Building first homeserver. OMV5 installed. RAID6 running.

1st Official Post

    OMV5 on home-built,

    LEPA case w/ 500watt EVGA power supply

    AMD fx-4350 quad-core processor

    ASUS M5A99FX pro 2.0 motherboard

    Crucial 2.5" MX200 SSD 1TB

    4x Seagate 3TB HDD (RAID6)


    Behind the router in my network I have;

    Dell laptop

    ROKU TV

    android phone (Huawei Mate10 Pro)

    workstation computer (for daily and video editing)

    printer


    I am going through hundreds of hours of videos and forums for information on set up. I realize that I don't know the all of the possibilities of a server as I have no experience running one so it is difficult to phrase my questions, thanks in advance for the patience.


    I am reading advice about using a Raspberry PI 4 after the router and before the server is a good idea for PiHole or Adguard for ease of setup. My question is what other things should go on the Raspberry PI 4? I am looking at several things that look like a responsible setup for privacy and security.


    These I think should be on the Raspberry PI 4 (what OS should I run[OMV5?]);

    NGINX

    Wireguard

    PiHole(or)Adguard


    On the server I already installed OMV5, OMV-Extras, Docker, Portainer, Flash Memory. Updated / upgraded all. Set up RAID6 on 4 HDD with EXT4. I set up a homes, Private and Public folders. Not sure about setting up the file system (config, appdata, media etc.)


    These I am not sure whether to put these on the Raspberry PI 4 or the server;

    OMV-Firstaid, DockStarter, Nextcloud, Organizer, JellyFin, Lidarr, Librarian, Sonnarr, Radarr, Transmission, LetsEncrypt, DuckDNS, Duplicati, BitWarden, QBitTorrent, RemoteMount, InstantPrivacy, VPN, Tor(full and split tunnel), Samba Shares, Jackett, JDownloader


    Advice on how to start all of this (and more) welcome and needed.


    I have had my website hosted for decades by Brownrice Internet out in New Mexico and have recently changed to a VPS with them. Advice on how to self-host or keep the VPS with Brownrice and how to best use them please.

    • Official Post

    Don’t try to bite off all of that at once. Here’s a possible starter list:

    1. Ask yourself and search this forum for: why you think you need RAID.
    2. Set up your Pi4 as a backup server. The Pi4 will work great for Pi-Hole but that can wait for later.
    3. Learn how to use Rsync and/or Rsnapshot to backup data to a second drive on your main computer, and a third drive on your second server (the Pi4). Figure out how to get a third backup off site.
    4. Figure out how to backup your boot drive on both machines. Make sure the backup you choose has recovery instructions as well.
    5. Move your docker storage off of your boot drive.
    6. Learn how to deploy a docker container in Portainer/Stacks, and eventually from the command line.
    7. First docker to deploy, because it is the simplest/easiest/handiest, is heimdall.
    8. Second docker: Jellyfin, or Plex.
    9. Then you can work on Nextcloud which includes Mariadb, Swag (use to be Letsencrypt), and Duckdns.


    There is so much here you will be a while working through it depending on your level of computer/ server savvy. Everything you want to do, this forum can supply the answers. All you have to do is dig around, especially in the Guides section. Getting Started with OMV5 is a good place to start.

    System Backup Typo alert: Under the Linux section the command should be sudo umount /dev/sda1 NOT sudo unmount /dev/sda1

    Backup Data Disk to Backup Disk on Same Machine: In a Scheduled Job:rsync -av --delete /srv/dev-disk-by-uuid-f8814ed9-9a5c-4e1c-8830-426968c20ea3/ /srv/dev-disk-by-uuid-e67439d5-00a3-4942-bd5f-b84ab86aa850/ Don't forget trailing slashes, and BE CAREFUL. (HT: Getting Started with OMV5)

    Equipment - Thinkserver TS140, NanoPi M4 (v.1), Odroid XU4 (Using DietPi): PiHole

