Plex + Unraid + vm windows 10/vpn?

General Discussions
1

I plan on building a new plex server in January. I like the idea of using unraid, easy to use and really like the idea of adding any hdd at any given time to the system while maintaining the nas features.

So my idea is to combine unraid with plex to basically have a plex server and a nas all in one. I know this can be done and by the looks of it it’s pretty simple. However where I run into trouble, is that I would also like to download torrents and have vpn enabled, but not on the same OS the plex server is on. I was thinking about making a vm on unraid for windows 10, using PIA vpn on windows 10 and just dedicate that os to torrenting while unraid does its thing with plex and hdd’s.

So my question is, will a vm windows 10 bottleneck my plex server at all? I want the plex server side to be passmark free basically and have it able to stream around 4-6 streams at a time, and yes lets just assume all those streams need transcoded and only one stream is in the same room. How many cores should I assign the windows 10 vm and how much ram? When I assign cores does that mean unraid is unable to use those cores or is it just letting windows 10 use the cores when and if ever needed but unraid can use them too?

I’m fairly new to vm and unraid altogether, my other idea is to just have the unraid nas/plex server one on box and get a raspberry pi to be my little torrent box, which one would be best? To go vm or to go raspberry pi for torrenting/vpn?

Heres the specs I’m thinking of getting btw

i7 6700k
16gb ddr4 ram
ssd for cache and vm windows 10
6 * 4tb red nas hdds
Gold power supply 600w probably seasonic ( I know I don’t need much for power but I tend to just like the safe side of things)
Still deciding on a case, like it to be silent and cool temperature yet easily accessible for hdds
Cpu cooler
Bluray drive for ripping (maybe)
Good motherboard with plenty of sata ports.

Also is plex server a good fit for unraid dock? It works great on windows 10 so far…

2

You lost me at “unRAID”. Not a fan of these fake RAID solutions that give a false sense of security. Most of their advocates have never had to deal with an actually hardware failure yet, or are unable to connect the dots as to where their silent corruption is coming from.

There are better ways to combine NAS+PMS into a single box, without the overhead of virtualization and getting real RAID, far better than the fake RAID unRAID provides. My build is one such example.

3

Freenas crossed my mind as well, was primarily attracted to unraid for its simplicity of adding hdds at any given time. I’ll definitely have to take a good look at my options for os’s and the raids they allow. I think I may go with a raspberry pi in the end for tor-renting, always wanted to mess with one of those little guys anyways. Hmmm decisions decisions…

4

@cgaul656 said:
I think I may go with a raspberry pi in the end for tor-renting, always wanted to mess with one of those little guys anyways. Hmmm decisions decisions…

The Pi is nice. We use one as our primary Plex client attached to the 75" in the living room. Although some people still use the Roku out of laziness and the easier remote.