Unraid: Possibly the best NAS OS on the planet

If you’re getting into homelabs, smart homes, or DIY servers, you’ve probably heard the name Unraid flying around. But what actually is Unraid, why do so many people swear by it, and is it worth using in 2025? In this video I break down Unraid in plain English, covering everything from the Array, parity drives, cache pools, the Mover, shares, appdata, Docker, virtual machines, and even the infamous USB boot device. Whether you’re building your first home server or you’ve already got a stack of HDDs ready to throw into a box, this will give you a clear picture of how Unraid works and why it’s such a flexible option. # We’ll talk about: • How Unraid handles storage differently from RAID • Why the Array and parity system make disk failures far less painful • How cache pools, SSDs, and the Mover actually work • The importance of the appdata share and how Docker uses it • The USB boot drive (yes… that thing) • File systems like XFS, BTRFS and ZFS • Best practices that will save you from corrupt containers, full cache drives, and general chaos • How I run Unraid in my own smart home, including Plex, Home Assistant, Frigate, Node-RED, Mosquitto and more If you’re into servers, NAS builds, home automation, CCTV, Plex, containers, or tinkering with anything vaguely nerdy, this one will help you get a proper handle on Unraid. It’s one of the most powerful homelab operating systems around, and once you understand how it works, it becomes an insanely capable tool for smart homes, media servers, and self-hosting. # Links: Unraid pricing: https://unraid.net/pricing @SpaceinvaderOne : https://www.youtube.com/c/spaceinvaderone @IBRACORP https://www.youtube.com/c/ibracorp Note: @SpaceinvaderOne 's Ed now actually works directly for Unraid and they have their own excellent channel called @uncastshow and I highly recommend checking them out as well. # Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:49 Unraid in a nutshell 01:42 A quick history of Unraid 02:35 Unraid Terminology 02:41 Terminology: Array 02:54 Terminology: Parity drive 03:25 Terminology: Cache pool 04:16 Terminology: Shares 04:58 Terminology: Allocation Method 05:13 Terminology: Filesystems 05:22 Terminology: Filestyles (Version 7.2 changes) 05:21 Terminology: docker.img file 06:00 Terminology: Boot drive 06:39 Terminology: Config folder 06:58 Terminology: Docker/VM Manager 07:20 Unraid's disk handling 07:45 How I use Unraid 08:37 The gotchas of Unraid 12:00 Like and subscribe! 12:08 Rule 1: Use Cache appropriately 12:19 Rule 2: Don't let your cache fill up 12:45 Rule 3: Choose sensible allocation and split-level methods 12:54 Rule 4: Choose the right file system 13:12 Rule 5: Moving appdata files 13:31 SpaceInvaderOne and IbraCorp 13:40 Outro If you enjoy the video, hit like and subscribe. Let me know what you’re running on your own Unraid server. I'm always curious what people are building in their setups. #unraid #homelab #homeserver #smarthome #nas #selfhosted #selfhosting #docker #virtualmachines #vm #plexserver #plexmedia #homeassistant #frigate #nodered #mqtt #zigbee #smarttech #iot #dataserver #storage #datastorage #xfs #btrfs #zfs #linuxserver #techreview #serverbuild #homenetwork #localnetwork #diytech #technerd #serverlife #datacenterathome #nerdlab #powerusers #geeklife #geeksetup #yourowncloud #cloudathome #privacyfirst #homelabsetup #technetworking #homesetup #techprojects #techwalkthrough #networkattachedstorage ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- # My links: My blog: https://foxleigh.me Discord: https://discord.gg/tPdaADbM2N Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/foxyslab LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexfoxleigh/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/foxleigh81 GitHub: https://github.com/foxleigh81 # Gear + stuff I use My studio kit, homelab builds and recommended gear are listed here: https://www.foxyslab.com/resources # A quick note I buy all the stuff I show on the channel myself. If something is sent to me for review, I’ll tell you outright and it doesn’t change what I say about it. Most product links I share are affiliate links if I can get them but I only share links to product that I actually use myself and consider to be worth buying. # Support the channel If you like my videos and want to help me keep making more of them, Patreon is the best way. You also get Discord roles, behind-the-scenes chats and your name in the credits depending on the tier. If you just want to send a one-off tip then you can do that over at ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/foxleigh81 If you want to support me but you can't afford to donate money then simply engaging with my videos with a like or a comment goes a long way, I'd be especially grateful if you shared a link to my videos to someone else. However you choose to support me, I will be very grateful :)