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Migrating From Windows Home Server: Questions
I have been a Windows Home Server user since circa 2007 with a HP MediaSmart Multimedia Server and later a HP DataVault Server. The nice thing about both of these is the console software was very transparent for setting up PC Backups for disaster recovery, media streaming, file duplication of share folders on the server, and remote desktop access to both the server files and each PC connected to the Home Server. Unfortunately, the HP MediaSmart and DataVault Servers were discontinued some years ago. So, after many years of happy use, I am slowing facing the reality that no one is picking up the void and providing an equally capable replacement to these great machines at about the same price... so... I am giving the ReadyNAS a test go. It's pre-Netgear box was the solution I considered while I was considering the WHS offerings of HP and others.
My ReadyNAS 424 arrived yesterday and I just opened the box, put in four IronWolf (Seagate) 2 TB drives and started it up. Worked fine out of the box (although the drive holders worked very different than what I am use to with the HP boxes and the instructions were lacking, thus a bit of guess work for getting the drives into them was necessary). It is currently syncing and RAID 5 seemed to automatically set itself up. I also figured out how to start a backup job as a test of one of my HP Datavault shares.. It is running as I write this. Unfortunately, doing the things the WHS based boxes does won't be as straightforward. I have spent a bunch of time researching possible solutions on the internet and think some of the things can be done (PC file backups, Server data file backups, and Multimedia Streaming), but all look less than straight forward and remote desktop access to my individual PCs seem to be beyond the capability of the ReadyNAS, although prepurchase research matched my expectations with these realities.
I expect that I am not the first user to migrate from WHS boxes to "something else." And, I hope not the first to use the ReadyNAS. So, I was wondering if there were any out there that would like to share solutions for exploiting the ReadyNAS capabilities for giving as many of the functions of the WHS boxes as possible. This is my first Linux based machine since the old SnapServer days and I must say that the interface is daunting in comparison to the WHS console. I was hope for "Backup PC" buttons, and "Stream Music buttons", and "duplicate folder" buttons, but it seems I need to back up every share individually and first create a mirror of directories so that each share to be backed up is represented in the ReadyNAS before I get to the Settings definitions. It seems to be a lot of work and the organization of each PC's backup seems all manual, unlike the WHS boxes. Also, streaming, I guess, requires activating an app, not preinstalled. And there seems to be a couple to choose from. So if I can tap into the wisdom of others who have taken this trek before me, I would rather not reinvent the wheel. Any help will be appreciated.
Thanx in advance
TheDoctor (a.k.a. TheDoctor165, 'cause someone else got the former first)
TheDoctor165 wrote:
If I have share folder "bu" that backs up all backups nightly and a subfolder under "bu" called "buimages" can I set up a snapshot schedule that both saves the entire "bu" share nightly, but also the "buimages" weekly?
No. Snapshots apply to the BTRFS subvolume, and the "bu" share is the relevant subvolume. So if you want a different snapshot schedule for the buimages folder it needs to be it's own independent share.
However, if buimages is only updated weekly, you can use a daily snapshot schedule. Snapshot space only grows when files in the main share change, so if the images are updated weekly, the snapshot space needed for those images will also grow weekly. For your specific use case, the snapshot space for images grows when Microsoft Backup deletes the current backup.
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Hello TheDoctor165,
Then NAS is an Network Attach Storage device it is not total a backup solution, for your critical data it would be best if you have 3rd party backup or offsite backup. Most of the feature you have mentioned is also available on the NAS, for more information about the feature and functions of the NAS you may visit this link.
Also since you've just recently purchase the NAS it does have a support warranty, for real time support you may contact Netgear support here.
Welcome to the community!
Regards,
Marty_M
NETGEAR Community TeamThanx for the response! I know using the ReadyNAS for backup is not a true disaster recovery solution, but I believe, based on my research, it can be done using third party software or even Microsofts Windows inherent backup capabilities. I bought one READYNAS to try it out and in the long run will buy a total of two for home and two for work. I hope to have home backup's at work and work backups at home. Then, have each home and work ReadyNAS cloned. In case of failure, I can rely on the other one until I get a chance to repair the failed unit. I think that can be done. The problem with the HP Mediavault and Datavault was that it would take about a week after a critical failure before I could get either machine back up and running. Meanwhile, I would have no access to business data. Hoping to minimize that down time.
