Media Server replacement

VenomIreland

The drives in my old Media Server are on the way out (don't go Seagate friends) and instead of just replacing them I'm looking at doing a total rebuild.

1. What is your budget? ~€1000

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? Media Server/File Storage, using PLEX, Sabnzbd, Sonarr, Couchpotato and Transmission. Also with a Teamspeak server for myself and friends.

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? No, server will most likely be running Ubuntu Server or some Debian variant

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? Yes, 4GB of DDR3, a 128GB Crucial m4, an ASRock B75M (mATX), a Celeron G1620, a 430W Corsair PSU and a Fractal Design Core 1000

5. Do you need a monitor? No

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? RAID card might be nice, unsure about going RAID6

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? No, server is currently in a bedroom and will be on 24/7, so heat and power are a concern

8. How can you pay? Bank Transfer or Debit/Credit

9. When are you purchasing? Within 2 months, potentially 3


I have read through ED-E's attempts for a server here and I'd probably be looking for something similar. I'm unsure how to proceed with regards to RAID. I've learned from my current server that redundancy is something I'd appreciate.

ED E

€1000 inc drives or excluding, and how many TB's you targeting?

VenomIreland

ED E wrote: »

€1000 inc drives or excluding, and how many TB's you targeting?

Including, looking for about 8TB or so.

ED E

If your 'nix is good then a software array like zfs or btrfs might be a good option, otherwise you can fork over a rake of cash on hardware raid.

With case and SSD to throw into the mix you can afford a fair bit. If its in your room then the board I used(hat tip to Seph) is a really great option. Theres a new gen of them coming soon.

VenomIreland

ED E wrote: »

If your 'nix is good then a software array like zfs or btrfs might be a good option, otherwise you can fork over a rake of cash on hardware raid.

With case and SSD to throw into the mix you can afford a fair bit. If its in your room then the board I used(hat tip to Seph) is a really great option. Theres a new gen of them coming soon.

I had a look at ZFS and it certainly looks good, unsure how that's implemented in Linux but I was looking at FreeNAS guide to it. To be honest I'm not 100% yet on RAID or ZFS, RAID6 at the least would be very expensive to do.

If the price for that board is roughly the same as what you paid for yours, it'd be a pretty good setup, performance for the C2750 is slightly better than the Celeron I have currently, but way better for multicore stuff.

ED E

Unfortunately the exchange rate will hurt you a little, but if you wait for WD Reds to go on sale on amazon you could counteract that.

VenomIreland

ED E wrote: »

Unfortunately the exchange rate will hurt you a little, but if you wait for WD Reds to go on sale on amazon you could counteract that.

How low do you think they'll go? I'm also not sure about RAIDZ1 or Z2. I understand Z2 is much more safe, but makes the price uncomfortably high, while using 3 4TB drives in an array is much more affordable.

ED E

I've been tracking the 3's, nothing great yet, but its about time with the 5 8 and 10s coming on stream.

Current £84.99 Jul 25, 2015
Highest * £284.20 Aug 29, 2012
Lowest * £35.31 Oct 03, 2013

Serephucus

I have the 4s on price watch. They actually want to around £55... for about five seconds. I went to order the second I got the email, but the price had already jumped back up.

As for the hardware... what ED said. You should probably look into unRAID/FlexRAID for cold storage though. It's much lighter than ZFS. I'd use something like RAID1 or ZFS for more critical stuff.

Wossack

Big fan of unRAID - even more so with the native Docker support added in v6

been using it for years, with the same set of 1TB WD green disks, which are slowly being upgraded as I run out of space. Started out with 5 or 6, and Ive only 2 originals left I think. Something unheard of in a hardware raid set up (swapping/upgrading individual disks)

TheDoc

I built a HTPC running Kodi, 720p (I specifically went for a 720p build) that set me back circa €300(i cant remember if it was 300 or 400, but sure it was 300) from Amazon. Can find my post with the part list if your interested in something on the cheaper side, but to re-iterate I wanted a 720p build, so it doesnt handle 1080p great.

Cuddlesworth

Avoton, some more ram and 2*WD reds?

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asrock-c2750d4i-intel-intel-octa-core-avoton-c2750-ddr3-sata-iii-6gb-s-d-sub-mini-itx

deceit

With hosting a teamspeak server don't forget to budget in a firewall for this to ensure that it's separate from the rest of your network.