    • Official Post

    I tend to agree w/ the above. My experiences with another toy computer tonight only affirms my decision the best place for them is as a backup server or using them in some limited capacity. I'm not saying they can't run multiple full time services, I've just always had issues w/ them. I can't comment much on Raid6 vs anything else, but I do my best to stay clear of all things RAID. What is your backup scenario in the event of a drive or hardware failure, even in the RAID6? (which is part of what Agricola was getting at). If I was going to use some sort of RAID, I would probably consider snapraid vs Raid6.. but it can have drawbacks as well.


    I personally would delegate all that to my 64bit server, except maybe PiHole/Adguard (but you can come back to those later)


    First, omv-firstaid doesn't need "installed". it's part of the OMV installation, it will be there if you need it. So you've already accomplished one thing on your list, congratulations!


    Also completely agree w/ doing one thing at a time. You try doing all that at once you're going to have patches of hair missing. First I'd set up the most simple container in your list, jdownloader and jellyfin. Easy, won't take long, well documented, and you'll be able to play movies in the background while you're frustrated setting up everything else.. :) Then work on setting up a VPN container so you can route other containers through it (Transmission, QbitTorrent, Jackett, Sonarr, etc.). Is there any particular reason you need two torrent clients?

    Agricola and KM0201,


    Thanks sooo much for the advice. I am a noob with some time on my hands and decided to finish something I started almost 10 years ago. Things have changed a lot.


    Concentrating on understanding backups makes sense.


    No lack of opinions about RAID. I've decided to stick with RAID6 for awhile at least. Moving forward that may change but I feel I should try something out for awhile and make an informed decision instead of going blind.


    Quote from KM0201

    First, omv-firstaid doesn't need "installed". it's part of the OMV installation

    First duh moment.


    Quote from Agricola

    Ask yourself and search this forum for: why you think you need RAID.

    I have a machine setup with 4x - 3TB hard drives. I am planning on large photo and video files. Redundancy and speed was the goal. I have had a dozen different opinions and I decided RAID6 was my way to go for now.


    Quote from Agricola

    Set up your Pi4 as a backup server. The Pi4 will work great for Pi-Hole but that can wait for later.
    Learn how to use Rsync and/or Rsnapshot to backup data to a second drive on your main computer, and a third drive on your second server (the Pi4). Figure out how to get a third backup off site.
    Figure out how to backup your boot drive on both machines. Make sure the backup you choose has recovery instructions as well.

    All sounds great. Limited funds this year. Even a Pi4 with a couple TBs of storage seems to be running about $400. Out of range right now. Trying to work with what I have as efficiently as possible.


    Quote from Agricola

    Move your docker storage off of your boot drive.
    Learn how to deploy a docker container in Portainer/Stacks, and eventually from the command line.
    First docker to deploy, because it is the simplest/easiest/handiest, is heimdall.
    Second docker: Jellyfin, or Plex.

    I setup the server with the OS on an 250G ssd and the storage to the 6TB hdd RAID.

    BTW, is OpenMediaVault an independent OS derived fron Debian or is Debian the OS with OMV somehow on top. Not clear for some reason.


    Quote from KM0201

    Also completely agree w/ doing one thing at a time.

    Great advice and what I am looking for. I needed to hear the order of things and where they belong for safety, efficiency, security and privacy.

    I will be rereading these often and return soon.


    It took me a while to figure out how to "quote" that's how much of a noob I am. I have dipped my toe in the Gnu/Linux waters since 1998 (Libranet?) and never found the support I need or the time. I am grateful to find you guys. Thanks. CJBIII

    • Official Post

    All I am saying is that RAID of any type is not a backup, especially for the home server. You can read on this forum many sad stories where users have relied on RAID of one kind or another, thinking it was some sort of backup. If you were getting started with a new home server I just thought it would be a service to you to make you rethink WHY you think you want/need RAID. There are many users on the forum who use RAID, I assume for good reasons. I am not saying RAID is bad, just that it is greatly misunderstood by many.

