Building A Media Server Looking For Advice

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Shadowwrath5

Shadowwrath5

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May 31, 2013
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As the title says Im looking to build a media server. I am familiar with the process of building a normal pc but in this build Im looking to include and have questions about:
1) a Raid setup (back everything up on the server)
2) low energy consumption (because it will always be on)
3) best type of hdd (1080p streming)
4) operating system (window 8.1 or a linux distribution)

The final server needs to be able to stream movies (in 1080p) and music to a xbox 360, ps3, laptops and desktops, Kodi tv (running on ubuntu), a pioneer receiver, and a tablet.

It doesnt need to be the most expensive thing in the world just effective and durable. Thanks for the help!
 
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M
HP's ProLiant MicroServer Gen8 G1610T's are reduced in price at the moment - Haswell Celeron (low-power version), and 4 drive bays. After cashback, they're around £120, so that's the first thing I'd look at, although you'll want to bump the RAM up to 8GB ECC (total cost will be about £200).


RAID does not protected against bit-rot, only full drive failure, so may not be the best solution. I would recommend you look at ZFS (software RAID with block-level checksums), instead. If you go RAID, either RAID-1 (mirrored) as it's cheap and simple, or RAID-6 (2 drive failure tolerant) - typically, if you have a failed drive, the extra strain of re-mirroring onto the new volume can cause...
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kanewolf

kanewolf

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May 29, 2013
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You can use a commercial NAS unit from any of the big three (Synology, Q-NAP, Thecus) to do what you want. If you are going to roll-you-own, then I would recommend Free-NAS, 8GB RAM, a Celeron or i3 CPU.
You will want to have the NAS connected via wired ethernet to your home network for performance. Streaming 1080p is iffy at best on wireless network. To stream 1080p use 5Ghz wireless or wired.
 
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M

martinch

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Mar 21, 2014
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HP's ProLiant MicroServer Gen8 G1610T's are reduced in price at the moment - Haswell Celeron (low-power version), and 4 drive bays. After cashback, they're around £120, so that's the first thing I'd look at, although you'll want to bump the RAM up to 8GB ECC (total cost will be about £200).


RAID does not protected against bit-rot, only full drive failure, so may not be the best solution. I would recommend you look at ZFS (software RAID with block-level checksums), instead. If you go RAID, either RAID-1 (mirrored) as it's cheap and simple, or RAID-6 (2 drive failure tolerant) - typically, if you have a failed drive, the extra strain of re-mirroring onto the new volume can cause another to fail.


T-series Intel chips, and a HDD that isn't from the "performance" line (although drive spin-down will help a lot).


The bit-rate required by a 1080p video stream is negligible, so I would imagine any. WD's Red's are supposed to be designed for NAS's and are quiet and energy efficient.


FreeNAS
 
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