Unraid 8 Explained: New Distro, Docker Compose, Backups and more | Uncast (Part 2 of 2)

Last time you met the CEO. This time, meet the man who started it all and the person building what comes next.

In Part 2, Ed sits down with Unraid creator Tom and product director Eli. Tom walks through 20 years of Unraid — from a 2005 hobby project born out of a pile of cheap hard drives, to parity-protected storage, a web GUI built to hide Linux, and the arrival of plugins, Docker, VMs and ZFS. Then Eli lays out what's coming in Unraid 8.

What's next: a move to a Fedora base (built on Universal Blue's uCore) for faster security updates and far better hardware support out of the box; native Docker Compose; a built-in backup solution — to the cloud, an S3 bucket, or another Unraid server, with snapshots and full restores; a plugin permission system so you can see exactly what each plugin can touch before you install it; and a cleaner, more consistent interface across the OS, your account, and Community Apps — all without taking anything away from the power users who go deep.

Same idea that started it all: your hardware, your data, your choice. Here's to the next 20 years.

— CHAPTERS —

0:00 – Welcome back: meet the founder (Part 2 of 2)

1:05 – 2005: the problem Tom set out to solve

2:24 – Parity & redundancy: the first Unraid array

4:41 – The web GUI, "Tower" & the birth of plugins

7:23 – 64-bit, VMs & Docker: the road to Unraid 6

9:37 – ZFS support & mirrored USB boot (Unraid 7)

11:49 – Why Unraid 8 moves to a Fedora base

13:29 – Immutable Linux & Universal Blue (uCore)

15:58 – Kernel flexibility & better hardware support

20:32 – One cohesive interface & own-your-data

22:38 – Built-in backups & native Docker Compose

26:20 – Plugins you can trust: the new permission system

29:35 – Community Apps, reimagined (ca.unraid.net)

31:23 – When can you try it? Beta, RC & getting involved

33:05 – Early days: building servers by hand

35:34 – From flash drives to digital downloads

37:17 – 20 years, still independent: Tom's reflection

39:00 – Closing remarks & how to get involved

— LINKS —

Watch Part 1 (meet CEO Tiffany Jones).

Read Tiffany's letter (companion blog).

Community Apps.

Sign up for the Unraid 8 beta.

Submit feature requests & bug reports.

Work with us (Unraid jobs).

What will you build with Unraid?

Get Started with Unraid in 15 minutes or less.