What I was hoping for with this discussion thread were some specific recommendations and settings that work from WHS experienced users who now usng a READYNAS for much of what they relied on the WHS. For example, there seems to be several apps that stream. I was hoping some former WHS user could make some recommendations on which app to use and provide insights and possible pitfalls for someone who is use to the WHS environment. That would go for all the other mentioned capabilities of the WHS that I used (backup, disaster recovery, etc.)
In the end, I am just trying to leverage any knowledge already hard won, so I can reduce my own workload. I am not an IT guy, rather, I run my own manufacturing business. I really don't have time to become an IT expert, nor the money to hire one. The few folks I know that run a ReadyNAS never had a WHS and those that use a WHS have kept their WHS going with spit and paperclips in the hopes something equivalent will be available before the are truly dead. I am trying to get ahead of the curve as I can.
I appreciate all the help... Thanx :)
I can't speak to WHS migration directly, because I've never deployed WHS.
On ReadyNAS itself-
-I suggest minimizing app installs, especially on a business NAS. They sometimes destabilize the NAS when you upgrade.
-I recommend NOT using the home share feature. You can disable this by turning off SMB on the home folder in the admin web ui.
-I recommend NOT using ReadyCloud. It's had too many issues over the past years. ZeroTier is one alternative, using a VPN router is another.
-Consider using RAID-6 (dual redundancy) for the business NAS. RAID-10 and RAID-50 are also reasonable, but take more overhead.
-Servers of any kind can fail, so if you use the NAS for primary storage you do need to put a backup plan in place for the ReadyNAS. Don't assume that RAID is enough to keep your data safe - it isn't. Using your second NAS for backup would be good for this. A backup NAS should have file sharing protocols like AFP, SMB and NFS turned off, to limit the risk of ransomware. In the short term, the cheapest option is to back up to USB disks.
I also use crashplan for disaster recovery. It's possible to install that on the NAS, but it's better to install it on a PC, and map the NAS data volume to a drive letter. Another option is to place the backup work NAS in your home (and perhaps the backup home NAS in your office).
-Purchase either NAS-purposed disks (WDC Red or Seagate Ironwold) or enterprise drives. Don't use consumer drives.
-In my experience the best way to back up your PCs is to use a backup program that uses a NAS share as a target. I use Acronis TrueImage myself, but any good PC backup program can write to a network share.
For any interested.... I thought I would update Marty_M's repsonse with my Tech Support Experience, since he referred me to Netgear tech support and I thought the 90 days of support was pretty good. I wanted to generate a series of questions and ask them all at once, so I spent my free time during the last month "playing" with the admin software. Here is what I got from tech support today:
I called at 10:30a (they advertise 24 hour tech support). The hold time was "greater than one hour"; after twenty minutes, I was disconnected. Spent the next three hours trying to reconnect to tech support.
Finally, around 1:30p got through to tech support again to hear a wait of "greater than one hour". This time I did not get disconnected. After 1 hour and 5 minutes, my call was answered by a harried sounding man with a heavy accent who had a hard time understanding what I was saying and I had a difficult time understanding what he was saying. I had a series of questions that were basic on how to use the ReadyNAS admin software and for every question I asked, I was put on hold, while he checked on the answer??? WHAT???? After a half a day trying to contact tech support I can't even get someone who knows this stuff??? Five basic questions like where are the settings to change the frequency of snapshots... took an hour and a half to answer as I kept being put on hold while he clearly was asking someone else!
In contrast, HP's tech support of their products has always been outstanding. Sometimes their phone system is hard to navigate, but once you get someone in the right department, that person knows his/her stuff.
VERY DISAPPOINTED :(
Hello TheDoctor165,
I do understand the frustration, If you have questions or concerns you may always raise it here however it will take few exchanges before we can reach coclusion. For real time support you may always contact our phone support line since the NAS is still under its warranties and hopefully this time you could reach support person more familiar with the device.
Regards,
Marty_M
NETGEAR Community Team
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