Thinking of switching to windows or truenas for a new jellyfin build

[minty6873]

So I've been running Jellyfin for years first on an old homebuilt server using a intel 3470 and OMV on linux
then I upgraded to a 11700 again running OMV and linux/docker containers

I've run out of space on that 2nd server, and am building a new 100tb one, and am toying with the idea of using windows or truenas to run the server.
I have been a windows sysadmin for years, and not overly familiar with linux, I muddle through and the server is up but occasionally needs reboots and whatnot, and I'm just not overly comfortable with linux.
 so I'm looking at making a change, plus on my linux builds I've never gotten quicksync to work, most of my stuff direct plays and most devices are compatible, but there are instances where I want to watch something and it won't play on my pc or my kid's ipad, etc.

so I have a couple questions:
1. Is regular windows 10 stable enough to run jellyfin for months at a time with no reboots, and just use a software raid or a jbod for media? has anyone done it or have any comment on it?
2. Is quicksync pretty much automatic through windows?
3. Should I be considering windows server, or truenas if w10 is not stable enough for long term usage? If truenas is the recommendation, is quicksync easy to get working on that?

thanks in advance for any advice.
Worst case I could just go back to linux and omv for the new build, but I'm not especially fond of either to be honest

[Deleted User]

i am on the opposite side of this from you, primary linux but i can 'manage' windows

if i can recommend anything at all, if you choose windows, go with a windows server version

i am sure i do not need to tell you the bloat in a standard windows (unless of course you are prepared to strip it down, then it can be more usable)

but that is just my opinion and i have nothing more i can offer

[TheDreadPirate]

I suspect a lot of the QSV issues you had were related to non-free Intel driver packages not being installed. Not every distro includes them by default. And with your 11700, there are issues with older kernels not supporting the iGPU in 11th gen+ Intel CPUs (needs 6.17+, IIRC). And OMV is a bit slower with pushing out newer kernel versions. And when you added docker, you also need to pass the GPU into the container.

1. Any OS is stable enough these days if you don't care about rebooting for updates. Also, ZFS is natively supported in Linux. And ZFS has great software RAID support and has things like snapshots and bit rot protection (needs parity based RAID).
2. Quick sync requires additional setup in some Linux distros. But popular distros like Ubuntu are pretty much zero setup. You do have to be careful that you use newer kernels depending on which Intel GPU you have. With Windows 10 you need to install Intel's drivers, not just the ones Windows automatically installs. So you aren't really saving any steps here with Windows.
3. TrueNAS Scale (based on Debian Linux), lags behind a bit with what kernel version they push out. But you can always manually install a newer kernel. Getting QSV to work on TrueNAS Scale is about the same as plain Debian.

IMO, Windows 10 is a pain to work with when using it as a server. Even server editions of Windows aren't very good servers. In my experience as both a Windows and Linux admin, the only thing that Windows does better as a server is be an Active Directory Domain Controller. Yes, using the command line is a pretty significant learning curve. But once you are comfortable with it, you will come to appreciate the level of control you have.

Also, if Jellyfin was your only container you should consider just doing a bare metal install. In Ubuntu/Debian there is an official script to automate installation. And it saves you the extra steps of configuring Docker, making sure to pass in the GPU, etc.

[minty6873]

yeah the windows bloat is concerning, and I would think it would cause all sorts of issues, but was more curious about if anyone used it long term and what kind of issues they had. random windows reboots would definitely be a pita.

[bitmap]

If you're not comfortable with Linux, I'm unsure why going towards TrueNAS would even be a consideration. When looking at the number of folks who have weird issues that become harder to solve because of the number of layers they've placed on top of their installs, TrueNAS bubbles to the top as a contender for most troublesome with regards to Jellyfin...I can't speak to anything else because I know it's a very solid NAS solution and built to purpose. But you're still dealing with Linux. Plus you've gotta learn a new OS.

Windows is probably second in line for issues I've seen with regards to support requests (i.e., folks posting questions here or Reddit). But that's a very far away second place, IMO.

So I'll make my brief pitch, understanding you're looking for Windows info and I have very little to share. Since you already dipped your toes into Linux, why not select something like Ubuntu 22.04 LTS with the HWE kernel that will solve your compatibility issues. If you're thinking JBOD, use NFS or SMB and make the host your NAS. These tools aren't hard to learn (basics) at all. As for Docker, I can't recommend Compose enough. Passing in the GPU is simple, not really even an extra step, just two lines in your yaml file. If you run many services, it's a no-brainer. Small footprint, stable for months without restart, relies almost entirely on your Compose file for configuring services, and it's insanely easy to migrate and back up.

[minty6873]

If you're not comfortable with Linux, I'm unsure why going towards TrueNAS would even be a consideration. When looking at the number of folks who have weird issues that become harder to solve because of the number of layers they've placed on top of their installs, TrueNAS bubbles to the top as a contender for most troublesome with regards to Jellyfin...I can't speak to anything else because I know it's a very solid NAS solution and built to purpose. But you're still dealing with Linux. Plus you've gotta learn a new OS.

Windows is probably second in line for issues I've seen with regards to support requests (i.e., folks posting questions here or Reddit). But that's a very far away second place, IMO.

