Bill Kleyman's Deep Dive: unRAID and 45Drives Integration
A technical exploration of how unRAID software and 45Drives hardware create the ultimate lab and media platform solution.
In my previous review of the 45Drives Storinator Storage Workstation, I touched on how this powerful hardware platform transformed my lab and media environment. Today, I want to dive deeper into the technical architecture and show you exactly how unRAID software integrates with 45Drives hardware to create something truly special.
For those who haven't seen my original review, I was dealing with a legacy setup that couldn't handle the complex workloads I was throwing at it. Virtual machines, application virtualization, desktop virtualization, Citrix NetScaler load balancers, Ivanti profile managers, security VMs - all running simultaneously while trying to stream and encode media content. My old system would crawl to a halt.
That's when my friend Jon Panozzo, CSO/CMO of Lime Technology (makers of unRAID), recommended I look at the 45Drives Storinator Storage Workstation. The combination of unRAID's powerful storage software with 45Drives' dense hardware platform has completely changed my approach to lab infrastructure.
The Technical Architecture
Let me walk you through my current lab architecture and how everything interconnects:
Network Infrastructure
- Cisco Meraki MX appliance - Firewall and security gateway
- Meraki MS switch - Core networking device
Compute Resources
- Dell PowerEdge T630 - High RAM and CPU for VM processing with dual SSDs for local storage
- 45Drives Storinator Storage Workstation - Running unRAID bare-metal as both storage appliance and virtualization host
Storage Configuration
- 8 spinning disk devices - Providing 28TB of general purpose storage
- 9 SSD cache pool devices - Providing 3.6TB of high-speed cache storage for vDisks and VM storage
Jon Panozzo on unRAID and 45Drives Integration
I had the opportunity to speak with Jon Panozzo from Lime Technology about why unRAID and 45Drives hardware work so well together. Here's what he had to say:
"The beauty of unRAID is that it's designed to maximize the potential of commodity hardware. When you pair that with 45Drives' thoughtful engineering approach - the hot-swappable bays, the airflow design, the build quality - you get a platform that can grow with your needs while maintaining reliability and performance."
Jon went on to explain how unRAID's parity-based protection works exceptionally well with 45Drives' hardware design: "With the Storinator, you can lose up to two drives before data becomes impacted, and the hot-swap capability means you never have to take the system down for maintenance. unRAID handles the array management seamlessly."
Real-World Performance Testing
Over the past several weeks, I've been putting this integrated system through its paces. Here's what I've been running simultaneously:
Media Workloads
- 4 simultaneous Plex streams (4K content)
- Real-time transcoding from 4K to 720p
- Multiple device streams with zero lag
- Background media organization and processing
Lab Workloads
- Multiple VMs on Citrix Hypervisor
- ExtraHop security appliance on KVM
- Various Docker containers
- NFS-connected storage for all VMs
"What impressed me most was the system's ability to handle mixed workloads without any performance degradation. Whether I was streaming 4K content or spinning up new VMs, everything remained responsive."
The Dual Hypervisor Advantage
One of the most compelling aspects of this setup is the ability to run multiple hypervisors simultaneously. Here's how I've architected this:
Host 1: Dell PowerEdge T630
- Running Citrix Hypervisor (formerly XenServer)
- Multiple VMs for private cloud and lab functions
- All VMs connected via NFS to Storinator storage
Host 2: 45Drives Storinator
- Running unRAID with KVM virtualization
- ExtraHop network security appliance (incompatible with Citrix)
- Media services and Docker containers
- Storage services for entire infrastructure
This dual-hypervisor approach solved a critical compatibility issue. The ExtraHop appliance wasn't compatible with Citrix Hypervisor, but rather than rebuild my entire lab with VMware or Hyper-V, I deployed it on the unRAID KVM environment. Now I have the best of both worlds.
Performance Metrics and Results
During my testing, I monitored system performance across multiple metrics. Here's what I observed:
CPU utilization remained well within acceptable ranges even under full load. The unRAID CPU pinning feature allowed me to optimize resource allocation, ensuring that media transcoding didn't interfere with VM performance.
Scalability and Future Expansion
One of the most compelling aspects of this platform is its growth potential. The Storinator can handle up to 132TB of raw storage capacity and 61TB of SSD cache storage. More importantly, expansion doesn't require downtime.
The hot-swappable drive bays mean I can add capacity or replace drives without shutting down the system. unRAID handles the array expansion seamlessly, and the only requirement might be restarting the array configuration - the physical appliance keeps running.
"The combination of 45Drives hardware engineering and unRAID software flexibility creates a platform that grows with your needs rather than constraining them."
The Complete Integrated Solution
After months of testing this integrated unRAID and 45Drives platform, I can confidently say it's transformed my approach to lab infrastructure and media management. The system handles complex mixed workloads that would have brought my previous setup to its knees.
Whether you're running enterprise lab environments, managing extensive media libraries, or need a platform that can handle both simultaneously, this combination delivers the performance, reliability, and scalability that serious users demand.