard | ASRock - H270M-ITX/ac Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard | $98.98 @ Newegg |
| Memory | G.Skill - NT Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory | $77.98 @ Newegg |
| Storage | Western Digital - Blue 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $54.99 |
| Case | Silverstone - CS380 ATX Mid Tower Case | $121.21 @ Newegg |
| Power Supply | SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Gold 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply | Purchased For $0.00 |
| Case Fan | Noctua - NF-F12 industrialPPC-3000 PWM 109.9 CFM 120mm Fan | $22.99 @ Newegg |
| Case Fan | Noctua - NF-F12 industrialPPC-3000 PWM 109.9 CFM 120mm Fan | $22.99 @ Newegg |
| Case Fan | Noctua - NF-F12 industrialPPC-3000 PWM 109.9 CFM 120mm Fan | $22.99 @ Newegg |
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts | ||
| Total | $479.88 | |
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-06-24 14:00 EDT-0400 |
for the LVM2 setup, i can simply transfer my drives and it will recognize the setup. No need to manually configure it. I can also drop my drives in whichever order i want. similar to a jbod
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Yeah, I think itās the obvious choice for you.
That would work fine, if you donāt care about redundancy. I would consider an i3-8100 over the G4560, double the core-count for only fifty bucks more. Would help in case you want to run VMs later on. Could also get less premium fans and save a bunch of money there.