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should i get windows home server 2011 or use win 8 or 10 ?


Ryo

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I just saw win home server on newegg tonight for $99.00 and im debating weather its worth it. it has a 8gb mem cap and my rig is at 16 gb now. I will be rung drivepool and scanner with any os I chose but I haven't used 2011 ever. I loved WHS V1 but my current test rig is going strong and im lookin g into a xeon down the road. unless my needs can be met with a simpler machine? all my workstations are win 7 home or win 8.1

 

whats my best bet.

 

also windows 2012 is way overkill for me.

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Oh, wow, it's back in stock! :)

 

As for "if it's worth it", it really depends.

 

If you went with WHS2011, you'd need to make sure you have the "UEFI/GPT" hotfix installed if you're backing up Windows 8+ machines that are in UEFI mode.

 

However, as you've mentioned, you miss out on half of your RAM, which sucks.

 

 

Worst case here, grab HyperV Server 2012R2 or VMWare ESXi and install WHS2011 as a VM. Yes, there are issues with doing that, but it would allow you to use all of your RAM, and could be a great way to easily upgrade in the future. As well, as run other VMs and test stuff out (put that future Xeon to good use).

Though this does depend on the CPU and the hardware you grab.



And yes the connector for Windows Home Server 2011 is compatible with WIndows 8 and 8.1. (It requires a hack for Windows 10 though, IIRC)

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im gonna take the SERVER plunge for windows 10 if I like I may purchase this and run it with drive pool / scanner. im expecting support for my upgraded XEON server.. yay cant wait to think a Xeon 1275v3 and 32 GB ddr 3 2400 ram on a ssd should be slightly fast.

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I have it installed in a VM, but have I used it extensively? No.

However, so far, there isn't a whole lot to differentiate from Server 2012R2. Most of the differences I've seen are purely GUI based stuff. 

If there isn't any real changes under the hood, I'm not sure it's worth the upgrade.... At least for me, as I have 2012R2 Essentials already.

 

 

As for support, ... I suspect that most Windows 8.1 driver should work on it just fine. At least at the moment.

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well  as I don't have 2012 r2 yet I may wait for server 10 I saw a gui pic and it looks like the reg win 10 im running and I like my reg start menu

 

btw if I reload my server now that I registered drivepool can I just deactivate the software and reactivate once I reload server 10? and my data should stay safe correct?

I had no issues when I reloaded when my red drive died but just double checking???

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I have DLed the tech preview of W10 Server because I know at some stage I'll have to migrate from WHS2011 and this is a good way to learn (I also have an old spare PC I'll use as a client). But I have to say, sofar, a lot of mumbo jumbo for me that, as a home user, I'm not sure I should be interested in. That is the gr8 thing about WHS2011: As long as you can live with its limitations, it is _really_ simple to use and maintain IMHO. Yes, it can only do 8GB, but who cares? (I do, different story). For a home server it should not matter. Yes, it has a certain 2 TB limit but that is managable for quite some time in fact. I can have 6TB of data and an OS drive and back it all up using Server Backup. No, it does not do VM.

 

Other than that, it is really easy and that is what I like. Client backups/file restore/full restore: check. File sharing: check. Media serving: check. Torrenting: check. Server backup+restore: check. Little need for Server specific knowledge, DNS stuff, AD stuff, no need to use hacks to make it simple: check.

 

I hope I'll be able to run WHS2011 for another 10 years in fact.

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@Ryo:

yes, you can deactivate the license, reinstall and then activate it on the new install.

To do so, open the UI, click on the "Gear" icon in the top right corner and select "Manage license". 

 

@Umfriend:

Absolutely. And WHS2011 will continue to to get security updates past it's lifespan, until Server 2008R2 stops getting updates (in 2020, IIRC). So from a security standpoint, it's a viable solution.

 

However, resellers should stop selling it soon, so you may not be able to purchase it at all anymore. Newegg had it again.... for all of a day or two.... Supplies are limited for it, and Microsoft isn't very interested in continuing it...

 

But if it works for you .... that's great.

 

However, I like having a domain and some of the associated benefits of it. But I'm not an average users by any means.

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After trying a lot of windows servers (2008 r2, 2012essentials , and server 10 preview) im sticking with win 10 workstation preview for my server.. fits my needs best for ease of use and stability

Can i ask why Win10 and not 8.1?

 

I started with Home Server when it came out and the reason was the drive extender.

After they removed the drive extender there was no reason anymore for me to use WHS.

But to the rescue there is now software like DrivePool.

 

I mean if somebody uses DrivePool he has more data and HDDs then the average user and then using a preview/beta OS?

Whats the benefit of using Win10 instead of Win8?

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I haven't seen the stability part... in fact, I have a friend that reverted back to 8.1 because the explorer crash issue...

