Storage options for unRAID on a laptop

I recently installed unRAID on my old gaming laptop. I run Plex Media Server via Docker, and I also run a Windows Server 2012 R2 vm in it. I've got a 600GB hard drive inside the laptop, and I've got a 500GB hard drive hooked up to it via a USB enclosure (the laptop has space for only one internal drive). This USB drive is not part of the unRAID array, as unRAID does not support USB drives in the array. I'd like to upgrade my storage so I have at least 4TB of usable space, along with data protection through a parity drive. What are the best ways I could do this?

I've considered getting an external enclosure such as

https://www.amazon.com/Mediasonic-ProBox-HF2-SU3S2-SATA-Enclosure/dp/B003X26VV4/

, putting 3 x 3TB drives in it such as these

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D1GYNU8/

, and connecting it to my laptop via e-SATA. This setup would cost $400. I've heard people mention that the single e-SATA port would slow down the drives though.

Ports and slots on the laptop

1x Mini-IEEE 1394 Port

1x e-SATA Port

1x USB 3.0 Port

3x USB 2.0 Port

1x ExpressCard/34/54 Slot

Laptop specs

Model: Clevo W86CU

Graphics Card: GeForce GTX 460M

Processor: Intel Core i7-740QM

Memory: 8GB

Multiple drives on one eSATA slows things down when multiple drives are accessed at the same time. When checking parity, or when building parity or rebuilding a data disk, all disks are accessed at the same time. And when writing a data disk, parity is written also, so multiple drives involved there also. So this is why these things are not recommended.

Also, unRAID supports USB for array or cache drives in 6.2betas.

Having said all that, I don't really see the point of an unRAID laptop, except perhaps as a temporary testbed. There are other ways to have VMs without a NAS, and any NAS without space for multiple drives seems pointless.

Have you considered other options beside  unRAID? Why did you choose unRAID to begin with?

Based on the usage you reported, there's really no need for unRAID at all.

* Plex server can be run in Windows.

* There are several VM solutions for Windows

* I'm guessing you are not having a parity drive either?

Before unRAID I was running just Windows Server 2012 R2 on the laptop. One of the main reasons I installed unRAID was just to try something new. It seems to me like I lose nothing by switching to unRAID, as I can still run Windows in a vm. The other reason I switched is that I wanted to setup some kind of data redundancy, and unRAID's parity protection sounded good both in terms of data protection and space efficiency.

But you can only have parity protection if you can connect enough drives.  I personally think installing Unraid on a laptop is like putting a Ferrari engine in a lawnmower....

http://m.agriaffaires.co.uk/used/lawn-tractor/1/9214/gianni-ferrari.html

Sent from my LG-D852 using Tapatalk

http://m.agriaffaires.co.uk/used/lawn-tractor/1/9214/gianni-ferrari.html

 

Sent from my LG-D852 using Tapatalk

Well I'll be damned... lol 

Not really unraid related, but you can add a second 2.5" drive to most laptops. Remove the cd/dvd drive and get a hard drive caddy that fits into the slot. Usually a single screw holds the dvd drive in place, may need to remove the memory/hard drive cover on the bottom of the laptop to access it. On ebay, search for laptop hard drive caddy should bring up some results, be under $10. One thing you have to check is the height of dvd slot, usually 9.5mm or 12.7mm. Works well if you want to use a ssd or something as the main drive and a regular drive for storage.

What speed is your laptop's eSATA port? I've used four disks inside an external case with a port multiplier and connected to an HP microserver via a single 6 Gb/s eSATA link and its parity check speed was quite acceptable. It took me a while to find the necessary parts though. The only case I've found to be suitable is the IcyCube from IcyDock.