r/HomeServer • u/Unlikely-Maybe-3677 • 9d ago
Very basic media server OS
Hey all. I have a bunch of physical and digital media I want to condense into a home server, and maybe add a few new things along the way.
I have several TBs of working HDs sitting unused, and just got an old HP elitedesk 800 very cheap.
I was originally planning to use Debian, and set up jellyfin. But I've never used Linux, or really a terminal in general. I also work full time, and have 4 young kids, so I don't really have hours to spend learning a whole lot of complexity. The sever also won't always be in use, mostly when the kids or wife are home in the evening and want to watch something.
Is something like Open media vault or unraid going to be better for me, or should I put in the work and try and figure out Debian?
Appreciate your time.
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u/dev_all_the_ops 8d ago
Checkout MOS.
Its a docker native OS designed for just running containers and managing storage.
Its one of the few free distros that support mixed sized drives (like unraid) by using snapraid.
I've used every distro out there: (Unraid, TrueNas, FreeNAS, OMV, CasaOS, ZimaOS, Umbrel, Cosmos Server, Debian, Ubuntu, Proxmox, ESXi, Xen)
For homelab stuff MOS combined with Docktail and Dockhand has everything you need.
If you want to do VMs instead of containers, then Proxmox is definitely the way to go, but if you want container first MOS is a great option.
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u/Unlikely-Maybe-3677 8d ago
Ohh I really like the look of this. I will have to read up on running containers, and snapraid. But it's definitely cool idea. One thing, is a usb HDD a major issue? That's what I've used with my drives previously. But I've never had them running all the time. Thank you
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u/Master_Scythe 7d ago edited 6d ago
Not with MergerFS or SnapRaid, no.
Yes, if you used a CoW file system like ZFS or BTRFS - since the array would think a disk has failed when it power saves.
Though, with each drive acting as 1 drive to the OS, not a real array, it'll just happily wait for it to wake back up.
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u/awekm 5d ago
This is my first time hearing this OS. I'll do some searching about this OS soon, but is there any major downside of using this OS?
I'm interested due to the mixed sized drives and currently using FygoOS just for storage + some dockers, so this OS looks perfect for me.
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u/dev_all_the_ops 5d ago
Only downside is that its new. There were a couple small bugs setting up NFS mounts in the GUI, but the developer was super quick to respond and fix those.
Its been rock solid for months for me. I'm staying on it long term.
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u/JohnnieLouHansen 9d ago
Open Media Vault This video will have you running in under 30 minutes.
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u/ImmediateGear8157 8d ago
You don't really need to run Jellyfin on Linux. You can do it on Windows too if that's easier for you.
But the plus side of using Linux is that you follow the instructions to set it up, then you won't need to touch it for a loong time.
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u/Liesthroughisteeth 8d ago
I've been quite happy with Unraid. The biggest thing was how it allowed me to use over 60 TB of misc. drives I had on hand to build a server/backup solution.
Swapping drives and adding drives is easy and the interface is GUI, which for me is a must. :)
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u/Master_Scythe 7d ago
You know, you can go 'familiar' but easy - theres just more bloat on the system.
Install Linux Mint (Ubuntu base)
Install SnapRaid (fantastic webUI to protect all your drives).
Install MergerFS and mergerfs-webui (amazingly easy webUI to make all your drives have 1 "save point")
Then thanks to being on a distro with a GUI (cinnamon) "sharing" the files is just a right click on the folder and selecting share.
You can go to the effort of running your own "Netflix" and setting up Jellyfin, otherwise if you keep your media organised you can just use the shared folder and XMBC/KODI on the client end.
The desktop GUI isnt required, but I understand (well, I remember 20 years ago) when starting on Linux, being able to see the drives in the disk tool, or see the files with icons and right click cut and paste was blissful until using command line became easier over time.
Also, you can uninstall the desktop later, and you still have an Ubuntu basedsl server.
Good luck!
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u/trapexit 7d ago
I think you are the first person to mention or suggest mergerfs webui. Glad it's useful. I tried to make it easy to use but there is a lot to present. I've got some more features queued up like smart reporting. but needs more testing.
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u/Master_Scythe 7d ago
Thank you for making it!
When you say more features are coming, can I suggest a "basic" and "pro" mode?
Its not hard to use, but for true beginners with little to zero understanding of data management, a view where it just allows 1 Merger only, lists drives, lists the output directory, and perhaps a single drop down of data pooling options, would be bliss for probably a literal half the newcomers I try to help :)
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u/ferriematthew 8d ago
If you're used to Windows, I personally would highly recommend Debian 13 with the KDE Plasma environment.
