Thinking of moving from WHS 2011 to Windows Server 2016 Essentials

Forums › Microsoft Windows › Thinking of moving from WHS 2011 to Windows Server 2016 Essentials - good idea?

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Tinkerisk

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#1989646 6-Apr-2018 18:01

michaelmurfy:

If you add a SSD as a cache drive you get incredibly quick writes also.

You have to unless you prefer to have write performance dropped to ~50 MB/s. And one should mention to add a 2nd SSD as write cache pool when you don't want to break the unRAID parity concept.

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prob

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#1995150 13-Apr-2018 08:43

The one benefit of Windows Server 2016 Essentials that draws me is that it has (like WHRS) 'bare metal' backup. This is the ability to restore a dead PC/ laptop from scratch, OS and all. It works incredibly well in WHRS and I have reinstalled several PC's over the years when hard drives fail etc. You just boot from a CD or thumb drive then connect to the server. It takes less than an hour and you have the PC restored to the previous day's backup.

I don't believe that this feature is available elsewhere.

The things that put me off moving are (a) the hassle of moving data to Windows Server 2016 Essentials (b) the complexity of Windows Server 2016 Essentials and (c) cost.

FYI I was very happy with my install of WHRS until the server overheated (fan issue) and the hard drives were more or less wiped. I face a reinstall anyway.

kiwifidget

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#1995162 13-Apr-2018 09:04

Are the HP Microservers readily available in NZ?

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Twincamr2

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#1995246 13-Apr-2018 10:20

prob:

The things that put me off moving are (a) the hassle of moving data to Windows Server 2016 Essentials (b) the complexity of Windows Server 2016 Essentials and (c) cost.

FYI I was very happy with my install of WHRS until the server overheated (fan issue) and the hard drives were more or less wiped. I face a reinstall anyway.

Are you planning to do a bare metal restore of WHS 2011 on new hardware then?

I've been playing with WSE 2016 for a week or so now in a virtual environment, and I really don't think it's that much more complex than WHS 2011. There are a bunch more functions/features/roles, and a couple more hoops to jump through (mainly if you don't want your clients to join the server domain), but for all intents and purposes, for me, it behaves like an updated version of WHS. I've been able to connect a virtual win10 PC, and a physical Win10 PC to the new server without a hitch, and both perform as expected, automatically logging on to the server and connecting to mapped drives etc. Better in that respect than WHS to be honest. Interestingly, I haven't had the problem that others have had of clients not being able to access the web if the server is down. I haven't yet tested the server backup or the remote access features. Still, the lack of a built-in DLNA server is a bit irksome, but it's not a feature I use regularly, and there are other options.

But yes, moving the data is going to be a bit of a hassle, with probably an intermediate step of copying the shared folders to another location.

Cost - I completely agree, although free is hard to beat! I am considering running the free WSE 2016 evaluation version for the maximum of three years, and after that make a call as to whether to update to 2019 or just build a new 2016.

I was actually just looking at the HP Proliant microserver at PBTech for ~$560 - a very reasonable price, I thought (not that I can afford to replace the server hardware right now).

So how does everyone feel about the security risks of running a home server OS beyond its support life?

David

kiwifidget

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#1995292 13-Apr-2018 10:45

@twincamr2 , do you have a link for the HP microserver at pbtech? When I search there I get nothing.

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Twincamr2

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#1995295 13-Apr-2018 10:49

https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/SVRHSV870208/HP-ProLiant-MicroServer-Gen10-AMD-Opteron-X3216-8G

Dell

Shop now for Dell laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

kiwifidget

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#1995302 13-Apr-2018 10:56

thx @twincamr2

No idea why that wouldn't come up for me.

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mdf

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#1995401 13-Apr-2018 12:23

The linked microserver comes with ClearOS. That looks impressive and even the paid plans look pretty cheap (CE free) but I haven't used it myself. Would be interested in feedback if anyone has used it.

Tinkerisk

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#1995690 13-Apr-2018 18:50

Stay away from Proliant Gen10, too lame (for VMs) compared to Gen8 (which could be modified but that's not the case for Gen10 since CPU is soldered to the PCB).

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#1995832 14-Apr-2018 00:18

You would have had to be quick, the price for the Gen10 is $995 now.

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SepticSceptic

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#1996817 16-Apr-2018 09:36

Twincamr2:

So how does everyone feel about the security risks of running a home server OS beyond its support life?

David

Not overly concerned - still running WHS V1 - Does all I need it to do - backups, media server, etc. I've done bare metal restores in the past, but now I install clean, as most of the data is kept on the WHS.

I have duplicated folders for the important stuff, BDBB for backup of the backups, a couple of external HDD's for monthly backups of everything, and everything that is REAL important is backed up to Zoolz.

I try and limit its access to the outside world.

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Twincamr2

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#1998326 18-Apr-2018 09:59

Thanks for that @SepticSceptic

Although my home server is pretty self-contained, I do use the remote access feature regularly, which requires me to have a couple of ports forwarded to the server... I guess this changes the picture somewhat?

SepticSceptic

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#1998342 18-Apr-2018 10:13

Twincamr2:

Thanks for that @SepticSceptic

Although my home server is pretty self-contained, I do use the remote access feature regularly, which requires me to have a couple of ports forwarded to the server... I guess this changes the picture somewhat?

What do you use remote access for ? Can it be accomplished via a VPN, or something more secure ?

Twincamr2

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#1998362 18-Apr-2018 10:31

SepticSceptic:

What do you use remote access for ? Can it be accomplished via a VPN, or something more secure ?

I use it solely for remote access to shared folders on the server, and occasionally for remote administration of the server. TBH I haven't really considered a third-party VPN solution, as the WHS 2011 option works so well (and I fully admit to being a noob when it comes to such things). Our FritxBox router has a VPN feature I could use, I suppose, but not having investigated it, I assume it's limited to file access. Would I need a static IP?

SepticSceptic

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#1999211 19-Apr-2018 11:21

Twincamr2:

SepticSceptic:

What do you use remote access for ? Can it be accomplished via a VPN, or something more secure ?

I use it solely for remote access to shared folders on the server, and occasionally for remote administration of the server. TBH I haven't really considered a third-party VPN solution, as the WHS 2011 option works so well (and I fully admit to being a noob when it comes to such things). Our FritxBox router has a VPN feature I could use, I suppose, but not having investigated it, I assume it's limited to file access. Would I need a static IP?

You wont need a static IP, as you can get a dynamic DNS service - a setting you put in your router and will keep your internet presence with a DNS name, irrespective of your IP address. DynDNS is one service.

I rarely need any external access to my WHS, but when I do, I use TeamViewer ( or similar) to an always-on HTPC, and then RDP to WHS.

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