[jimim]

Hi guys. can someone answer a few questions about WHS?


I am going to be using it in a Mac environment. I'll jut be setting it up on the PC and then will not have access to a PC to make changes unless I have to.


What kind of things aren't I going to be able to control via Mac environment over Snow Leopard?


1. will I be able to do a system recovery if need be?

2. will i be able to format HDD if need be such as for backup only when adding a disk?


3. also security. i'm coming from a mac world where security isn't really a problem. when this server is on my LAN how will I be protecting it? i know there are virus programs out there that i can run on it but is there anything else I should be aware of? My router that is at the head of my setup is a netgear FVS114.


thanks alot for the help!


thanks,

jim

 

[MaxBurn]

I don't know if there is connector software for mac but that doesn't really mean much as you can still get to the file share, you just loose out on client computer backups there.


For the WHS control I don't think you lose anything at all, you just need remote desktop on the clients and I am fairly sure that is available for mac to connect to a windows machine.


WHS handles formatting and partitioning of drives that you give it. They WILL get formatted if you add them to the drive pool.


Security is locked down pretty well out of the box, strong password restrictions included. I am not running AV on WHS, not sure there is a need when all clients moving files to/from WHS have AV.


Oh and isn't there some soft of apple box for this purpose instead of WHS?

 

[jimim]



Quote:
Originally Posted by MaxBurn /forum/post/18209986


I don't know if there is connector software for mac but that doesn't really mean much as you can still get to the file share, you just loose out on client computer backups there.


For the WHS control I don't think you lose anything at all, you just need remote desktop on the clients and I am fairly sure that is available for mac to connect to a windows machine.


WHS handles formatting and partitioning of drives that you give it. They WILL get formatted if you add them to the drive pool.


Security is locked down pretty well out of the box, strong password restrictions included. I am not running AV on WHS, not sure there is a need when all clients moving files to/from WHS have AV.


Oh and isn't there some soft of apple box for this purpose instead of WHS?

Thanks alot for the help so far.


I am pretty much looking for a NAS setup. I looked into qnap and thecus but their support isn't the greatest and I don't want to really do a RAID5 configuration. I mean I can buy one of the qnap's or thecus's and just do raid 1 or 2 but I still just don't want to deal with them as a company. Then I started reading up on the unraid solutions and that wasn't really for me. then I was told about WHS. i think it is a pretty good solution for me due to ease of use. I can atleast expand on it's capability down the road if I want to as compared to say a boxed NAS solution from netgear or WD or any of those companies.


Is this idea kinda stupid so a NAS set up in your opinion?


jim

 

[jimim]



Quote:
Originally Posted by MaxBurn /forum/post/18209986


I don't know if there is connector software for mac but that doesn't really mean much as you can still get to the file share, you just loose out on client computer backups there.


For the WHS control I don't think you lose anything at all, you just need remote desktop on the clients and I am fairly sure that is available for mac to connect to a windows machine.


WHS handles formatting and partitioning of drives that you give it. They WILL get formatted if you add them to the drive pool.


Security is locked down pretty well out of the box, strong password restrictions included. I am not running AV on WHS, not sure there is a need when all clients moving files to/from WHS have AV.


Oh and isn't there some soft of apple box for this purpose instead of WHS?

I guess I was thinking of more of firewall protection software that is and any other options so someone doesn't hack into me? or isn't this a real issue?


jim

 

[MaxBurn]

Little NAS boxes are pretty nice but how much storage are you thinking you want? That is going to guide your solution more than anything I think. I wanted more than a simple little NAS box could offer, my current hardware plan maxes out at 14 hard drives and that's a fairly normal home server machine from what I gather. I only have five drives now with just under 6TB in use and my movie collection really isn't that big IMO with a mix of DVD and bluray. I would prefer to build a real server and keep options open.


You could check out freenas too.


I choose home server because it was easy and supported my movies in that box, plus I got backups for the clients as a throw in feature. I am not locked into that though, I was also considering XP or something like freenas or a favorite linux distro. WHS just seemed to offer the most features and ease of setup.


My hardware:

Atom D510 Supermicro X7SPA-HF, Geil 2GB, 2x 750GB Seagate, 2x 2TB Seagate, 1TB Samsung F1, Win Home Server. That motherboard has IPMI 2 with KVM and media over IP, making the box truly headless. I installed the OS without laying a hand on the box.


