first server build

[Stryver]

so I have zero experience with servers and thought this would be a fun way to learn more. I am ready to pull the trigger on this just hate to buy stuff i cant use. 

plan is to use this for media and some light work files but be quick. would like multiple users to stream at once and be able to access files remote over a LTE hotspot on my laptop. 

I am going with the mini ITX to fit in the case. Not sure about what OS or raid to use but can add more hard drives if i need to. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 3 3200G 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor	$91.97 @ Amazon
CPU Cooler	Noctua NH-L9a-AM4 33.84 CFM CPU Cooler	$39.90 @ Amazon
Motherboard	Asus ROG Strix B450-I Gaming Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard
Memory	G.Skill Trident Z RGB 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory	$92.99 @ Newegg
Storage	Samsung 970 Evo Plus 250 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	$84.99 @ Amazon
Storage	Seagate IronWolf NAS 6 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	$151.99 @ Adorama
Storage	Seagate IronWolf NAS 6 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	$151.99 @ Adorama
Case	Corsair 1000D ATX Full Tower Case	$546.00 @ Amazon
Power Supply	Silverstone 500 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular SFX Power Supply	$113.66 @ B&H
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$1273.49
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-05-10 01:06 EDT-0400

 

[Joseph .M 101]

Everything you specified looks like it should be OK for a run-of-the-mill Plex server. Not sure if I would consider that server grade though, but it does the job.

Just expect to pay a bit more on your internet bill if you're going to have people streaming from the server outside of your network. Some providers are lenient about this; depends on who you use. Also, you'll want to make sure you put extra security in place for outside access. You know, better safe than sorry.

 

For a media server, I would recommend looking into Plex. You can create a Plex server on Windows, however, I'd suggest using something like TrueNAS that's completely free and doesn't have a ton of extra stuff going on in the background like Windows does. TrueNAS does take a bit of work to get running, and there's a bit of a learning curve if you're not very familiar with Unix-like operating systems like Linux and BSD (which TrueNAS Core is based on). However, there are tons of tutorials to get you up and running, and the UI is actually fairly intuitive. Although you will need another computer to configure TrueNAS.

Edited June 14, 2022 by Joseph .M 101
Make information more relevant

[Raptor21]

Did you consider also using the server as a backup solution? Or consider the usage of ECC ram if so? 

[Stryver]

5 hours ago, Joseph .M 101 said:

Just expect to pay a lot for your internet bill if you're going to have people streaming from the server outside of your network. 

So for this to work I am going to need a very fast internet connection or multiple services bonded together? 

5 hours ago, Joseph .M 101 said:

For something like this, I would recommend using something like FreeNAS. It's open-source, free, and relatively easy to use. Not only that but there are hundreds if not thousands of tutorials online on how to use and configure FreeNAS as a media streaming server.

i will check into that. 

 

what is the best raid for a NAS and would i need more ram if i play with a game server?

[Stryver]

2 hours ago, Raptor21 said:

Did you consider also using the server as a backup solution? Or consider the usage of ECC ram if so? 

Like backing up my main PC? No, but its a great idea. 

for ECC ram would i need a server board?

[Stryver]

5 hours ago, Joseph .M 101 said:

Just expect to pay a lot for your internet bill if you're going to have people streaming from the server outside of your network.

If i used all SSD's not in raid, and when i get one full just set it to read only so it doesn't wear out. would this help with slower internet speeds?

[Electronics Wizardy]

29 minutes ago, Stryver said:

what is the best raid for a NAS and would i need more ram if i play with a game server?

with 2 drives, your only real options are 1 and 0, and Id go raid 1 here. 

 

6 minutes ago, Stryver said:

If i used all SSD's not in raid, and when i get one full just set it to read only so it doesn't wear out. would this help with slower internet speeds?

SSD won't really affect internet speeds at all. 

 

Also don't worry about ssd endurance here, it really won't be an issue

 

28 minutes ago, Stryver said:

Like backing up my main PC? No, but its a great idea. 

for ECC ram would i need a server board?

Yea super easy to setup backups of your main hdd and other systems

 

10 hours ago, Stryver said:

Storage Seagate IronWolf NAS 6 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive $151.99 @ Adorama Storage Seagate IronWolf NAS 6 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive $151.99 @ Adorama

How much storage do you need? Id personally go with those shucked external drives as there cheaper, but those will work fine. Id still get bigger disks so its easier to upgrade and cheaper.

 

10 hours ago, Stryver said:

rage Samsung 970 Evo Plus 250 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive $84.99 @ Amazon

Is this just your boot drive? Probably way overkill. A cheaper ssd will do this just fine.

[Stryver]

4 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

with 2 drives, your only real options are 1 and 0, and Id go raid 1 here. 

I can get more if a different raid is better.

4 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

SSD won't really affect internet speeds at all. 

i just thought if it made the nas more responsive it might compensate for a slower internet connection

4 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

 

Yea super easy to setup backups of your main hdd and other systems

is it just added software i would add to freenas

4 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

How much storage do you need? Id personally go with those shucked external drives as there cheaper, but those will work fine. Id still get bigger disks so its easier to upgrade and cheaper.

i would be happy with 6 or 8 for now.

4 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

 

Is this just your boot drive? Probably way overkill. A cheaper ssd will do this just fine.

yes i just figured i needed something dependable for main

[Electronics Wizardy]

1 hour ago, Stryver said:

i just thought if it made the nas more responsive it might compensate for a slower internet connection

Won't relly help, most home internet connections are so slow, that a hdd would be the limiting factor.

 

1 hour ago, Stryver said:

I can get more if a different raid is better.

If you only need 8tb of storage, raid 1 is probably the best

 

1 hour ago, Stryver said:

is it just added software i would add to freenas

Depends on how you want to do it. Easiest way it probably to let the client manage it with something liek veeam.

 

 

[Joseph .M 101]

On 5/10/2020 at 11:59 AM, Stryver said:

So for this to work I am going to need a very fast internet connection or multiple services bonded together? 

Having a faster internet connection can help with streaming from outside of your home. However, for within your home, your intranet connection should be faster. If that's your primary concern, I'd say don't worry about it too much. If your upload speed is faster than ~8 megabits per second (Mbit/s), streaming 720p video should be fine. 1080p might be fine as well.

 

On 5/10/2020 at 11:59 AM, Stryver said:

what is the best raid for a NAS

Based on your parts list, RAID 1 would be your best bet. RAID 1 is essentially volume mirroring; all drives have the exact same data. The thing is that because you only have two hard drives, RAID 1 is your only option if redundancy is your concern.

 

Also, and please keep this in mind because some people tend to forget: RAID is not a backup.