Help With Home Server

protocol77

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hi guys new to these forums but not new to windows Operating Systems


I am writing this after coming from a Linux OS Forum and been dissapointed with the lack of help and the level of arrogance coming from there

I am looking to setup another home server my current one is running WHS 2011 but as i am rebuilding it to make it more low powered and effecient i wanted to upgrade or change the OS to something else

at first after all the posts i found recommending Linux i spent some time looking at several however i found that simple tasks that can be achieved in a windows OS with a few mouse clicks take about half an hour of typing commands and editing config files in linux

so i simply posted on a site funnily enough called "AskUbuntu" about which linux version would be best for me as a beginner and all i got back was rude and unhelpful replies

so i did a bit more searching and came across some articles about setting up Windows 8 as a Home server this was interesting to me because as much as i like the Windows Server OS's they are more expensive and also have way too much stuff that i wouldn't probably use for a simple home sharing network

i basically will be setting the server up to perform two main functions serving my files to my other pc's and doing backups which i usually schedule for 3 times per week (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays)

so i wanted to get some thoughts on people who may have considered or already started using Windows 8 Pro as a Home server and what their experiences have been

one benefit i see is because it is a desktop OS most of the Anti-virus software will work on it so i could install something like Avast Free Edition on there and it should keep it safe whereas Windows Server i would need a Server-Grade Antivirus which i do not know of any currently
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Custom Built
    CPU
    Intel i5 2500k
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte P67a-UD4-B3
    Memory
    8GB DDR 3 1600mhz G.Skill Ripjaws X
    Graphics Card(s)
    HIS Radeon HD6850 1GB GDDR5
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    42" Inch LCD TV With DVI (Also 2 x 24" LCD Monitors)
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080p
    Hard Drives
    1x Samsung 830 128gb SSD
    1x Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB
    PSU
    Corsair HX650
    Case
    Coolermaster
    Keyboard
    Dell
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Internet Speed
    20mbps ADSL2+
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Avast Free Antivirus
Welcome to Eight Forum protocol177, Windows 8 will run a home server as good as Whs2011.
Google storage spaces window8 and you will find that you can set your drives up much the same as Whs2011.
I set up windows 8 as a server and found that
Easier to setup than a server Os
drives can be organized better
All windows software works with it
As you mentioned all the AV products work
Common GUI with your other desktops
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro 64bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Custom Build
    CPU
    Intel i7-4770K
    Motherboard
    Asus Z87 Sabertooth
    Memory
    16 Gig DDR3-2400
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte GT740
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27" - Benq 22" - Dell 23"
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 840 pro 128g SSD
    1xWestern Digital Caviar Green 1TB
    2xWestern Digital Caviar Green 2TB
    PSU
    Seasonic 760 watt platinum
    Case
    HAF-X
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-C12P CPU Cooler
    Keyboard
    Logitech illuminated keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech Performance MX
    Internet Speed
    Cable
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Avast Internet Security
thanks for the reply Kodi (and from a fellow Aussie too :D) finally found a friendly forum

glad to see it will work well for my purposes one final question though how do you find it in terms of reliability as the machine will be running essentially 24/7 i need it to have as much uptime as possible i am gonna have to reboot it occasionally for Windows Updates (i wish these could be applied on the fly without restarting but anyway)

but overall have you had it running smoothly for an extended period of time without issues

