Setup Help - File Server & Network Setup

D

dmw16

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 29, 2004
Messages
141
I am interested in upgrading my file server setup and would really appreciate some advice.

My current setup is an Intel SS4200 w/ 2 1TB Western Digital Green drives and WHS. I like the easy user access controls and file duplication offered by WHS. However, I don't think the performance that the system offers. I find that when streaming media within my network the server tends to flake out. Typically about halfway thru a 4 minute song the stream will drop and then the server will no long be shown in my network places. I assume this is due to the slow processor speed and limited RAM (1GB) on the SS4200.

I've begun revamping my stable of computers at home, so the devices I currently have are:
15" MBP (newest version, also running Win7 via Fusion & Bootcamp)
13" MacBook (older white version)
AppleTV
iPad

I want to be able to do the following:
1. Backup my essential files (photos, music, documents, etc) w/ some sort of RAID or redundancy.
2. Stream media to the computer and the AppleTV (need iTunes server support or Firefly)
3. Access my files remotely (I travel a lot and want to be able to get my files while I'm on the road).
4. Setup file secure file space for each user and require a password for that user to access the files that are in their private folder(s).

I would like something quiet and was wondering if a Mac Mini hooked up to an external firewire enclosure would work, but I don't know much about OS X Server. I like WHS, but given my Apple-centric devices I am wondering if a Mac based setup is best.

I'd like to keep the cost under $500 (not including hard drives). If you think building a machine is my best bet I already have a case and motherboard (socket 1156).

Thanks in advance.
 
I would recommend running a FreeNAS machine, if you have the means to set it up. It supports sharing over AFP so integration into your network should be easy and painless.

IMO the Mac Mini "Server" is a ripoff, you can get much more for your money by building a machine yourself or buying a prepackaged NAS appliance(QNAP, Synology and a few others have AFP baked in)
 
This "Typically about halfway thru a 4 minute song the stream will drop and then the server will no long be shown in my network places" would make me think maybe youre having a network issue possibly. Especially the "server will no long be shown in my network places" part. Im using WHS on an older machine, (IDE OS drive, 1gb of ram, 1800 Athlon , with Gig nic) and havent had any issues. I also have a Freenas setup on a REALLY old machine (boots from cd, 256 mb ram, 250 Mhz cpu ) and it doesnt even studder for most things. (granted its not streaming high def video to 5 pc's)

Id definately check into your network a little.
 
jay2472000 said:
This "Typically about halfway thru a 4 minute song the stream will drop and then the server will no long be shown in my network places" would make me think maybe youre having a network issue possibly. Especially the "server will no long be shown in my network places" part. Im using WHS on an older machine, (IDE OS drive, 1gb of ram, 1800 Athlon , with Gig nic) and havent had any issues. I also have a Freenas setup on a REALLY old machine (boots from cd, 256 mb ram, 250 Mhz cpu ) and it doesnt even studder for most things. (granted its not streaming high def video to 5 pc's)

Id definately check into your network a little.
Click to expand...

The issue occurs over gigabit ethernet between 2 devices plugged into the same router. I could see if it was going thru one of the hubs on my network, but with it being on the same router I can't see that being the issue.

Could it be that WHS is too heavy for the SS4200?
 
I agree with Jay. Streaming music should in no way knock a server off the network. It sounds like a configuration, driver, or hardware issue causing the problem, not WHS itself.
 
What kind of router?

WHS is fine on the SS4200 for that application.
 
DMW, while I understand what youre saying, I have a machine with Gig onboard that dual boots Win7 and Xp Pro off of 2 separate drives. For some reason when I am in Xp Pro I can only transfer to my server at about 700 Kb/s. Same exact system in Xp Pro transfers to a Ubuntu based server at 40 Mb/s. Same exact system in Win7 transfers to WHS at 38Mb/s. (after about 4 days trying to figure out why I gave up, lol, if I need to transfer lot of data over I just log into Win7) So sometimes theory doesnt always work in real world applications.

So, while building another nas/server/etc may solve the issue, I dont think your overpowering the machine you have now by any means.


Try googling smallnetbuilder. They have a good selection of articles about tweaking and testing a network.

Good luck
 
jay2472000 said:
DMW, while I understand what youre saying, I have a machine with Gig onboard that dual boots Win7 and Xp Pro off of 2 separate drives. For some reason when I am in Xp Pro I can only transfer to my server at about 700 Kb/s. Same exact system in Xp Pro transfers to a Ubuntu based server at 40 Mb/s. Same exact system in Win7 transfers to WHS at 38Mb/s. (after about 4 days trying to figure out why I gave up, lol, if I need to transfer lot of data over I just log into Win7) So sometimes theory doesnt always work in real world applications.

So, while building another nas/server/etc may solve the issue, I dont think your overpowering the machine you have now by any means.


Try googling smallnetbuilder. They have a good selection of articles about tweaking and testing a network.

Good luck
Click to expand...

Thanks. I'll check out that site.

The server seems to spin up its fans at odd times, but it may be balancing the data between the two drives in the machine.

If I can get Firefly to work in WHS and serve my AppleTV I'll probably keep the machine. If I can't I may seek other options.

Maybe another easy method would be to keep the SS4200 to backup my data and use a ReadyNAS to serve the ATV.
 
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