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I am currently running Server 2008, with a virtual instance of WHS v1 strictly for keeping the network backed up nightly. I then have SyncToy doing an additional backup of user files, because backing up the virtual machine doesn't really work--it's only used for rebuilding a machine quickly.
The machine serves as a print server for a Samsung duplexing laser printer (USB).
The hardware is:
-Biostar generic ATX board
-AMD Regor 250 2.5Ghz dual-core CPU
-Intel GigE PCIe desktop NIC
-2x2Gb non-ECC DDR2 RAM
-250Gb Laptop SATA drive for OS & boot
-1TB WD drive for virtual machines
-2TB Hitachi drive for general file storage
-2 3TB external USB drives used for backing up the server (alternating backups)
I'm thinking about dropping the virtual machine and creating this hard drive strategy (already have drives for this setup):
-Boot drive-either laptop SATA or a small SSD
-2 1TB drives in RAID1 for backing up local machines' user data
-2 TB drives in RAID 1 for general data-music, archives, etc
-3TB USB drives in rotation for backups
Instead of the virtual machine, I figured I'd just change to a nightly rsync or something to back up user files to the server, and create a clean base image of the local machines with Acronis.
Like everyone else I am concerned about data integrity. I am considering the jump to ZFS, using either FreeBSD or OpenIndiana. Most of the files are stored on the local machines, which are Windows-based, and the server only has some shared data of its own (large music collection, things like my TechNet downloads, and some static archived data).
My big concern, is though I've set up file servers in FreeBSD and Linux, I've never done print sharing. The server needs to be a print server. Is it pretty easy to get a modern printer running?
Also, which operating system should I use? Continue running Windows, switch to Linux, FreeBSD, or OpenIndiana? I have no experience with Solaris-based systems. I probably have the most experience with FreeBSD, though I haven't used it much in the last few years. I did set up a small manually-configured Samba server, and it ran pretty good.
Would I really see any benefit from ZFS when the majority of the files I'm interested in are stored locally on Windows-based computers? I realize there is a major risk with the machine not having ECC. I am hoping to upgrade to server-grade hardware in the future, but I'm not sure when that will be (my wife and I are in pay-off-the-cars-fast mode). I plan on going with a server board, a Core i3, and as much RAM as I can get in there (well, 8-16Gb).
Obviously, if I go to Linux or a ZFS system, I can build the mirrors in software. If I stick with Windows, I will have to get an add-on card most likely. This makes Linux more attractive.
Also, what can I do to mitigate silent corruption on the local machines? I suppose I will have to get in the habit (and try to teach the wife) to make sure and "archive" important stuff like pictures to the server right away, so it can't get corrupted (if I go with ZFS).
If I do go with ZFS, can I enable deduplication and gzip compression on the external backup drives, while keeping standard encryption and no deduplication on the mirror sets?
Any other thoughs or criticisms on this setup?
The machine serves as a print server for a Samsung duplexing laser printer (USB).
The hardware is:
-Biostar generic ATX board
-AMD Regor 250 2.5Ghz dual-core CPU
-Intel GigE PCIe desktop NIC
-2x2Gb non-ECC DDR2 RAM
-250Gb Laptop SATA drive for OS & boot
-1TB WD drive for virtual machines
-2TB Hitachi drive for general file storage
-2 3TB external USB drives used for backing up the server (alternating backups)
I'm thinking about dropping the virtual machine and creating this hard drive strategy (already have drives for this setup):
-Boot drive-either laptop SATA or a small SSD
-2 1TB drives in RAID1 for backing up local machines' user data
-2 TB drives in RAID 1 for general data-music, archives, etc
-3TB USB drives in rotation for backups
Instead of the virtual machine, I figured I'd just change to a nightly rsync or something to back up user files to the server, and create a clean base image of the local machines with Acronis.
Like everyone else I am concerned about data integrity. I am considering the jump to ZFS, using either FreeBSD or OpenIndiana. Most of the files are stored on the local machines, which are Windows-based, and the server only has some shared data of its own (large music collection, things like my TechNet downloads, and some static archived data).
My big concern, is though I've set up file servers in FreeBSD and Linux, I've never done print sharing. The server needs to be a print server. Is it pretty easy to get a modern printer running?
Also, which operating system should I use? Continue running Windows, switch to Linux, FreeBSD, or OpenIndiana? I have no experience with Solaris-based systems. I probably have the most experience with FreeBSD, though I haven't used it much in the last few years. I did set up a small manually-configured Samba server, and it ran pretty good.
Would I really see any benefit from ZFS when the majority of the files I'm interested in are stored locally on Windows-based computers? I realize there is a major risk with the machine not having ECC. I am hoping to upgrade to server-grade hardware in the future, but I'm not sure when that will be (my wife and I are in pay-off-the-cars-fast mode). I plan on going with a server board, a Core i3, and as much RAM as I can get in there (well, 8-16Gb).
Obviously, if I go to Linux or a ZFS system, I can build the mirrors in software. If I stick with Windows, I will have to get an add-on card most likely. This makes Linux more attractive.
Also, what can I do to mitigate silent corruption on the local machines? I suppose I will have to get in the habit (and try to teach the wife) to make sure and "archive" important stuff like pictures to the server right away, so it can't get corrupted (if I go with ZFS).
If I do go with ZFS, can I enable deduplication and gzip compression on the external backup drives, while keeping standard encryption and no deduplication on the mirror sets?
Any other thoughs or criticisms on this setup?