Guide to Building an Unraid NAS
If you have built computers in the past or live in a household with multiple computers, you may want to build a NAS (Network Attached Storage) to provide storage accessible to all machines on the network. This can be used to run a media server, a game server, or simply a file server.
In this article, we will talk about how you effectively plan an Unraid build so you can avoid some common mistakes during the journey. Some hardware will be recommended for your build, and some good considerations for the server's future to ensure you don't build yourself into a corner. Some great resources for going further with your Unraid server will also be shared to keep you learning.
This post assumes that you have built computers or opened up one before to change some parts. But that is okay if you don't have experience with servers or storage.
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Planning out the build
The first step to getting started with your Unraid NAS build is to think about what hardware you want to use for this build. The key components we will think about are the storage and the compute (Docker containers and/or VMs) you plan to be doing on the machine to drive what hardware you want to buy.
The amount of storage you want on your machine is the first thing we want to consider. This will depend on your requirements; for example, if you are using it for media storage, you will want a lot of bulk storage using a set of spinning HDDs, but if you are using it for computing, you will want more fast SSD storage. Still, storage size may not be a concern for you.
Unraid Parity
One consideration in your build is Unraid OS requirements for a parity disk. This disk will store data about the data on all the other disks in your array to rebuild the data during a parity check. In Unraid, you can have either 1 or 2 parity disks for redundancy, which can be equal to or larger than the largest non-parity disk in use. You can find more in-depth docs on how parity works on Unraid below.
Computing on Unraid
For the computing component of the server, including the CPU and RAM. If you plan to use docker or KVM heavily on your machine, spec these components with a bit more resources. But if you are using your server just for a storage server in this area, you can save a lot of money on the ongoing costs of the extra energy to run those high-power components that are not being used.
Leave Room for Upgrades
Another consideration is leaving room for upgrades in your build if you need more storage. This can be done by leaving empty SATA slots on your motherboard.
If you have your build planned, consider again the importance of leaving room for upgrades in your system. Since Unraid is focused on storage, you will always want to ensure you have space to grow your machine's resources if needed.
This can be achieved by leaving one or two empty spots for hard drives or SSDs (for now). If you plan for this early, it will save you extra money later from having to get a new case or rebuild your system completely.
Recommended hardware
Now that we have covered what you need to be thinking about when planning your parts list let's cover what the recommended hardware, at a minimum, should be for your build to have a good stable system. For a mid-range Unraid build, you will want to get:
- A CPU with at least 1-2 cores and Hyper-threading support
- At least 512 MB RAM, 1-2 GB is recommended, and 4+ GB is recommended for certain Unraid add-ons and running large computing workloads if you get into VMS or docker containers.
- A modern motherboard with 6+ SATA ports, Gigabit Ethernet, and onboard video
- Hard drives of your choice (PATA or SATA)
- A USB memory stick of at least 512 MB, 1-2 GB is recommended
- A good quality power supply with a single 12+ volt rail and 80plus efficiency or better
- A case that is fit for your array size and has enough ventilation
Also, consider getting a PCI or PCIe SATA controller card for faster read/write speeds. The Promise TX4 is the most widely trusted PCI SATA controller card, but it is slow by today's standards. For a PCIe card, look for one that uses the latest SATA version.
If you're looking for other people's completed build and parts list, below are some hardware recommendations for a mid-range Unraid build for storage and virtualisation.
Wrapping Up
So now you should be close to having your Unraid server running or planning how to build one. For the future of your server, you can upgrade it or modify it more for your needs, so check out some of these great resources for educational content on administering Unraid.
Spaceinvader One Youtube channel
If you're looking to build your homelab or Unraid server, check out the following link for some HBA cards you can use to expand your NAS storage capability.
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