I need a new server for the house, and none of the plain vanilla options seems quite right. Some input and opinionizing appreciated.
What I have is a very beefy server chassis with a Xeon processor, 4GB RAM, a mobo RAID-1 boot drive and a 3Ware hardware RAID-5 array. (Actually, I have two - one in service and one that’s been in cold backup for a few years.)
Both run Windows Server 2003 Enterprise. (MEGA overkill, but I got the licenses cheap about 8-9 years ago.) This version ran off the support rails earlier this month, and while I’m not worried about security issues, I am already running into small compatibility problems, such as with AVG Business Edition. The running server also has the cripple factor of a bad update chain, so there are around 70 updates that I can’t get it to apply, and I lack patience and time to unknot the problems.
What I need is pretty simple - high reliability file storage with fast access times (I work with a lot of big graphics and CAD files), file service for up to five or six users, and the ability to run scheduled backups to a separate NAS. The ability to run Windows services is a plus, since I run the wireless network manager on the server for general access.
I’d like to re-use one or the other of these expensive, high-grade chassis, which goes against buying a NAS. NAS also has a steep price curve when you get to RAID-5 and fast file access - the home-grade single-disk units run by a bitty Linux controller really won’t do it. (I have two of those, Buffalo Terastations. Fast in, deadly slow out.) I’d rather not drop $1500 on a NAS.
I also need reliable backup, which seems to be hit or miss with NAS units - if it’s built-in, it’s not very feature-rich; if it relies on another network node, I would need to run the backup tool from my workstation or such, not very convenient.
Software upgrade: I could go to Win2K8 Server for about $5-800. More than I’d like to spend if I can avoid it, and it’s getting old as well. Win2K12 is closer to $1k and much more tightly licensed and controlled; my needs are simple but I’d like to keep the ability to add users and such without buying CALs I might only need for a few weeks. The advantage would be that I’d keep much the same server, software load, general setup, etc.
I can hear the Linux crowd jumping up and down. I’ve tried to like Linux but I really have grown past the point of assembling my own software from a box of Legos and endlessly tinkering at Level Esoteric-6 to keep it running and updated. I’ll listen, though. (I’d also like to keep the RAID-5 array untouched, and I am not sure if I can easily migrate it to a Linux base without reformatting and reloading 2TB of data.) (Linux and the Linux world also hate-hate-hate on software RAID and trying to preserve that mirrored boot drive has proven difficult to impossible in past attempts. I’ve taken ridiculous abuse just asking about the possibilities.)
Or…? What am I overlooking among the choices of:
[ul]
[li]WIndows Server update on the same box. (Cost and licensing issues.)[/li][li]Linux conversion of the same box. (File, time and maintenance issues.)[/li][li]Switch to pro or semi-pro NAS. (Cost and backup issues.)[/li][/ul]
?
(And no, cloud solutions are not options, not for 2TB of data I need fast access to, never mind cost and security issues.)