ED E

deceit wrote: »

With hosting a teamspeak server don't forget to budget in a firewall for this to ensure that it's separate from the rest of your network.

Why, is TS very vulnerable?

VenomIreland

Serephucus wrote: »

You should probably look into unRAID/FlexRAID for cold storage though. It's much lighter than ZFS. I'd use something like RAID1 or ZFS for more critical stuff.

Wossack wrote: »

Big fan of unRAID - even more so with the native Docker support added in v6

been using it for years, with the same set of 1TB WD green disks, which are slowly being upgraded as I run out of space. Started out with 5 or 6, and Ive only 2 originals left I think. Something unheard of in a hardware raid set up (swapping/upgrading individual disks)

Had a quick look at unRAID, certainly seems interesting but I'm unsure how the setup would go, or how Docker works. Any guides written for either that are decent?

Serephucus

FlexRAID installs on top of Windows (which some like, some don't). It's - almost - drag-and-drop setup from there.

VenomIreland

Serephucus wrote: »

FlexRAID installs on top of Windows (which some like, some don't). It's - almost - drag-and-drop setup from there.

Well, I really don't think I'll be putting Windows on the server, unRAID looks more likely. That being said, messing around with Hyper-V and Active Directory on a Windows server would be interesting too, but I have no idea how running a headless windows server is, I enjoy being able to do any administration on my server via SSH.

ED E

VenomIreland wrote: »

Well, I really don't think I'll be putting Windows on the server, unRAID looks more likely. That being said, messing around with Hyper-V and Active Directory on a Windows server would be interesting too, but I have no idea how running a headless windows server is, I enjoy being able to do any administration on my server via SSH.

RDP isnt too bad, and with the Asrock IPMI you *never* have to attach a screen to it, even for OS install.

deceit

ED E wrote: »

Why, is TS very vulnerable?

Not Particularly but when you open ports into your network it generally makes you vulnerable to attacks.
You are telling hackers you exist and without proper security you are putting your network at risk. Without a proper firewall up in front of it they will eventually get in if they really want to.

ED E

deceit wrote: »

Not Particularly but when you open ports into your network it generally makes you vulnerable to attacks.
You are telling hackers you exist and without proper security you are putting your network at risk. Without a proper firewall up in front of it they will eventually get in if they really want to.

Obviously if you dont have the need stealthed is best, but its not an insane risk to ports for required services as long as the listener is safe. Once you keep the host patched and watched for CVEs it cant be called "Dangerous".

Wossack

VenomIreland wrote: »

Had a quick look at unRAID, certainly seems interesting but I'm unsure how the setup would go, or how Docker works. Any guides written for either that are decent?

Theres a good wiki page:

http://lime-technology.com/wiki/index.php/UnRAID_Wiki
http://lime-technology.com/wiki/index.php/UnRAID_Manual_6
etc

but anything specific I might be able to help you out with

deceit

ED E wrote: »

Obviously if you dont have the need stealthed is best, but its not an insane risk to ports for required services as long as the listener is safe. Once you keep the host patched and watched for CVEs it cant be called "Dangerous".

I have a Teamspeak server in one of my honey pots. It is constantly patched asap and the firewall is set to log only. The first time an attacker got in was 117 days after it was up. Admittedly I didn't lock down the OS in anyway though, it was just a standard server install but was patched. It was running the latest version of teamspeak btw, I believe one version back had a cv that allowed attackers to crash the server at will but not get access.

Wossack

Could look at hosting teamspeak on a dedicated vm/docker to limit potential damage?

deceit

Wossack wrote: »

Could look at hosting teamspeak on a dedicated vm/docker to limit potential damage?

This would be a better option as security would be included, up-time would be higher and limits the risks to your network.

VenomIreland

Wossack wrote: »

Could look at hosting teamspeak on a dedicated vm/docker to limit potential damage?

That's the plan if I go with unraid!

VenomIreland

I'm wondering if I might just stick with the hardware I have right now (bar the case as it can only mount 2 3.5" drives) and get a couple of 3 or 4TB Drives to use with UnRAID. PLEX performance is more than acceptable with this Celeron.

VenomIreland

I've been reading up more and so far it looks like I'll be going snapraid on top of Ubuntu Server/Debian/CentOS. Looking at 3 3tb drives, plus one more as the snapraid parity drive