Plex/File Server

[Turkeybowl]

I am planning on building a home server to function as a Plex server and file server/NAS.

For Plex, I anticipate 2-3 clients needing transcoding regularly, with possibly a 4th on occasion. My home is wired for gigabit, and I'll be getting a switch to connect each room, and 2 ports to aggregate to the server (if possible).

For file serving the primary function will be for backups of 2-3 computers daily, and file storage. Access will be both LAN and over the Internet.

Please have a look at my components and let me know if there are any issues, unreliable parts, things missing, or if I'm just wishful thinking in what this machine will do.

A few notes on components I've picked.
SSD- Operating system and program installs.
HDD- Set up in RAID 5, with room for expansion as media library grows and higher file sizes come into use with more HD and UHD content.
Graphics- I have a 780Ti I plan on putting in the machine as it is an 'old' card I don't have a use for anymore.
Case - Fractal Define R3 I have from an old PC.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($159.99 @ Micro Center)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 EXTREME6 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($146.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Tactical 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Mushkin Reactor 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($90.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Red 4TB 3.5" 5900RPM Internal Hard Drive ($154.00 @ B&H)
Storage: Western Digital Red 4TB 3.5" 5900RPM Internal Hard Drive ($154.00 @ B&H)
Storage: Western Digital Red 4TB 3.5" 5900RPM Internal Hard Drive ($154.00 @ B&H)
Storage: Western Digital Red 4TB 3.5" 5900RPM Internal Hard Drive ($154.00 @ B&H)
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts Platinum 550W 80+ Platinum Certified ATX Power Supply ($76.93 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 OEM (64-bit) ($133.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1314.76
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-17 03:16 EDT-0400

 

[XavierMace]

Graphics card is unneeded. Overall the system is pretty overspec'd, but if you've got the money, I'm never going to tell somebody not to buy a faster computer. LOL.

My Plex/File Server is running as a VM on one of my ESX hosts. Effectively it's a 2.66Ghz Quad Core with 8Gb of RAM. Works great, streaming locally and over the internet.

 

[Homerboy]

Graphics card is unneeded. Overall the system is pretty overspec'd, but if you've got the money, I'm never going to tell somebody not to buy a faster computer. LOL.

My Plex/File Server is running as a VM on one of my ESX hosts. Effectively it's a 2.66Ghz Quad Core with 8Gb of RAM. Works great, streaming locally and over the internet.

Agreed -- way over spec'ed. I'm running Plex on an old quad core Intel and 4GB RAM on Windows 8.1. Usually 2-3 max clients. If you're streaming locally, and to the proper types of devices using direct play, it shouldn't even be transcoding.

But hey, if you got the money, all the power to ya too.
What you have will run Plex more than adequately.

 

[nk215]

I would recommend an equivalent Xeon E3 over the i5-4590 to take advantage of the ECC memory. I am a big pro of ECC for file server. I also think a powerful CPU for a file server is a wise choice just in case you want to move to 10-Gb network or to tap into the extra power via ESXi.

IMHO, when the file server is up and running for a while. It’s very hard to change out/upgrade hardware because of the multiple TB of data on the file server (unless you use a good hardware RAID card so you can move the entire card – which mean no FreeNAS etc.)

I have quite a few NAS, file servers over the years (with 3 running at the moment, including one located offsite for backup). It was my experience that the one with ECC can stay on forever w/o a reboot. The one using regular memory need a reboot once every 3-4 months or so. There was not a compromise on data integrity with non-ECC however (knock on wood).

 

[XavierMace]

IMHO, when the file server is up and running for a while. It’s very hard to change out/upgrade hardware because of the multiple TB of data on the file server (unless you use a good hardware RAID card so you can move the entire card – which mean no FreeNAS etc.)

No, that just means you should have two of them. Redundancy FTW.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

A cheap dual core or i3 supports ECC and is plenty of CPU for PLEX server / file server duties. FWIW.

 

[rchunter]

A cheap dual core or i3 supports ECC and is plenty of CPU for PLEX server / file server duties. FWIW.