    Quote from CJBIII

    Redundancy and speed was the goal.

    Speed, yes. Redundancy, no. A good, reliable, automated, recoverable backup is redundancy.


    OMV sits on top of Debian.

    Also many running amd64 machines use a 32Gig thumb drive to run their OS. It frees up a sata port, is easy to backup, and with the flashmemory plugin it will last years.

    System Backup Typo alert: Under the Linux section the command should be sudo umount /dev/sda1 NOT sudo unmount /dev/sda1

    Backup Data Disk to Backup Disk on Same Machine: In a Scheduled Job:rsync -av --delete /srv/dev-disk-by-uuid-f8814ed9-9a5c-4e1c-8830-426968c20ea3/ /srv/dev-disk-by-uuid-e67439d5-00a3-4942-bd5f-b84ab86aa850/ Don't forget trailing slashes, and BE CAREFUL. (HT: Getting Started with OMV5)

    Equipment - Thinkserver TS140, NanoPi M4 (v.1), Odroid XU4 (Using DietPi): PiHole

    Thanks for the clarification about what you meant by raid. Yes, in itself not a backup.


    I like the idea of OMV on a flashdrive with flashmemory to give it longevity. Then to have the ssd as an extra drive. Is this good to use for the OS backup then?


    'Swag' is the next step for letsencrypt. Will letsencrypt disappear?


    I would really like to install and use Bitwarden as soon as possible. I've been terrible with password management and want to get this configured the best way possible.


    I have a workstation with 12TB (6TB in RAID10) and a server with 12TB (6TB in RAID6). Can I use each to backup the other? I suspect this effectively makes them about 3TB each, right? That would make each a RAID setup with separate backup. Then I would need an off-site backup. (Trying to work with the equipment I have already.) Then a Pi4 for PiHOLE between the router and the server. Would I want to put nginx on the Pi4 also? What specs would you recommend for the Pi4 (4G with 500G storage?)

    • Official Post

    The best OS backup is another identical (same size) flash drive. I like the Sandisk Ultra Flair. 16gig is plenty big but a 32gig helps out with the longevity. If you are a Windows user there’s Win32 Disk Imager. For Linux or mac there is the command line tool dd that does a good job at cloning boot drives. There is also Usbimager for all three platforms. All three methods are cold backups. There is a live backup plugin for OMV, but I wasn’t able to get it to work (I didn’t try very hard.)


    Letsencrypt has become Swag. There was a copyright issue over the name.


    Sorry, I know nothing about Bitwarden. I use LastPass.


    The questions in your last paragraph are hard to answer. It all depends on what’s on your workstation. Most of my files have migrated to the server so that my desktop and laptop do not contain much besides OS and apps.


    I have found that Pi-Hole deploys easily from a Diet-Pi installation on any number of SBC’s. Mine’s an Odroid XU4 and a 32gig sd card. An Rpi3 would be just as good. An Rpi4 is almost too good to waste on a dedicated Pi-hole. There are a number of users on this forum who can help you with an OMV- based Pi-hole, that can then be used as a backup too.

    System Backup Typo alert: Under the Linux section the command should be sudo umount /dev/sda1 NOT sudo unmount /dev/sda1

    Backup Data Disk to Backup Disk on Same Machine: In a Scheduled Job:rsync -av --delete /srv/dev-disk-by-uuid-f8814ed9-9a5c-4e1c-8830-426968c20ea3/ /srv/dev-disk-by-uuid-e67439d5-00a3-4942-bd5f-b84ab86aa850/ Don't forget trailing slashes, and BE CAREFUL. (HT: Getting Started with OMV5)

    Equipment - Thinkserver TS140, NanoPi M4 (v.1), Odroid XU4 (Using DietPi): PiHole

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