Which Windows 7 for my Sage server?

[Dingdul]

I've been running Sage very successfully for several months on a dedicated PC running Win7 RC. I use 3 Hd200s units so, with no need for an HTPC, access the server via Remote Desktop etc. TV recordings are stored locally although ripped DVDs work fine from my D-link NAS.

Now I'm looking to replace the RC with a full version of Win7 and the Home Premium Family Pack (3 licenses for $150 USD) has taken my interest.

So, assuming I switch to using VNC for my remote access, will Sage run okay with Home Premium or should I be looking to Pro or even Ultimate (my understanding being the latter is a newer version of the RC)?

Any views?

[Fuzzy]

I can't think of any features that Pro or Ultimate add that are of any use to sage, server OR client.

[Clift]

I like the ability to disable Media Center using the GPEdit.msc (Group Policy Editor) in Vista Ultimate. i don't know if they did the same thing with Windows 7, but Vista Home Premium did not have GPEdit.msc, although you could set the flag through the registry. Not a big deal, and certainly not something worth getting ultimate or professional over, especially if you are running a headless server.

[rsteele]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

I can't think of any features that Pro or Ultimate add that are of any use to sage, server OR client.

Depending on how accessible your server is, you might want to consider that editions below Pro can't act as a Remote Desktop Host.

Of course, you could just VNC...

Rich

[gplasky]

Ultimate is overkill for a Sage server. Pro will get you RDP and also allow Windows Backup to backup to a network location. If you don't care or have alternate methods then Home Premium will serve you just fine.

Clift-Windows 7- in Programs and Features-Turn Windows features on or off-you can just uncheck the Windows Media Center box to turn it off.

Gerry

[Fuzzy]

personally, I find VNC better for accessing a sage server than RDP... but that's because mine also functions as a client. RDP closes down the local session, while VNC keeps and uses the same one.

[stanger89]

If it's really headless, you might be better off with WHS.

[Dingdul]

Thanks for the feedback.

I'll go with Home Premium as VNC and Acronis True Image will serve for RDP and backups respectively.

Thought long and hard about WHS but instead have the NAS unit to allow the PC to sleep usually overnight for 8 hours.

Now just waiting on Sage to implement magic packets from the HD200s for a super efficient power saving solution.

Jonathan

[Naylia]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

personally, I find VNC better for accessing a sage server than RDP... but that's because mine also functions as a client. RDP closes down the local session, while VNC keeps and uses the same one.

Fuzzy...head over to MissingRemote.com and read the guide regarding concurrent sessions with RDP. This is even better. Let the family watch tv, while you log in and have access in the background.

[MitchSchaft]

That's assuming you log in as a different user than what's already logged in. I made that mistake this past week when I set up the multiple-user RDP deal.

[stevech]

VNC much better for me than RDP
My server runs XP with auto-login

[bcjenkins]

I think Pro is interesting because of the copy of XP you can add to it.

B

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by Naylia

Fuzzy...head over to MissingRemote.com and read the guide regarding concurrent sessions with RDP. This is even better. Let the family watch tv, while you log in and have access in the background.

I'm well aware of the ability to log in a concurrent session under a different user, however, ususally, if I'm logging into the server, its to do some maintenance or complicated functions on the user running the server/client process. This requires me to use the same user, which eliminates the advantage of concurrent use. VNC doesn't have this problem.

[simonen]

I would recommend UltraVNC, it has an addon which allows it to work with Vista and Win7. RealVNC's free version doesn't support Vista or Win7 last time I checked. UltraVNC can even do file transfer as well.

[Fuzzy]

I have been using UltraVNC pretty much exclusively for 5 years or so. excellent program.

[Taddeusz]

VNC never really did it for me. It always felt like such a kludge to me. RDP is so much nicer in comparison. Much faster updates and higher quality as well. I've always spent the extra little bit more to get Professional so I could have RDP. To me it's well worth the added cost.

[phareous]

Why not try Windows Live Mesh, or LogMeIn, both of which are free, and work better than VNC in my opinion.

I plan to put Windows 7 Home Premium on mine since I got the deal on the upgrade (its running Vista Home Basic at the moment)

[Dingdul]

Originally Posted by phareous

Why not try Windows Live Mesh, or LogMeIn, both of which are free, and work better than VNC in my opinion.

I will. Spent most of today trialling ultravnc, realvnc and tightvnc and none are as smooth as I'd hoped, or at least RDP feels more robust. Also much of my occasional access is from my iPhone via 3g so smooth is good.

[phareous]

The nice thing about LogMeIn is it maps the keyboard. So I can hit Windows-E to open up explorer, or hit Windows to easily switch out of sage to something else. Its a lot more trouble to do that in VNC. I just installed Mesh last night so can't really comment on its remote access