Night Prowler Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 I have a home Server Running Windows 7 Pro, 8GB Ram, 80GB SSD, and 2 4TB drives (Dynamic with RAID1). I'm considering updating to a windows server OS. I'm using the PC for backups, and as a PLEX media server. What Windows server OS should I use for this project? Will I loose the RAID array during the switch over from Workstation to Server? TIA... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fusi0n Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 RAID should be done at the hardware level, unless you did a software raid.. Is there a reason that you need a server OS? Do you need AD, DNS, DHCP, ect.. ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xendrome Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 I don't think he needs a server OS TBH unless he has some specific requirement... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe User Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 I have a home Server Running Windows 7 Pro, 8GB Ram, 80GB SSD, and 2 4TB drives (Dynamic with RAID1). I'm considering updating to a windows server OS. I'm using the PC for backups, and as a PLEX media server. What Windows server OS should I use for this project? Will I loose the RAID array during the switch over from Workstation to Server? TIA... What are you backing up? All Windows clients? If so, Windows Home Server 2011 will be fine for years and you can get it for under $100. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Prowler Posted November 11, 2015 Author Share Posted November 11, 2015 RAID should be done at the hardware level, unless you did a software raid.. Is there a reason that you need a server OS? Do you need AD, DNS, DHCP, ect.. ? For some reason the hardware RAID level maxs out at 2GB, or there about. For some reason after the PC has been on for about 30 days it requires a reboot. the Plex server starts getting choppy on the sound for some reason. Rebooting the PC seems to fix it. I was thinking that server software might handle the hardware better? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forjo Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 Can you tell us a little more about what your needs are? With the exception of infrastructure services like Active Directory, DNS and DHCP, and some capacity limitations, there's little difference between a server OS like Server 2012R2 and Windows 8.1 or 10. As the others have said, switch to hardware RAID. Most motherboards support it and it's generally more reliable (and in some cases, faster). Let us know what you're trying to do for the best feedback. -Forjo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Prowler Posted November 11, 2015 Author Share Posted November 11, 2015 Can you tell us a little more about what your needs are? With the exception of infrastructure services like Active Directory, DNS and DHCP, and some capacity limitations, there's little difference between a server OS like Server 2012R2 and Windows 8.1 or 10. As the others have said, switch to hardware RAID. Most motherboards support it and it's generally more reliable (and in some cases, faster). Let us know what you're trying to do for the best feedback. -Forjo Hardware RAID on the MB wouldn't handle 4TB. For some reason after the PC has been on for about 30 days it requires a reboot. the Plex media server starts getting choppy on the sound for some reason. Rebooting the PC seems to fix it. I was thinking that server software might handle the hardware better? I have an extra server 2012 that I can use, but I wasn't sure if I would loose the data on the software RAID by installing a fresh install of 2012. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe User Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 Hardware RAID on the MB wouldn't handle 4TB. For some reason after the PC has been on for about 30 days it requires a reboot. the Plex media server starts getting choppy on the sound for some reason. Rebooting the PC seems to fix it. I was thinking that server software might handle the hardware better? I have an extra server 2012 that I can use, but I wasn't sure if I would loose the data on the software RAID by installing a fresh install of 2012. If the reboot thing is your only problem, try tracking down which process is eating up your memory and schedule it to restart regularly. Or just schedule the OS to reboot once a week at 4am. It's much easier than installing a full server. Anibal P 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fusi0n Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 and a server os is going to use a lot of RAM either way because of all the extra task it does.. even just a default install.. May be best to get a new raid card.. If you install over Windows 7 with server 2012, it shouldn't wipe anything.. but it may force you to format since it's a client os going to a server os.. i recommend staying with Windows 7.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forjo Posted November 13, 2015 Share Posted November 13, 2015 Hardware RAID on the MB wouldn't handle 4TB. For some reason after the PC has been on for about 30 days it requires a reboot. the Plex media server starts getting choppy on the sound for some reason. Rebooting the PC seems to fix it. I was thinking that server software might handle the hardware better? I have an extra server 2012 that I can use, but I wasn't sure if I would loose the data on the software RAID by installing a fresh install of 2012. What motherboard do you have? The 4+ year old ASUS I have is running RAID5 for my media center with 3 2TB drives. A server OS isn't going to solve application memory leaks. As +fusi0n pointed out, Server 2012 will use more memory -- giving you less time before a memory leak affects stability. As for upgrading a dynamic drive, it should remain in tact. But I'd still do a full Windows System Image backup before you begin. Server 2012 has a lot of advantages, but if you're only upgrading in hopes of stabilizing Plex, then I wouldn't recommend it. It would be better to track down the actual problem. -Forjo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Praetor Posted November 13, 2015 Share Posted November 13, 2015 mainboard RAID isn't really RAID, more like fake RAID; a dedicated RAID card that can handle all the processing is a true RAID. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forjo Posted November 13, 2015 Share Posted November 13, 2015 mainboard RAID isn't really RAID, more like fake RAID; a dedicated RAID card that can handle all the processing is a true RAID. They're both "true raid". The difference is in the performance. Few motherboards if any have XOR chips to calculate parity on raid 5 and up arrays. Raid 1 is just mirroring, so there's no processing. Raid 0 is just striping, so again, no processing. Performance should be the same for 1 and 0 with or without a card. The exception to this is that better cards have cache memory on-board, and still better cards have independent batteries that will commit writes after a power failure. But those cards start at about $500. For his purposes, RAID1, motherboard chips should be fine so long as they support drives of the size he's using -- which they should if they support them in a dynamic RAID. But, as stated, his problem seems to be Plex. So the focus should be there first. -Forjo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Prowler Posted November 13, 2015 Author Share Posted November 13, 2015 They're both "true raid". The difference is in the performance. Few motherboards if any have XOR chips to calculate parity on raid 5 and up arrays. Raid 1 is just mirroring, so there's no processing. Raid 0 is just striping, so again, no processing. Performance should be the same for 1 and 0 with or without a card. The exception to this is that better cards have cache memory on-board, and still better cards have independent batteries that will commit writes after a power failure. But those cards start at about $500. For his purposes, RAID1, motherboard chips should be fine so long as they support drives of the size he's using -- which they should if they support them in a dynamic RAID. But, as stated, his problem seems to be Plex. So the focus should be there first. -Forjo This is a small server that just sets in the corner headless. I would really like to get the onboard RAID to handle large drive but it seems to peak ad 2GB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
binaryzero Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 You'll probably lose your RAID if you blow away the current install of Windows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forjo Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 This is a small server that just sets in the corner headless. I would really like to get the onboard RAID to handle large drive but it seems to peak ad 2GB. Have you checked Fujitsu for BIOS updates? Is the on-board controller an Intel controller? If so, are you running the latest supported version of RapidStorage? Note that unless you format drives using GPT you won't be able to make a partition larger than 2TB. But, I'm assuming you have (at startup) gone into whatever RAID manager your motherboard BIOS includes and that it only shows the first 2TB (I'm assuming you meant TB, and not GB) of a larger than 2TB drive? -Forjo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conna Posted April 15, 2016 Share Posted April 15, 2016 You will always risk losing data on drives left connected to a PC during an OS change or upgrade. Unhook everything except the system drive. Connect later. In your case your raid will most definitely be broken. The difference in OS drivers for the raid will probably kill it. Back your data up. Forget the raid and try out Storage Spaces. SS will run on 8 and 10. Upgrade to 10 and use storage spaces. If you upgrade to server, get Essentials 2012 R2. It's $400 and a breeze to setup. It will do media streaming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Churma Posted April 15, 2016 Share Posted April 15, 2016 (edited) Good lord you will not lose any data if you have a hardware raid. As long as you have the raid driver built into the iso or on a usb drive, you can do an install on the root partition and it will move the existing windows to windows.old. You then will need to re setup all your files shares and stuff. Then just cut and paste your data from the windows.old to the new windows installation. On installation remember to select the root os partition and it will tell you it will rename the old windows installation to windows.old. Good practice is that you should always backup but like I said, if you have hardware raid no problem at all, just do not format your root or if you have a data partition, leave those intact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conna Posted April 15, 2016 Share Posted April 15, 2016 17 hours ago, Mikee4fun said: Good lord you will not lose any data if you have a hardware raid. As long as you have the raid driver built into the iso or on a usb drive, you can do an install on the root partition and it will move the existing windows to windows.old. You then will need to re setup all your files shares and stuff. Then just cut and paste your data from the windows.old to the new windows installation. On installation remember to select the root os partition and it will tell you it will rename the old windows installation to windows.old. Good practice is that you should always backup but like I said, if you have hardware raid no problem at all, just do not format your root or if you have a data partition, leave those intact. Live by the sword... or Just un-plug it. I worked with a little company called ADP in the server hardware department. Overnight upgrade for a BIG client. 99% uptime SLA. $10k per hr penalty. Someone else was tired and forgot to dismount and disconnect an important DB. Not sure if the coffee consumption was going as fast as the clock vs the restore. 6am came. 7am the calls really started to hit IT. Just after 8 or 9 am things were up. Just not worth it if its important data. OP has a mobo raid, not hardware. One with issues at that. The risk is there. Only plus I see is it is a mirror. I give it 50% chance of survival if plugged in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts