Hi Guys
I have a Gen 8 HP microserver with CPU upgrade to Xeon E3 1220L and 8gig ram, running Xpenology, although this runs very well I am uneasy about the dangers of running a “hacked” O/S and would feel more secure with a lefit operating system, am I wrong?
I use my server as a media server only with PMS, Couch Potato, Sonarr, Heaphones and Sabnzbd being the only apps. I have considered Unraid 6, some Linux Distro’s and even a Win server 2012 ROK. I level of Knowledge of Linux is basic/novice user and Unraid total newb.
Any advice, experiences or opinions greatfully received.
Thanks
R
How many drives do you have? Is the memory ECC?
I’m a fan of FreeNAS, but it has some specific hardware requirements and your computer might not fit the bill. You’d probably want 16GB RAM minimum too. I’m not a fan of unRAID.
Use whatever you’re most comfortable with.
@sremick said:
How many drives do you have? Is the memory ECC?I’m a fan of FreeNAS, but it has some specific hardware requirements and your computer might not fit the bill. You’d probably want 16GB RAM minimum too. I’m not a fan of unRAID.
Hi
thanks guys, I have only 8gig of ram (ECC though).4 x 3tb WD red drives
Best wishes
R
I run Unraid with plex and all usual add ons 
on a Gen 8 HP micro server with a xeon 1265v2 and 8 Gb ram with no issues at all
I don’t know about the memory usage of all your other apps.
My PMS usage patterns are limited. At most 2 users are streaming transcoded content at a time. Most of the time, most content plays with Direct Play (no transcoding).
If leanness/efficiency/security/stability is important to you, Ubuntu Server 14.04 LTS has served me well.
By using Ubuntu Server 14.04 LTS (64bit), administered over SSH, I’ve been able to comfortably run PMS within 1GB of RAM (including the operating system’s background tasks).
You could say 1.5GB if you want to know that there is a bit of unused ram. I have 8GB installed but I am performing other tasks (like virtual machines, in-home minecraft server).
On an another note, the next Long Term Support version of Ubuntu is coming out in April. So Ubuntu 14.04 will have a supported upgrade path to 16.04, the next LTS.
If simplicity is king among all things, maybe you should stick with Windows Server. It is reasonably lean (0.5-1.0GB for operating system tasks, when Windows Updates are not churning the hard disk), reasonably stable, and super easy to administer. Minimum ram for PMS and Windows feels like it should be 2GB or more.
Hi Deadly
Thank you for your very informative response, I am not sure my Linux ability level is up to a headless SSH access, I am more used to a more user friendly GUI for remote access.
I previously, on my gen7 N54L had windows home server which was ok, but when I upgraded hardware I found this was no longer available and that Windows Server 2012 ROK had a massive price difference.
I find Xpenology works and looks well, but am very uncomfortable with constant threat of time bomb or need to wait for updates due to the nature of the O/S sources.
Thank you again for your help.
R
I use OpenMediaVault, which is based on Debian 7 and I am pretty happy with it. The administration can mostly be done from a web GUI. You just need ssh if you want to do some advanced stuff.
Of course running on an oldstable comes with some drawbacks. You only get security updates and no new fancy stuff. They also only provide the most recent non PLEX pass version of PLEX in the GUI.
I would say OpenMediaVault is great if you value stability and ease of use over always having the latest versions of your applications.
@Nutellaeis said:
I use OpenMediaVault, which is based on Debian 7 and I am pretty happy with it. The administration can mostly be done from a web GUI. You just need ssh if you want to do some advanced stuff.
Of course running on an oldstable comes with some drawbacks. You only get security updates and no new fancy stuff. They also only provide the most recent non PLEX pass version of PLEX in the GUI.I would say OpenMediaVault is great if you value stability and ease of use over always having the latest versions of your applications.
I use windows 7 for Plex in a VM and openmediavault for the storage
I’m a strong proponent of using the OS you know the best. PMS has enough issues on it’s own to master and trying to master an OS at the same time just adds a layer of complexity that just add to the frustrations.
Unless you are really well versed in Linux, the permissions for it working correctly “out of the box” are likely to cause you no end of confusion.
Use the OS you know and if you want something different, learn that OS on a different machine. When you get comfortable with it, migrate your PMS to the new OS.
Hi
Great info guys, I have been watching youtube videos of Freenas and openmediavault. Mike, thank you for response I am very familiar with Xpenology now and its very good, but really worry about the fact its hacked Synology and security. I think buying win server 2012 would be overkill, also looked at Amahi.
Really appreciate your pointers guys.
R
I personally run Ubuntu server and have everything configured up via ssh, though it takes a bit of time and effort to set it up and figure out how to configure all the different services. If you want something that just works take a look at this http://lifehacker.com/what-operating-system-should-i-use-for-my-diy-home-serv-1671385076
@redwoodpc said:
I am not sure my Linux ability level is up to a headless SSH access, I am more used to a more user friendly GUI for remote access.
FreeNAS is done exclusively through a web GUI:
Hi
|I chose Unraid in the end and love it,
R
Just joining the chorus of “Use the OS you’re most comfortable with,” so you can get Plex right without needing to worry about the rest as much.
