Unraid or Other for first server

[OptimusPrime]

I am building my first server. Using WD Red Plus 10GB drives. If my priorities are to have a multi-use machine and ensure I can take advantage of my 10Gbe network infrastructure. Do you suggest Unraid, or should I consider other systems? I am a hobbyist, not a professional.

[mindaboveall]

For what it’s worth, I just got done setting up my first build, which I’m about to do a write-up for. I tried some of the other options out there (FreeNAS, Synology’s OS, etc.) and found unRAID by far the easiest to get started with. There is a tiny amount of a learning curve, but just watching some of the “Spaceinvader One” videos is enough to make you proficient enough to do just about anything you’d want.

[OptimusPrime]

Thanks. I have since been counseled I’m not going to get very much more speed out of my mechanical drives, regardless of what I do, because the drives were the limiting factor, not my network. I was thinking RAID, but have since learned that RAID is no longer great for larger (10TB) drives.

Do you happen to know the fastest you can transfer between two machines via 10Gbe using mechanical drives?

[Aux]

I’m curious to understand about the 10TB RAID limitation you referenced.

Just one question in the ServerBuilds Discord and I was advised neither Unraid nor Raid had such a limitation.

I personally bought two 12TB drives for my own NK 4.0 and intend to use them with an Intel DC P3600 1.6 TB PCI-E NVME Solid State Drive for AppData (link) (spec link) and a 500GB SSD for cache.

Could you provide more context for the scenario where 10TB is a limit?

[JDM_WAAAT]

I’d use Unraid, there’s no issue with using any drive 10TB or larger.

Also, there’s zero reason to use Red Pro drives, just shuck WD externals.

[Official] WD External Shuckables - Price Tracking

Single Drive Enclosures [image] Notes: Price/TB is not everything. Density (TB/drive) has value as well. Expected Price = the expected price for the capacity. Do not purchase if the price is higher than the Expected Price! Easystore drives are a Best Buy exclusive. My Books rarely offer a better price than Easystore or Elements. WD Model Capacity Expected Price Expected Price/TB Lowest Price Lowest Price/TB Last Lowest Date, Source Amazon Ebay Best Buy B&H Newegg Easystore 8 TB $13…

[OptimusPrime]

@Aux context: did not say it was a limit. I’m being told traditional Raid is not reliable for larger drives

@JDM_WAAAT I did not purchase the pro drives. The Red Plus drives were on sale for the same price as shuckable drives I could find on the day I pulled the trigger. It would have been nice to save $40 a drive, but I’m okay with have the extra year of warranty.

I’m maxing out at 110MB/s on direct drive to drive transfers. Would using Unraid with a cache drive increase the speed? And if so, would the transfer speed slow back down once the cache drive is full?

Edit: My Red Plus 10TB drives were cheaper on sale the current prices in the chart. They are fluctuating +/- $20. I’ll have to check again around Christmas to see if prices drop for the end of the season for more. The drives I just bought are becoming my rotating offsite backup drives. I originally started thinking raid assuming a Raid 0 or Raid 5 would give me faster transfer speeds.