New Users Basics Blog #2 - Continued

With over 600 applications, plugins and docker container to choose from, it can be daunting for a new user to know where to even begin. In this blog, we'll continue to go through some popular ones that will help you unlock the full potential of your new Unraid rig. This list of apps, docker containers, and plugins is not meant to be the end all be all by and means but is rather a snapshot of a variety of popular options available for new users to get them started on their own particular use case.

This blog is part 2 of 2.

If you missed part 1, check it out here.
 

Common and Popular Plugins to Install (Continued)

Unraid allows users to extend the functionality of the OS by creating enhancements through our Plugins system. Plugins allow community developers to add functionality not baked into the OS itself, and these works are maintained by the community:

IMPORTANT NOTE: While we thoroughly support all of our community developers and their efforts, any plugins you install are at your own risk. Bugs or issues with them should be reported to the respective community developer, not to Lime Technology.

unBALANCE

Community Developer: jbrodriguez

The unBALANCE plugin allows you to transfer files or folders between disks in your array and manage space in your Unraid array via two different operating modes:

• Scatter: Transfer data out of a disk, into one or more disks
• Gather: Consolidate data from a user share into a single disk

Some of the popular use cases for unBALANCE are:

- Empty a disk in order to change filesystems

- Move all seasons of a tv show onto a single disk

- Move a specific folder from a disk to another disk

- Split your movies/tv shows/games folder from a disk to other disks

To read up on the full functionality of unBALANCE or support jbrodriguez, see the support thread!

Handbrake

Community Developer: Djoss

HandBrake is a great tool for converting video from nearly any format to a selection of modern, widely supported codecs. Did we mention that it is free and open source? The GUI of the Handbrake application is accessed through a modern web browser (no installation or configuration needed on client side) or via any VNC client. Best of all, there’s a fully automated mode also available: drop files into a watch folder and let HandBrake process them without any user interaction. Check out the full support thread here and the Github documentation here.

For a more thorough step-by-step setup guide, be sure to check out SpaceInvaderOne’s video:

Appdata Backup/Restore v2

Community Developer: Squid

The Appdata Backup / Restore module allows you to easily create backups of your docker appdata folder on a schedule and restore them in the event of a cache drive failure. Also, with this plugin you can backup your USB flash and libvert.img. This is extremely useful and time saving if the worst case scenario happens and you have a drive failure. Check out the support thread for full details.

Home Assistant

Community Developer: balloob

Home Assistant is an open source home automation software that puts local control and privacy first. Think IoT Smart home software minus the creepy Big Brother element. Sometimes, seeing is better than reading: Check out the interactive Home Assistant Demo to get a better idea of some of the awesome things you can do and control with this docker container. Be sure to also check out the Cookbook of different ways you can use Home Assistant in your own residence.

MakeMKV

Community Developer: Djoss

MakeMKV is a one-click solution to convert video that you own into free and open format that can be played everywhere. MakeMKV is a format converter, aka a "transcoder". It converts video clips into a set of MKV files. Also, there are tools to convert MKV files into many different formats including DVD and Blu-ray discs. MakeMKV can also instantly stream decrypted video without intermediate conversion to a wide range of players. On top of all of this, it has a very nice, mobile-friendly web UI to access MakeMKV's graphical interface and has an automatic disc ripper that is actively supported. Check out the full support thread for MakeMKV here!

Tonido

Community Developer: Capt.Insano

Tonido Server allows you to access all your files on your computer from a web browser, smartphone (Android and iOS), tablet or even DLNA enabled devices. With a simple setup, you can start your own Personal Cloud in minutes. Better yet, your files reside on your computer, not on a third party server. Check out the support thread or the Tonido website for more info.

Bonus: Dynamix Plugins

Community Developer: bonienl

On top of the ones already mentioned, there is a whole suite of 15 Dynamix plugins that can be really handy to have installed on your server. Some of them include:

Active Streams: Shows in real-time any open SMB and AFP network streams. This allows instant view of who is accessing the server - either by IP address or name - and see what content is opened. Optionally streams can be stopped from the GUI.

S3 Sleep: Defines the conditions under which the system will go to S3 sleep mode. It also adds an unconditional 'sleep' button on the Array Operation page.

System Stats: Shows in real-time the disk utilizations and critical system resources such as CPU usage, memory usage, interface bandwidth and disk I/O bandwidth.

System AutoFan: Allows automatic fan control based on the system temperature. High and low thresholds are used to speed up or down the fan. This is a newer plugin and still under development.

System Buttons: Adds an one-click button to the header which allows for instant sleep, reboot, shutdown of the system or array start/stop.

SSD TRIM: Allows the creation of a cronjob to do regular SSD TRIM operations on the cache device(s). The command 'fstrim -v /mnt/cache' is executed at the given interval.

Day Night: Automatically toggles between a day theme and a night theme based on the sunrise and sunset times of your location.

Check out the full list of Dynamix plugins here.