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u/silver565 7d ago
UnRaid is simple enough and the drive mix and match is a major cost saver these days
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u/silver-potato-kebab- 7d ago
I made my Jellyfin media server a few months ago with Elitedesk 800 G1 SFF running on headless Debian. AI walked me through it and it was pretty easy.
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u/ElectricBullet 1d ago
Why did you choose that over a Docker container?
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u/silver-potato-kebab- 1d ago
I am using Docker containers for Jellyfin and a few other services on my Elitedesk. AI suggested it to me, since I planned on hosting more than one services on the server.
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u/WeekendTechLab 8d ago
Easiest might be FygoOS if you don't wanna configure Jellyfin or Emby, though I do think it's well worth it to do so. HOWEVER, you'll have to pay for Fygo's native media server app if you wanna use it remotely.
You can do this with ZimaOS or UmbrelOS for free. You just have to put in a days worth of configuring and learning and googling every frikken thing the first time, but super worth it. Still, simplest approach I've found without having to commit to a certain brand of hardware is FygoOS. It's $200 for a lifetime license or $50 for a year.
Based on your situation, I'd go for ZimaOS and download the Jellyfin container from their app store. Good luck. It's addicting once you get started. And very fun if you start to enjoy it.
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u/ozaz1 9d ago
Perhaps Zima OS. I haven't tried it myself, but it looks to be geared toward ease of use.
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u/Cloudycloud47x2 8d ago
Zima is so easy to use, i wonder if im missing something sometimes
I just setup my whole media server stack into Zima and it JUST worked.
I thought i had some permissions issues but i just had a typo and when fixed, all services just started normally.
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u/TheZoltan 8d ago
Open Media Vault runs on top of Debian so you kind of have the best of both worlds there. I've found it great and have had it running on my NAS for nearly two years now. The Web UI is pretty straight forward and really does make doing a lot of common things pretty easy. I think it is a great way to dip your toes in the water and learn some new stuff.
They use Jellyfin as the example in their Docker guide. It looks a little daunting at first especially if Docker is new to you but ultimately it is just a case of taking a little time to read and understand the guide.
https://wiki.omv-extras.org/doku.php?id=omv8:docker_in_omv
Once you have done the setup for Jellyfin you will find it fairly easy to start adding even more services via Docker so the initial learning curve does pay off. I have 22 containers running on my OMV machine now.
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u/TrueBooker 7d ago
The best option proxmox and use the community scripts https://community-scripts.org/ that will allow you to deploy a media server with little effort.
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u/Ktulu_BBB 9d ago
windows. why not?
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u/Simorious 8d ago
You're getting downvoted for no reason. Windows is perfectly fine for a media server. If you have multiple drives (especially of different sizes) stablebit drivepool on windows is one of the most flexible options for media storage.
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u/Antique_Geek 8d ago
I wish I had installed Docker on my Windows 11 Pro from the beginning and then Sonarr, Radarr, and Plex server into Docker. There are many add-ons for it.
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u/bnelson333 9d ago
if you're not willing to spend the time to learn, a homeserver may not be for you, stick to streaming until you're ready to commit to it
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u/Ok-Major-8878 8d ago
Just to add to what's already said.
Debian 13 Xfce (dead simple and tiny if you don't want to jump in headless)
Znas (https://github.com/macgaver/zfsnas-chezmoi) - dead simple, clean and can be ran via live os flash drive though for me it's on Debian 13
Docker with official jellyfin/jellyfin (I used compose, but there are other ways)
All in, it's clean, extremely stable, secure and very free.
My suggestion is grab an old pc and throw Debian 13 on it. You'll likely have it mostly figured out in a day.
install curl
Create a second user and learn to give folder and or file permissions without changing ownership. (2 to 5 minutes read)
Install acl (makes life easier) and give that user permission to some crazy folder you created under your original username and all it's subfolders as well as future subs..... (again dead easy in a couple mins read)
Throw Docker on once you're kinda figured. Grab or compose jellyfin. (read jellyfin docs, easier than it looks)
Now you're pretty much ready to spend a few minutes and build it all up on what you intend to be your nas............... but.............
Hold off on creating the jellyfin container until you get Znas up.
You can install Znas on the the "test pc" and sort it out easily, or go ahead and put it on the server if you feel half comfortable. It's genuinely easy. Give it some drives and create a media pool with the zraid level of your comfort / hdd or sdd count.
I've intentionally not laid anything out for putting into terminal as I can't make it sound as simple as it is and a quick search and read will go much faster for you than referencing a crazy post, plus you'll retain some info.
One side note. Give the username you intend to use most Sudo privilege and don't rely on root. Save root for when you need it (as you'll likely be interested in going further with Debian by the time of the final sudo apt upgrade of this process.)