So I'll make my brief pitch, understanding you're looking for Windows info and I have very little to share. Since you already dipped your toes into Linux, why not select something like Ubuntu 22.04 LTS with the HWE kernel that will solve your compatibility issues. If you're thinking JBOD, use NFS or SMB and make the host your NAS. These tools aren't hard to learn (basics) at all. As for Docker, I can't recommend Compose enough. Passing in the GPU is simple, not really even an extra step, just two lines in your yaml file. If you run many services, it's a no-brainer. Small footprint, stable for months without restart, relies almost entirely on your Compose file for configuring services, and it's insanely easy to migrate and back up.

I appreciate the response, I put truenas but meant unraid, since they have a "one click" store and config file setup.
I'm running docker configs on my current setup, and pieced together config files off of stuff I found online and they work, I just don't understand the rules and syntax on how to build them ( was doing it with notepad)
Through a lot of trial and error I got them to a workable state, but I think the version of jellyfin server may not have been the right one to pass qsv permissions on.

I used OMV as the OS on my 2 servers I built previously, are you saying install ubuntu kind of like a windows install, and then install jellyfin on that?
I'm sorry for the dumb questions. I built a couple of torrent boxes using mint (hence the username) and I liked it because the gui was more similar to what I was used to, and as dumb as it sounds, I never thought to install the OS like windows and just run jellyfin server off that.
how does it handle docker containers? omv is headless and you just install the plugin and it links to the docker site to build/deploy containers.

[Deleted User]

are you saying install ubuntu kind of like a windows install, and then install jellyfin on that?

did you miss the post from TheDreadPirate?

what he was hinting at is a rapid deployment script, officially from jellyfin, which is intended to take your system from post install to jellyfin

go to https://jellyfin.org/docs/general/installation/linux and scroll down to the ubuntu and debian sections

it appears to make the process very painless

[minty6873]

are you saying install ubuntu kind of like a windows install, and then install jellyfin on that?

did you miss the post from TheDreadPirate?

what he was hinting at is a rapid deployment script, officially from jellyfin, which is intended to take your system from post install to jellyfin

go to https://jellyfin.org/docs/general/installation/linux and scroll down to the ubuntu and debian sections

it appears to make the process very painless

actually i did, scrolled right past it somehow

[minty6873]

I suspect a lot of the QSV issues you had were related to non-free Intel driver packages not being installed.  Not every distro includes them by default.  And with your 11700, there are issues with older kernels not supporting the iGPU in 11th gen+ Intel CPUs (needs 6.17+, IIRC).  And OMV is a bit slower with pushing out newer kernel versions.  And when you added docker, you also need to pass the GPU into the container.

1.  Any OS is stable enough these days if you don't care about rebooting for updates.  Also, ZFS is natively supported in Linux.  And ZFS has great software RAID support and has things like snapshots and bit rot protection (needs parity based RAID).
2.  Quick sync requires additional setup in some Linux distros.  But popular distros like Ubuntu are pretty much zero setup.  You do have to be careful that you use newer kernels depending on which Intel GPU you have.  With Windows 10 you need to install Intel's drivers, not just the ones Windows automatically installs.  So you aren't really saving any steps here with Windows.
3.  TrueNAS Scale (based on Debian Linux), lags behind a bit with what kernel version they push out.  But you can always manually install a newer kernel.  Getting QSV to work on TrueNAS Scale is about the same as plain Debian.

IMO, Windows 10 is a pain to work with when using it as a server.  Even server editions of Windows aren't very good servers.  In my experience as both a Windows and Linux admin, the only thing that Windows does better as a server is be an Active Directory Domain Controller.  Yes, using the command line is a pretty significant learning curve.  But once you are comfortable with it, you will come to appreciate the level of control you have.

Also, if Jellyfin was your only container you should consider just doing a bare metal install.  In Ubuntu/Debian there is an official script to automate installation.  And it saves you the extra steps of configuring Docker, making sure to pass in the GPU, etc.

wow thanks for the info, it's answered what I was looking for. I think you may be right with the free driver packages, I probably had an older distro and tried to add them, but it didn't work. 
I had the line for passing the gpu onto jellyfin, but it never worked. I had read something about paid drivers but nothing I did got them to work.

I had 9 containers running, youtube downloaders, portainer, jellyfin, minecraft, cloud commander and a few others. 
I'm kind of over omv, your part about ubuntu seems like the way to go, I guess I just need to read more, I was having trouble finding documentation specifically referencing OMV and jellyfin together, so maybe looking more generalized into ubuntu would be better.
another post in this thread suggested ubuntu as well, he said 22.04, would that be sufficient you think?

so I'd install ubuntu just like windows on the server, and run docker/portainer and it would work just like omv, but with a gui if I chose to log into the server? it would be a fully working OS with a gui that just ran docker containers?

[TheDreadPirate]

Yeah. 22.04 is the current LTS version (long term support). If you want a docker GUI, install Ubuntu 22.04 DESKTOP (not server) since the GUI is pre-installed and you don't have to worry about that. The desktop installer will also install a new enough kernel for your iGPU. I don't recall if you have to check a box or something to include the non-free Intel drivers. I think it does install Intel drivers by default, but Jellyfin has documentation to install those in Ubuntu if it doesn't.