I have plans to add a supermicro SASLP-MV8 to get 8 more drives in the computer which will fill the case.
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1397855


Beyond that you might want to consider a port expander.
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1484614


My case is this:
http://www.virtual-hideout.net/revie...se/index.shtml
http://www.yycase.com/yy-0221.htm


But there are better options now:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-031-_-Product



I am not mentioning high end hardware RAID cards here because you don't need it on a low end home media box but I do strongly recommend that you either do folder duplication (home server) on anything you don't want to lose or software RAID 5 (linux/freenas etc).

 

[jimim]



Quote:
Originally Posted by MaxBurn /forum/post/18213081


Little NAS boxes are pretty nice but how much storage are you thinking you want? That is going to guide your solution more than anything I think. I wanted more than a simple little NAS box could offer, my current hardware plan maxes out at 14 hard drives and that's a fairly normal home server machine from what I gather. I only have five drives now with just under 6TB in use and my movie collection really isn't that big IMO with a mix of DVD and bluray. I would prefer to build a real server and keep options open.


You could check out freenas too.


I choose home server because it was easy and supported my movies in that box, plus I got backups for the clients as a throw in feature. I am not locked into that though, I was also considering XP or something like freenas or a favorite linux distro. WHS just seemed to offer the most features and ease of setup.


My hardware:

Atom D510 Supermicro X7SPA-HF, Geil 2GB, 2x 750GB Seagate, 2x 2TB Seagate, 1TB Samsung F1, Win Home Server. That motherboard has IPMI 2 with KVM and media over IP, making the box truly headless. I installed the OS without laying a hand on the box.


I have plans to add a supermicro SASLP-MV8 to get 8 more drives in the computer which will fill the case.
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1397855


Beyond that you might want to consider a port expander.
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1484614


My case is this:
http://www.virtual-hideout.net/revie...se/index.shtml
http://www.yycase.com/yy-0221.htm


But there are better options now:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-031-_-Product



I am not mentioning high end hardware RAID cards here because you don't need it on a low end home media box but I do strongly recommend that you either do folder duplication (home server) on anything you don't want to lose or software RAID 5 (linux/freenas etc).

Like I said I picked the WHS as a option cause it is pretty easy to use it looks. I was going to be backing up all my photo's. I do a lot of photography. I also was going to switch all my lossless music over to for my 2 channel setup and then also use it for my movies as I start to back those up when I get done with my dedicated room. for now it will be mainly for photos and for my music. So for now 4 disks say the 1.5 the unit comes with and 2 more 2 tb or 1.5 tb even is fine. When I start ot rip movies I'll take it from there. i can always hang a 4 bay SATA enclosure from the unit if need be or by that point I might just buy the updated version. who knows. things always change.


For backup I was going to do a separate backup HDD that I will remove for my pics and keep is stored off site cause those can't be replaced.


For my music I might just do the same or wing it for now. i can always rerip. I know it takes time but it's no big deal in my eyes. If space isn't a problem maybe a separate HHD or duplication at that point.


Does this all sound stupid. to my it doesn't cause I just don't know enough.


Oh so about the mac thing yesterday I spoke with HP tech support. very nice guy. he said I should be totally fine cause the new units come with version 3.0 which supports mac much greater. i also found that article about remote login and that fix from the WHS blog to emulate the windows console.


so thoughts. . .i know i deff can't build my own. not that talented. i did think about going to a local shop to see about getting one built but don't know if I should bother. i can get the 495 for 600 right now from b&h. I like dealing with them. i get all my camera stuff from them and visit the store when in the city often.


thanks for all thehelp btw,

jim

 

[badandyho]

The HP Mediasmart Servers do have a Mac connector, though I'm not sure how well it works.

 

[Max Mike]



Quote:
Originally Posted by badandyho /forum/post/18215814


The HP Mediasmart Servers do have a Mac connector, though I'm not sure how well it works.

All current versions of WHS have a Mac connector for file storage, serving files, and remote access... the HP Mac connector adds backup functionality.


WHS is brain dead simple to operate.

 

[jimim]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Max Mike /forum/post/18216469


All current versions of WHS have a Mac connector for file storage, serving files, and remote access... the HP Mac connector adds backup functionality.


WHS is brain dead simple to operate.

So with the Mac console will I be able to do pretty much everything I can on the windows console to control the WHS?


jimi