All depends on how many streams at a time you need and bitrate you're trying to transcode. And with 4k video on the horizon cpu power is going to be even more important. A 4 core xeon probably won't even cut it. You'll probably need at least 8 cores or more just to do one stream.

 

[zir_blazer]

I would also go for Xeon E3 + ECC. Also, the most important part of a File Server is the Software infrastructure that you're going to use. Some specific distributions like unRAID are popular these days. Choosing the Hardware is comparatively quite simple.
Do you REALLY need Windows for this machine?

 

[Ketchup]

For a file/media server, there is no need for an SSD. If it's like mine, it goes months at a time without a reboot, which is the only thing an SSD would improve anything in this scenario. And I am not just saying this as a waste of money - SSDs have a finite life. A hard drive could theoretically last forever (I have a drive from the mid-90s running 24x7 at the office).

Also, I hope you are not using RAID as a long-term backup strategy for everything. It is only for short-term downtime prevention. I use unpowered hard drive for my semi-anual backup.

I agree with others that a system supporting ECC memory wouldn't be a bad idea, since you have the budget. I haven't lost a stick of RAM in years (and it was DDR, if that tells you anything), so I wouldn't lose sleep over such a decision.

Video card - your system (particularly hard drives) will do better without the heat generated by that video card.

Case - with your budget and that many drives, I would get a full ATX. Fractal Design has some very nice Full ATX cases, such as the Arc XL and the Define XL R2. They have the same number of hard drive bays as your case, but more room above for the heat to rise, keeping the hard drives at a better temperature.

 

[TylerHartman]

Love the Graphics card HAHA But in all seriousness Sweet server build

 

[XavierMace]

For a file/media server, there is no need for an SSD. If it's like mine, it goes months at a time without a reboot, which is the only thing an SSD would improve anything in this scenario. And I am not just saying this as a waste of money - SSDs have a finite life. A hard drive could theoretically last forever (I have a drive from the mid-90s running 24x7 at the office).

With his particular setup I would agree, but I would point out for the record that if he decided to do a ZFS based setup, an SSD would be a huge benefit. I'd also argue that trying to claim limited life as a factor is silly.

 

[freeskier93]

For a file/media server, there is no need for an SSD. If it's like mine, it goes months at a time without a reboot, which is the only thing an SSD would improve anything in this scenario. And I am not just saying this as a waste of money - SSDs have a finite life. A hard drive could theoretically last forever (I have a drive from the mid-90s running 24x7 at the office).

Also, I hope you are not using RAID as a long-term backup strategy for everything. It is only for short-term downtime prevention. I use unpowered hard drive for my semi-anual backup.

I agree with others that a system supporting ECC memory wouldn't be a bad idea, since you have the budget. I haven't lost a stick of RAM in years (and it was DDR, if that tells you anything), so I wouldn't lose sleep over such a decision.

Video card - your system (particularly hard drives) will do better without the heat generated by that video card.

Case - with your budget and that many drives, I would get a full ATX. Fractal Design has some very nice Full ATX cases, such as the Arc XL and the Define XL R2. They have the same number of hard drive bays as your case, but more room above for the heat to rise, keeping the hard drives at a better temperature.

Last time I had to set up our Plex server it was with a spinning drive and it was terrible. After having been using SSDs for years now I would gladly spend the extra money for a small SSD, even if it's just to make the set up easier and I never touch it again.

 

[Ketchup]

Last time I had to set up our Plex server it was with a spinning drive and it was terrible. After having been using SSDs for years now I would gladly spend the extra money for a small SSD, even if it's just to make the set up easier and I never touch it again.

Cool. I did some testing with a Plex server and several others and didn't notice any speed issues with it on a hard drive, but I am sure I run a different configuration that you do, so it would be hard to compare.

 

[rchunter]

I kind of wish I had my plex library on an ssd but I bought a $60 7200rpm 750gb WD black 2.5" instead and I will run it till it dies. It seems to scroll through and load plex library graphics/cover art fast enough for me. If I had it on an ssd i'm sure it would probably speed it up a little but i'm happy enough. Also I have plenty of ram so I set it up so all my transcodes are done in memory instead of on the drive itself.

 

[Turkeybowl]

Sorry for the delay/gravedig. I went on vacation for a few weeks, and had no internet. Thank you all for the responses/input. See below for some further reasoning from me and additional questions.

Usage: The primary usage will be as a Plex server over LAN for likely 2 simultaneous transcoded streams, but situations can arise with up to 4 simultaneous transcoded streams being needed. There is also the possibility of streaming over WAN being done for a single device needing transcoding. The secondary usage will be as a file server, which really means holding weekly backups of local computers, and backups of household documents and pictures.

CPU/RAM: From my understanding the 4590 should be adequate for up to 4 simultaneous transcodes. I have not looked at true server grade CPU, as I don't really see the device as being mission critical. I generally restart everything in my house at least monthly, and a few minutes of downtime to reboot will never be an issue.

Backup: My current backup plan is a daily backup to a local drive, and monthly backups of that to an offsite, professional server space I have. With the addition of a LAN server, I plan to include a copy of the daily backups there as well.

Software: I don't have any specific attachment to Windows, except that it is the environment that I'm familiar with, and has the largest user base. Making it the most likely OS to have solutions for issues I run into already posted. If you can recommend a different OS for this system that would be as robust as Windows, relatively easy to use, and has wide user support, I'll definitely consider it.

With regards to the server software, I've chosen Plex, again, for the support level that I would expect from a professionally developed software. If there are other alternatives with robust support and feature set to stream to 2-3 computers or up to 4 transcoded streams at once, I'd be interested in looking at them.

RAID: I was going to just use a software/Windows RAID from the motherboard as being a cheap and easy RAID 5 of the storage system. If it is greatly beneficial to use a discrete RAID card for the array, I'd consider it. Much like the Windows choice, I'm just not familiar with discrete RAID cards. Is there a better solution than RAID 5 for speed and redundancy? I'm looking to start with 4 discs, leaving some room for expansion as my library grows and UHD/HD content gets added.

SSD: While not necessary, I would prefer to keep the OS as fast as possible for the occasion I need to reboot. The SSD I'm picking comes with a 3 year warranty, and endurance for modern SSD's is generally quite good. With a good backup image for the drive, replacing the OS SSD should not be an issue if it fails.

Case: It is a case I have from an old build that I'd like to get some further use out of, provided it isn't going to be a huge issue. Server will be in my utility room in the basement. Sound not a huge issue if fans need to rev up to keep HDD's cooler. Basement generally runs in the mid-low 60's ambient.

Video Card: Generally just hoping that GPU support for transcoding is added to Plex in the next few years.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Video Card: Generally just hoping that GPU support for transcoding is added to Plex in the next few years.

Sell your 780Ti now and buy a midrange GPU when it's actually supported. Sitting on hardware for future use is a losing proposition.

Heck, 50/50 that by the time Plex adds GPU transcoding support, 780Ti won't be supported anyway, heheh.

 

[Homerboy]

There's been countless discussions about Plex and GPU trans-coding. IF it were ever to happen (unlikely) the performance gains they've shown are minimal). It's not going to happen any time soon either, so buying a card now is pointless -- IF it where to happen, it might only function under DX13

 

[smitbret]

There's been countless discussions about Plex and GPU trans-coding. IF it were ever to happen (unlikely) the performance gains they've shown are minimal). It's not going to happen any time soon either, so buying a card now is pointless -- IF it where to happen, it might only function under DX13

I put a GT730 into mine because my PlayOn server will offload video decoding to any Kepler based cards. I have found a pretty decent reduction in CPU usage with PlayOn's hardware decoding enabled. My FX 8350 never gets above 18% CPU usage with any single stream.

For my local media streaming I use Mezzmo instead of Plex but they both use FFMPEG for the on-the-fly transcoding. I asked Mezzmo's support if there was a future for hardware decoding and they seem to think that it wouldn't be a good idea to hold your breath. They are unconvinced that FFMPEG will support hardware decoding anytime in the conceivable future.

Irregardless, anything more than a low tier, recent chipset card is going to be a waste on a server, transcoding or not.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Well, that, and if you're trying to offload video encoding to a GPU, you'd have to be running your bare-metal OS as both a PLEX server and as a file server, vs. compartmentalizing it in VMs (which I generally prefer.)