Options for a Media Computer/Backup Server

[riftpoint]

Hello everyone,
I've been trying to figure out something for a little while, and if there is already a thread covering this I apologize (just point me in the right direction!).

I have an older desktop running windows 7, along with my windows 7 laptop and my wife's vista laptop, and I would like to set up the desktop as a place to back everything up to for both of us. Ideally what I would like to do is keep the desktop as a functional computer as well (hooking it up to my receiver so I can push music, video, and games to my HDTV when occasion calls for it). Does anyone have any suggestions? Looking into freeNAS, it looks like I would have to sacrifice the ability to use the computer for anything other than file backup and media streaming? And I can't tell if Windows Home Server is a stand alone option, or a program that runs through a preexisting OS install...
Suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[MikeKF]

If you are wanting to stream media across a network and perform backups at any reasonable speed, then the best option will be to dedicate the desktop for this purpose, rather than using it for other things. There are way too many opportunities for bottlenecking, not to mention stability issues that could impact greatly.

It is a stand alone solution.

 

[riftpoint]

Hi MikeKF, thanks for the response!
In all honestly I have almost zero interest in streaming media from the server... I had only mentioned it since I know that it's one of the biggest draws (seemingly) to setting something up like freeNAS...
As for bottlenecking, would it be that much of an issue if the computers were just doing their backups in the middle of the night, or midday when the computers aren't actively being used? And what kind of stability issues?
Any suggestions beyond using a server setup?

 

[MikeKF]

Hi MikeKF, thanks for the response!
In all honestly I have almost zero interest in streaming media from the server... I had only mentioned it since I know that it's one of the biggest draws (seemingly) to setting something up like freeNAS...
As for bottlenecking, would it be that much of an issue if the computers were just doing their backups in the middle of the night, or midday when the computers aren't actively being used? And what kind of stability issues?
Any suggestions beyond using a server setup?

I run a couple of servers at home. Since they are dedicated to that job, using Xeon processors, redundant power, RAID, ECC RAM, etc, I have almost no stability issues. They can run continuously for months without problems.

Other systems are just not going to have that same stability.

What you are talking about as far as ditching media streaming and doing backups during no desktop use will certainly go a long way to allowing the desktop to do some server tasks without monopolising it.

On the other hand, you can do all the things that you want, including media streaming, but you would have to be more aware of the fact that stability is likely to be slightly more of an issue and that some tasks, if done concurrently, may take longer and may introduce stability issues.

If you afford to though, this would be a great experiment. Modern hardware and software has come a long way from the dark days when the mere suggestion of what you are talking about with an older OS was inviting the BSOD every hour.

I'd love to hear what you end up doing, so please report back. If done, take all the necessary precautions during the initial phases and don't rely on it for fault free operations until you have put it through the gamut of operational scenarios.

I hope that has given you some food for thought and answered your questions.

 

[sparklir95]

There's a online site where you can backup your computer and it keeps everything. If your computer crashes or you simply get a new computer, you just have it all online. And when you need to get your information, all you have to do is login from the website. Then download your information! Super cheap too, if you don't upgrade, it's free.
It's called MyPC Backup
Check it out! I love it!
Here's a link!



http://goo.gl/g2q8n