also how does Power Consumption factor in as it is a desktop OS it will be running a lot of processes that may not necessarily be needed i might have to look for something online to make it a little more lightweight or slim-lined if possible
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Custom Built
    CPU
    Intel i5 2500k
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte P67a-UD4-B3
    Memory
    8GB DDR 3 1600mhz G.Skill Ripjaws X
    Graphics Card(s)
    HIS Radeon HD6850 1GB GDDR5
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    42" Inch LCD TV With DVI (Also 2 x 24" LCD Monitors)
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080p
    Hard Drives
    1x Samsung 830 128gb SSD
    1x Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB
    PSU
    Corsair HX650
    Case
    Coolermaster
    Keyboard
    Dell
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Internet Speed
    20mbps ADSL2+
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Avast Free Antivirus
I did not keep the machine on 24/7 as I had no need for that instead I closed it down at night, it ran very smoothly with no problems.
You can strip all the unnecessary software and windows programs manually
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro 64bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Custom Build
    CPU
    Intel i7-4770K
    Motherboard
    Asus Z87 Sabertooth
    Memory
    16 Gig DDR3-2400
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte GT740
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27" - Benq 22" - Dell 23"
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 840 pro 128g SSD
    1xWestern Digital Caviar Green 1TB
    2xWestern Digital Caviar Green 2TB
    PSU
    Seasonic 760 watt platinum
    Case
    HAF-X
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-C12P CPU Cooler
    Keyboard
    Logitech illuminated keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech Performance MX
    Internet Speed
    Cable
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Avast Internet Security
thanks for the info i was however aware of removing programs and services manually but i am gonna look at see if there is some software to help automate it a little bit as it takes a little time manually

anyways haven't installed it yet so once i do i will look into it :)

thanks again for the help

cheers
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Custom Built
    CPU
    Intel i5 2500k
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte P67a-UD4-B3
    Memory
    8GB DDR 3 1600mhz G.Skill Ripjaws X
    Graphics Card(s)
    HIS Radeon HD6850 1GB GDDR5
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    42" Inch LCD TV With DVI (Also 2 x 24" LCD Monitors)
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080p
    Hard Drives
    1x Samsung 830 128gb SSD
    1x Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB
    PSU
    Corsair HX650
    Case
    Coolermaster
    Keyboard
    Dell
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Internet Speed
    20mbps ADSL2+
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Avast Free Antivirus
No worries if you have any more Questions don't forget to come back to us.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro 64bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Custom Build
    CPU
    Intel i7-4770K
    Motherboard
    Asus Z87 Sabertooth
    Memory
    16 Gig DDR3-2400
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte GT740
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27" - Benq 22" - Dell 23"
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 840 pro 128g SSD
    1xWestern Digital Caviar Green 1TB
    2xWestern Digital Caviar Green 2TB
    PSU
    Seasonic 760 watt platinum
    Case
    HAF-X
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-C12P CPU Cooler
    Keyboard
    Logitech illuminated keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech Performance MX
    Internet Speed
    Cable
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Avast Internet Security
If the Op wants any type of selective per machine sharing or network security then I have a method for this. A common workgroup is not very secure at all.

I don't think I'd mess with the Windows services, it always leads to something not working as you would expect.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro WMC
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home built
    CPU
    Q9650 @ 4.05 GHz
    Motherboard
    Gforce 780i SLI FTW
    Memory
    8GB Gskill DDR2 1200Mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    GTX-480
    Sound Card
    Asus D2 Xonar
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HannsG
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    Gskill 120GB SSD
    PSU
    Thermal Take 1000watts
    Case
    Thermal Take Xtreme
    Cooling
    9 fans air cooled
    Keyboard
    G15 logitech
    Mouse
    G9 logitech
    Internet Speed
    50mbps
There really aren't any fundamental differences between a server and desktop OS. Windows 8 and Server 2012 use the same codebase. What is different is that a desktop OS is optimized for running applications while a server is optimized for sharing files on a network. A server OS can also run server application such as the full version of IIS webserver. None of these things should be a significant factor for a home server.

Since a server and desktop run the same code there should be no significant difference in reliability.

It is generally best to avoid disabling services. The problem is that there is no publicly available description of what each service does. The descriptions that are available will be incomplete, and in many cases inaccurate. Many an expert has got himself into trouble by disabling a service that was thought to be unneeded, but was. Unless your system is seriously underpowered or desperately short on RAM the difference in performance will be insignificant.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
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