What makes sense to replace WHS, especially for client backups?

[wayner]

I used to run my main Sage server on WHS V1 but I went away from that many years ago and moved my main SageTV server to newer hardware on Win7. At that time I upgraded my WHS box to 2011 and it acts as my backup SageTV server(with a second license) although it does not have any tuners.

I still use the WHS2011 server machine to backup all of the PCs on my LAN and as a file server both for non-media files and for media files as I also duplicate all of my non-TV recording media files onto this box. It also runs SageTV V7 so if anything is wrong with my primary SageTV server I can point my extenders at the WHS2011 machine and be back up and running in a few minutes, except for TV recording functionality. The downside is that I have two servers running all the time but that is a price I am willing to pay.

So now that WHS has been dead for years does anyone have any recommendations on how to replace its functionality? I guess the main thing I am looking for is doing nightly automated backups of all of my client PCs so that I can do a bare metal restore if necessary - and I have had to do that several times in the past. The file server functionality is pretty easy to replace so I don't worry about that. Should I go all the way to Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials (FKA SBS) or are there other options? It is pretty expensive at around $500 list or about half that on Amazon.

[Boolah]

Originally Posted by wayner

I guess the main thing I am looking for is doing nightly automated backups of all of my client PCs so that I can do a bare metal restore if necessary - and I have had to do that several times in the past.

If all you're looking for is a NAS type device to store backups and media on your network, just about any OS will do - even Win7 or Linux.

If you are using your WHS server to actually perform the backups of your LAN machines, you could use Veeam's free Endpoint Backup, which provides great automated bare-metal images of your machines. Free sure beats $500.

[wayner]

On the first part - yes, I am aware that any OS will work fine to work as a file server.

Endpoint Backup looks like the ticket as it does both entire machine restores as well as file level restores which is sometimes handy. Have you used it and done bare metal restores?

[Boolah]

Yes, I've done both bare-metal as well as file restores with it. You should create a bootable ISO/USB flash drive specific to the computer you want to protect (it will prompt you to do this when you install it) since it will package all necessary drivers into the USB drive. This comes in handy if you have a RAID controller installed in your machine as you'll need to actually see your array before you can restore it!

EDIT: Even though Veeam's web site specifically mentions that their EndPoint Backup is for laptops and desktops, it has no problems backing up server OSs. I've used it on Windows Server 2008 R2, 2012, 2012 R2 and Hyper-V without issue (both backups and restores). And in case anyone is wondering, I am not affiliated with Veeam in any way - I just like their software.

[Skirge01]

I ran WHS v1 for DE and backups and then WHS 2011, but never used 2011's backups, since it wouldn't allow for backups to a network share. I did extensive research on this a few years ago and I've been using EaseUS Todo Backup ever since under Windows XP, Windows 7, and Windows 8, some virtualized and others physical PCs. I started with free software, but most were limited to full backups, which take up SO much space. I perform nightly, weekly, monthly, and even annual backups for full systems, as well as specific folders (such as Sage and Comskip) for some redundancy, so only allowing full backups (as opposed to incrementals) would have been a huge waste of storage space. Personally, I'm running their Workstation version in most circumstances (they often have discount codes, too) because I like to have the option of restoring to different hardware.

I've done many restores to both virtual PCs, as well as physical PCs and it's quite a simple restore process using their WinPE-based restore. The backups are quite reliable and I can only think of one minor complaint regarding their software. Every so often, my virtual machines will "forget" the backup software is licensed and I'll have to contact EaseUS to get the license freed up to be used again. This probably happens about once a year on at least one machine, so it's not that big of a deal. Their email support is pretty responsive and they've never questioned the reactivation. I don't know if this is an issue caused by their software or ESXi itself changing something that EaseUS gets confused by.

I use Windows 7 as my server OS, which is where I run web apps from, as well as my storage pool software.

[stanger89]

So forgive me, but what's the problem with just using some normal imaging software on each PC with a scheduled task to backup to a NAS?

I never ran WHS so I've never understood what was so special about it's backup feature. These days I've just got Crashplan to backup my data. If something really terrible happens I can just reinstall.

[wayner]

Originally Posted by stanger89

So forgive me, but what's the problem with just using some normal imaging software on each PC with a scheduled task to backup to a NAS?

I never ran WHS so I've never understood what was so special about it's backup feature. These days I've just got Crashplan to backup my data. If something really terrible happens I can just reinstall.

I guess you could just do that but it assumes that you have a NAS and the imaging software. WHS was pretty easy to setup as you just run install software on each client PC and you were set. To restore you just booted up with a CD or USB key and ran the restore over your LAN .

When WHS first came out the drive pools were very useful as well as this functionality didn't exist in Windows at the time plus hard drives weren't that big. Nowadays 3TB isn't that big of a drive but it is enough for my video library - throw in another 3TB for my TV recordings and I am set. If you need more you can get a 6TB drive. Back in 2007 when WHS first came out drive sizes were not nearly as big but we were already recording HD content so file sizes were about as big as they are today.

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by wayner

I guess you could just do that but it assumes that you have a NAS and the imaging software. WHS was pretty easy to setup as you just run install software on each client PC and you were set. To restore you just booted up with a CD or USB key and ran the restore over your LAN .

I guess that's where I get lost, that doesn't sound much different than Acronis True Image (which I used to use, Macrium Reflect free, or any other imaging solution). Install it, set it up, and it backs up to wherever you point it. Restore you just boot from a CD or USB stick you make and restore from your image.

When WHS first came out the drive pools were very useful as well as this functionality didn't exist in Windows at the time plus hard drives weren't that big.

Yeah, I never got into WHS because I wasn't willing to give up 50% of my storage to redundancy. Though if they'd have built WMC into it, the outcome might have been different.