So as I look to build my first dedicated media server, I’m curious about what OS options I have which will check all the boxes. I’m interested in Unraid, and if there’s a Linux distro that works especially well I’d be willing to check that out as well. I just want to make sure that whatever I pick, I can use qbittorrent, Proton, and get the Arr suite working
I use Alma because RHEL is designed for enterprise stability. Debian is also a good option.
Just don’t use Ubuntu. They do too much invisible fuckery with the system that hinders use on a server. For basic desktop use it’s fine, but never for a server.
Edit: but you should be doing most stuff in Docker anyway, so the actual OS isn’t going to matter too much. If you’re already comfortable with one base (Debian, RHEL) just use that one or a derivative.
Easy, Linux. I prefer Arch based because of AUR.
I wouldn’t use Arch on a Server. Everything you install will probably be in a docker container anyway, so fast updates for system packages isn’t important compared to stability. Good choices would be Debian or Fedora Server. I personally use Fedora but the reason is just that I use Fedora on Desktop too, so I know they have really good defaults (They’re really fast in adopting new stuff like Wayland, Pipewire, BTRFS with encryption and so on) and it’s nice that Cockpit us preinstalled, so I can do a lot of stuff using a WebUI. Debian is probably more stable tho, with Fedora there is a chance that something could break (even though it’s still pretty small) but Devian really just works always. The downside is of course very outdated packages but, as I said, on a Server that doesn’t matter because Docker containers update independetly from the system.
I’m very happy running lxc containers in proxmox
This has worked well for me too, for many years now!
I just recently discovered proxmox and am slowly moving my docker containers off my NAS. Picked up a used Intel NUC, i5-8259, 32gb ram, 512gb HDD. It’s been great so far, very happy with its ability paired with proxmox.
any specific reason why switch?
Performance mostly, encoding is better, reducing load on my NAS and using it specifically for storage. Immich performs better as well, it’s pretty resource hungry I found. I also am planning to set up Frigate for home security and that’s the main reason I wanted something with a bit more power.
Debian!
I use Unraid and I’m loving it. Super stable, easy to manage, set up dockers, let’s me pool my hard drives and set up parity. Highly recommend. Only thing that I’ve had a hard time with is finding a stable flash drive - you’d be surprised how many start to fail when used 24/7
The thumb drive isn’t used all the time. I’ve been using a cheap USB drive that cost me like $12 several years ago, and haven’t had any issues yet. It’s been running constantly for the last year or two.
I use Unraid on my NAS. I like it for storage, I don’t like it for running services. It’s still running my media stack, but only until I get that moved to a Debian server.
Depending on how involved you want to be and what you want to learn, Unraid might be a good fit for you. It’s easy and mostly just works.
I second UNRAID, but also for your media stack. I have my home server running UNRAID and around 20 services, with zero issues.
I’m currently playing with setting up a home server on an old PC, using Proxmox as the main OS and using LXC and VMs for the services, not fully set up yet (still working on figuring out reverse proxy to make my services available on the internet)
It’s neat tho, and there’s some helpful scripts for installing various containers and things online.
I would need that because I’m basically starting from zero with learning all this stuff lol. Using Tautulli remotely is a challenge for me right now if that gives any indication of my level of knowledge here
Debian with docker compose or podman.
Are there any resources available for how to do this? I feel like I more or less understand how Docker works conceptually, but every time I try to actually use it, I feel in over my head very quickly
Search for dockstarter and trash guides. It will give you the foundations of what you need
Now that Truenas Scale supports just plain Docker (and it’s running on Debian) I think it’s a great option for an all-in-one media box. I’ve had my complaints with Truenas over the years, but it’s done a really great job at preventing me from shooting myself in the foot when it comes to my data.
I believe raidz expansion is also now in stable (though still better to do a bit of planning for your pool before pulling the trigger).
The raidz stuff, as I understand it, seems pretty compelling. A setup where I can lose any given drive and replace it with no data loss would be very ideal. So I would just run TrueNAS scale, through which would manage my drives, and then install everything else in docker containers or something?