 

Also, install Start8 or another start menu replacement, and you get the ease of use there.

 

 

But that's really dependant on personal usage.

 

 

I started with Home Server when it came out and the reason was the drive extender.

After they removed the drive extender there was no reason anymore for me to use WHS.

Worst decision by Microsoft. That and cutting out Media Center support in WHS2011....

 

However, I'd definitely disagree with the "no reason".... 

RANT:

On Home Server Show forums, a fun topic has come up: Backups. Somebody wanted WHS style backsup without having to to WHS or Server Essentials.  

The pricetag? $1500 from one solution to do this, Or ~$200-300 for another, PLUS licenses for EACH client ($25-50).

 

Either way, that makes Server 2012R2 Essential's $400 price tag seem downright reasonable, especially with all the additional stuff you get with it.

/rant

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However, I'd definitely disagree with the "no reason"....

 

No reason for ME :)

As you said: dependents on personal usage.

 

My Win8 Server is just a big HDD for movies, music, videos, tv-shows...

And DE and now DrivePoole is so much easier then RAID.

 

I also run a 24/7 Hyper-V Server 2012 R2 Core with pfSense, FreeSWITCH, Win8.1 (for VoxCommando) and Debian.

 

But i wonder how Win8.1 can be not stable. I have ~10 PCs - DOS, Win95, Win98, XP, XP x64 and Win8 is something

that never made any problems. Even on 8 year old hardware with Vista/Win7 drivers it runs rock stable.

 

I'm not against somebody using Win10 and i didn't test it yet cause the last time i wanted to test it it didn't work

in VMWare. I'm just curios and wonder that Win8 is not stable and Win10 is.

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every time I tell win 8.1 PRO to play a basic mp3 from my pool my laoptop goes complete blue and softcrashes and the within 30 sec goes back to my desktop like I just booted machine clean.

if I play same Mp3 on the same laptop with a clean win 10 preview install media player plays flawless....

 

my experience so far win 10 Alpha version DESTROYS WIN 8.1 on my hp laptop
 

specs are

I7 - 4510 cpu @ 2.0ghz dual core

16GB ddr3 1600 ram

256 GB ssd hard drive

Blu ray writer

Geforce 4 GB gtx 800 series graphics

1920x1080p screen

wireless AC (2x2)

lit keyboard

17 inch touch screen



should I change ram from basic Samsung Bs to gaming ram?

cant go beyond 16gb but I love my gskill in my desktop......

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did some testing and I think as much as I hate to admit it win 10 is the problem. so im gonna reload to win 8 enterprise 90 day eval as a test and see what happens. if it fixes all issues ill wait till launch and buy a copy of the final win 10 pro...

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If it matters, Drivepool is not working with the current release of the Windows 10 TP.    The pool is recognized by the DrivePool interface, but throws errors trying to access it from file explorer.   I was hoping it would work, as the implementation of OneDrive in 8.1 is very problematic (the placeholders cause issues).   I have a 30TB pool (it's a bit of overkill, but I had a lot of hard drives!) with 10 internal and 2 TR5M external SATA enclosures and Windows 8.1 otherwise works just fine.   WHS2011 just gave me too much trouble in trying to do things beyond just serving up files.   I seem to recall PLEX not liking it too much.

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I have Plex Media Server, MediaBrowser 3 Server, and Subsonic, all running on WHS 2011 with no trouble at all. It should work for you also.

 

Just in case, don't go setting up a server that you think you are going to keep on Windows 10. If MS does like they've done in the past, you will have to rebuild from scratch when you go to the release product.

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If it matters, Drivepool is not working with the current release of the Windows 10 TP.    The pool is recognized by the DrivePool interface, but throws errors trying to access it from file explorer.   I was hoping it would work, as the implementation of OneDrive in 8.1 is very problematic (the placeholders cause issues).   I have a 30TB pool (it's a bit of overkill, but I had a lot of hard drives!) with 10 internal and 2 TR5M external SATA enclosures and Windows 8.1 otherwise works just fine.   WHS2011 just gave me too much trouble in trying to do things beyond just serving up files.   I seem to recall PLEX not liking it too much.

 

 

 

And this is why we are not officially supporting Windows 10 until is has hit RTM (release) or is VERY close. 

Because the product is essentially a public ALPHA release... it is subject to drastic and total changes. 

 

And unfortunately, it does seem that you are being negatively impacted by that.

 

 

 

Worst case here, if you need to get up and running, you can download the Windows 8.1 Enterprise Eval disk and generate a key for that:

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/evaluate-windows-8-1-enterprise

It is a 90 day trial. Alternatively, Microsoft has a 180 day Eval of Windows Server 2012R2 Essentials, as well.

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/evaluate-windows-server-2012-r2-essentials

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