Windows alternative to XPEnology and freenas

2013 · 5 Aug 2016 at 23:32

I have a hp micros server for plex but im assuming I could get more out of it,

What can I do to get more out of it

I use windows 10 because I have only ever used windows so I know how to use it and can fix most issues myself, I have only used ubuntu a few time only to use the net and media player.

windows I run - plex, teamviewer, and sometime a basic pc.

XPEnology and freenas seam to more then my windows setup can do be for me it would learning curve.

Im wondering if anyone knows of a windows alternative to XPEnology and freenas.

2013 · 5 Aug 2016 at 23:44

II have thought of replacing with windows home server,

Im also consider Freenas or XPEnology but I would like to know how to use them better and how to install 3rd party apps (plex, teamviewer), I currently have no clue.

BlizzardX · 6 Aug 2016 at 03:38

What are the specifications of the microserver? You might be able to run vsphere hypervisor which would allow you to run multiple OS's from a single host(Microserver in this case). That way you could run Xpenology as your storage device, and then run a windows based install for plex etc.

2013 · 6 Aug 2016 at 03:40

I have a hp gen8 with upgraded 6gb ram

neodude · 7 Aug 2016 at 07:54

Put UnRaid on it, run Plex as a docker and Windows 10 as a VM. (Assuming your CPU supports virtualisation)

nutcase · 7 Aug 2016 at 08:15

BlizzardX said:
What are the specifications of the microserver? You might be able to run vsphere hypervisor which would allow you to run multiple OS's from a single host(Microserver in this case). That way you could run Xpenology as your storage device, and then run a windows based install for plex etc.

The OP is more familiar with windows so hyper-v server may be a better option? You can virtualise the microserver, but it doesn't have many cores as standard. Two of mine run Server 2012 R2 as-is but one runs hyper-v with two 2012 R2 VMs quite happily.

BlizzardX · 7 Aug 2016 at 11:16

You could and for the most part it would seem as if nothing had changed, except he can now run vms. The issue would be that running Xpenology under hyper-v is harder than under vsphere...

Although looking at the other threads, it appears that the OP wants access to storage via a cloud based system a la Owncloud etc.

2013 · 7 Aug 2016 at 11:21

Because I could not get a simple option i've ended up with google.

I get what i want even if its not how i wanted it.

TechMinerUK · 11 Aug 2016 at 12:37

2013 said:
Because I could not get a simple option i've ended up with google.
I get what i want even if its not how i wanted it.

Did Google yield any solutions to your predicament?
I'm slightly confused over what you would like your server to do, do you want it as a media server, backup server, general home lab or a combination of these and more?

Personally I'm in the same problem as you as I'm not sure which OS to go for as I'm not sure what the server will be doing so I don't know which to chose.

Because you're looking for a Windows alternative to XPenology and FreeNAS the options are fairly limited as you can either stick to Windows 10 (Not a bad home server OS in all honesty) or move to something a bit more enterprise such as Server 2012R2 (Pricey unless you can get it via DreamSparks or as a bundle with the server in the first place)

This probably isn't what you want to hear but it is the case sadly as server OS and hardware is certainly a pricey section of the market and ultimately I doubt it would offer you anything more than what you can do with Windows 10.

If you did want to have a meddle than I iterate what nutcase and neodude suggested which is using something like Hyper-V or Unraid. For you I would suggest Unraid as it's simple enough to learn quickly and fix if it goes wrong but this will allow you to have a stable VM for all your media content and a demo/test VM for anything you want to try without the server being out of action for a great length of time

2013 · 11 Aug 2016 at 13:04

TechMinerUK said:
Did Google yield any solutions to your predicament?
I'm slightly confused over what you would like your server to do, do you want it as a media server, backup server, general home lab or a combination of these and more?

Personally I'm in the same problem as you as I'm not sure which OS to go for as I'm not sure what the server will be doing so I don't know which to chose.

Because you're looking for a Windows alternative to XPenology and FreeNAS the options are fairly limited as you can either stick to Windows 10 (Not a bad home server OS in all honesty) or move to something a bit more enterprise such as Server 2012R2 (Pricey unless you can get it via DreamSparks or as a bundle with the server in the first place)

This probably isn't what you want to hear but it is the case sadly as server OS and hardware is certainly a pricey section of the market and ultimately I doubt it would offer you anything more than what you can do with Windows 10.

If you did want to have a meddle than I iterate what nutcase and neodude suggested which is using something like Hyper-V or Unraid. For you I would suggest Unraid as it's simple enough to learn quickly and fix if it goes wrong but this will allow you to have a stable VM for all your media content and a demo/test VM for anything you want to try without the server being out of action for a great length of time

No i had no luck, I cant run my server as a vm, its too slow, I would Unraid a try but again I assume the server would be too slow to use it correctly.

I ended up using google as my backup solution for now.

El Pew · 11 Aug 2016 at 13:17

2013 said:
No i had no luck, I cant run my server as a vm, its too slow, I would Unraid a try but again I assume the server would be too slow to use it correctly.

How is a Microserver with 6GB of RAM too slow? You should be able to run a couple of VMs at least without any issues. How did you set it up, which virtualisation solution did you use? How much RAM did you assign the VM?

Too little RAM and the VM will run like a ****, too much and you'll have disk swapping issues on the host and it'll also run like a ****. But you should be able to run a pair of VMs with 2GB each and still leave enough for the host OS.

e: Really? Why is the cockney rhyming slang for Douglas Hurd blocked?

2013 · 11 Aug 2016 at 13:21

El Pew said:
How is a Microserver with 6GB of RAM too slow? You should be able to run a couple of VMs at least without any issues. How did you set it up, which virtualisation solution did you use? How much RAM did you assign the VM?

Too little RAM and the VM will run like a ****, too much and you'll have disk swapping issues on the host and it'll also run like a ****. But you should be able to run a pair of VMs with 2GB each and still leave enough for the host OS.

its still only running a Intel Celeron G1610T windows 10 sometime seam slow so running vm should be slower.

El Pew · 11 Aug 2016 at 13:27

2013 said:
its still only running a Intel Celeron G1610T windows 10 sometime seam slow so running vm should be slower.

I've run more VMs on less hardware without it being slow, at least not to the point of being unusable. And what do you mean 'should be slower' - have you actually tried it or not? If so, what was the setup?

2013 · 11 Aug 2016 at 13:29

El Pew said:
I've run more VMs on less hardware without it being slow, at least not to the point of being unusable. And what do you mean 'should be slower' - have you actually tried it or not? If so, what was the setup?

No, i have not tried it.

El Pew · 11 Aug 2016 at 13:32

2013 said:
No, i have not tried it.

So...why don't you?

whiskycycle · 11 Aug 2016 at 14:35

We've a project where we've got about 80+ Gen8 boxes, mixed 1610T and 2020T with 8-10GB, running Hyper-V core and 1-3 VMs on each, handling file servers, dictation servers and various other application servers, as well as domain controllers... all for sites with 4-40+ users on site.