I have been running Unraid for a little over 1 year now but I am currently looking to move to Ubuntu/Ubuntu Server.
I have converted all my docker containers in docker-compose files and have used ansible playbooks to set up configuration/create users for all the services.
I still need to learn ZFS, Samba (SMB shares), and VM’s (maybe proxmox?)
My question is I’ve seen a little bit about TruNAS in the past and I’m wondering if there is any reason I should give it some consideration or if I should just continue down my Ubuntu/Ubuntu Server path?
For context one of the main reasons I wanted to move away from Unraid was the booting from usb/none of my changes persisting on the OS. I also wanted to use the traditional user/permission system for linux. (managing access based on users, running apps with individual users, etc.)
Plus I just thought it would be fun/cool to try out plain linux and it also seems less bloated to me.
If you want to learn, go for Ubuntu Server and install ZFS, SMB, etc. yourself. Learning and using everything via the terminal is a great way to be ready for everything in the future.
If you just want a “just works” storage/virtualization server, go for TrueNAS or Proxmox.
Proxmox is very easy and fast on the virtualization side of things. That’s what it was built for. Proxmox is not designed to be a storage server. But you can use ZFS from the CLI and make an SMB/NFS server VM/Container, e.g. with Cockpit to get a nice WebUI.
Proxmox uses local storage transparently and you don’t really need to interact with it. Just select storage on VM creation, done.
A dedicated hypervisor is nice. Because from there, you can just create as much VMs as you like and run whatever you like to run. A solid and flexible foundation.
Proxmox + Ubuntu Server VM? You don’t always have to choose, you can take both as well
@Exard3k
I think I will install proxmox on another machine this weekend and play around with that.
I’ve never used it before but it is probably a good choice since I do want an easier way to spin up VMs if I every want/need to play with something new.
If all goes well I will run proxmox with ubuntu/ubuntu server VMs (1 for storage and another for applications probably).
One question I do have is how would the storage access work between VMs? If I have zfs pools set up in 1 vm how would I access it from other VMs? Would it be over the network or is there a way to pass those resources to other VMs inside proxmox?
For these I more so mean things like using cron or other general changes in linux. Usually you can just make these changes on any linux OS but since unraid boots off a usb I ended up having to use plugins to achieve things like this.
Unraid has been great and I would definitely recommend for anyone starting out. I don’t think I would have made it this far without starting there first but at this point I want to try out explore some other options where I have more control. Could be fun and I’ll also learn some new stuff along the way I’m sure.
I did install proxmox over the weekend and have been playing with it since, I think this will be the plan going forward.
I was able to pass through each hard drive individually to an ubuntu VM and create a zpool there but I also just purchased an LSI 9305 16i so that I can just pass the entire card through. (Plus this will future proof if/when I want to get an HL15 case from 45 drives/homelab)
I have to say though proxmox is absolutely amazing so far. Just needed to get over the hardware passthrough hurdle but every past that has been smooth sailing so far.
I’m familiar with Ubuntu through work, but not Ubuntu Server, and don’t know if I’d really need to go US over the original Ubuntu. What did you go for in the end?
If resources are not an issue, TrueNas Scale seems nice, but not under 8GB of ram, also if you want to go with any distro barebones like ubuntu/debian/etc you need to keep in mind that most of your maintinance will be done manually via ssh, and if you expirience storage pool issues, you’re responsable for reporting and stuff before its too late. In order for people to suggest good option for your usecase, be more precise with intended use. in any case barebones uses ~50% less ram tho and boots a lot faster even on spinning rust
