Home NAS... need some incite

[jeverson]

What I got...

1. HP ProLiant Ultra Micro Tower MicroServer
2. 4GB RAM
3. 1x160GB HDD (came with server)
4. 3x2TB HDDs (can install another when needed)
5. 1xCopy of Windows Home Server 2011
6. 1xCopy of FreeNAS 8
7. 1xCopy of Win7 64bit and 32bit
8. 1xCopy WinXP SP3 32bit
9. Any other Linux distro available on the web

What I am trying to do...

I mainly want to setup a central storage location to stream media and store backups.

The problem...

I tried installing WHS2011 but it wasn't as straight forward as advertised. The little tool for connecting machines to it doesn't work on all machines (a mix of Win7 32 and 64 bit). Also, I wasn't able to do any remote backups with it. I tried to use FreeNAS but my Linux skills are pretty rusty and couldn't find my way around.

Input...

I would just like some feedback from the community. What are you guys running? Have you had these issues? What OS would you recommend for achieving these goals? What resources would you recommend for setting up this kind of device?

Thanks guys!

 

[Trepidati0n]

I tried installing WHS2011 but it wasn't as straight forward as advertised. The little tool for connecting machines to it doesn't work on all machines (a mix of Win7 32 and 64 bit). Also, I wasn't able to do any remote backups with it. I tried to use FreeNAS but my Linux skills are pretty rusty and couldn't find my way around.

Your issues with WHS2011 do not appear to be the norm. I've installed WHS2011 boxes for 2 families and never ran into a connector issue with a variety of machines (XP, vista 32&64, win7 32 and 64).

Second, what do you mean by remote backups?

 

[jeverson]

Your issues with WHS2011 do not appear to be the norm. I've installed WHS2011 boxes for 2 families and never ran into a connector issue with a variety of machines (XP, vista 32&64, win7 32 and 64).

Second, what do you mean by remote backups?

Based on what I have read in other forums, others don't seem to have these issues either which is what's frustrating me. I have been working with Server 2003 for years and a bit with 2008 which is the base for WHS 2011 so I am no stranger to it.

As far as the "remote backups", that didn't come out right. (sounded right in my head when I wrote it ) You can setup the connector to back up your PCs to the WHS, but every time I try it gets to about 10% and fails. This is on a machine where the connector is working. Again, fairly frustrating. Thanks.

 

[Trepidati0n]

Hrm. I really don't know what to tell you here. Only thing I can think of is this.

Get rid of the connector on the client machine as best you can (I've never had to do this, so you will probably have to google it).

Remove all but one drive from the WHS 2011 system.
Throw the160 in the closet or use it a for a HTPC
Install WHS 2011 with just a single drive in it (2TB)
Update the server with all the patches

Then, install connector directly from the server (not the CD/DVD) --> http://yourservername/connect

This is exactly how I setup the people I helped and didn't run into a single issue (well, except for the machine that was loaded wiht more viruses than a CDC vault).

 

[jeverson]

Hrm. I really don't know what to tell you here. Only thing I can think of is this.

Get rid of the connector on the client machine as best you can (I've never had to do this, so you will probably have to google it).

Remove all but one drive from the WHS 2011 system.
Throw the160 in the closet or use it a for a HTPC
Install WHS 2011 with just a single drive in it (2TB)
Update the server with all the patches

Then, install connector directly from the server (not the CD/DVD) --> http://yourservername/connect

This is exactly how I setup the people I helped and didn't run into a single issue (well, except for the machine that was loaded wiht more viruses than a CDC vault).

Thanks for the input. Unfortunately, those are the exact steps I followed when I tried it the first two times. I went to a couple of forums that looked to specialize in WHS and those were the steps they outlined. Well, thanks anyway Trep.

Any input on the other options from others would be nice. Thanks.