(2012-04-03, 23:17)bigdog66 Wrote: (2012-04-03, 19:32)jdwoods Wrote: I am in the same boat.
Just purchased an N40L. Deciding if Unraid or WHS 2011 is the best way to go.
If I do go with Unraid, this is what I envision:
I will start out with 2 2TB (1 for storage, 1 for redundancy) drives, add a cache drive soon, and then expand the storage array.
Any input regarding which way to go - Unraid or WHS 2011? Any other tips?
Thanks.
cache drive does not come with the free version
if your concern is write speed then there are a few ways to look at it
the bulk of your writing at one time in the initial copy of data
if you have the means to copy data from existing to a new drive so that you still have a backup then i would copy first and then install the parity drive and hold on to your original copy until parity has synced
that way you get full write speeds
although write speeds are not as bad as they used to be so one drive worth of data even with parity in place will not be that bad
then daily copies after that can only be so much on any given day which makes the cache drive moot
if your goal with the cache was for other things like running apps on a non array drive or using cache dirs to hold a cache of your media so that when you browse from xbmc your drives do not need to spin up then that is something you have to weigh
i started with 3 drives to test out unraid and by the time i needed an additional drive i was completely satisfied and purchased a license
My path is very close to what you have just outlined.
I currently have data stored this way: 1 2TB drive, and 3-4 externals.
I will download and install the 3 Drive version of Unraid first.
Install 2 fresh 2TB drives in the N40L. (Pre Clear, etc)
Copy the data from the 2TB drive to the array.
After the copy has completed, I will then set up parity (either by deleting data on the original drive or purchasing an extra 2TB if $ permits).
Initially, I will operate Sab, Sick, Couch off the array and then move to the cache drive (and upgrade Unraid) when funds permit. But the idea is to cache media and operate apps (incomplete dls from sab and torrents) off of the cache drive to prevent the drives from constant spin up and spin down.
Other thougthts are:
Crashplan - for computers on the network
iPhoto library - for my macs.
Music Server.
Are you using Unraid 4.7 or 5 Beta?