Windows NAS - Windows 11

[coxhaus]

Anybody running a Windows 11 NAS or a Windows NAS? I started kicking around the idea of running a low power CPU in a tower case with Windows 11 using a SSD for the OS and creating a RAID for the NAS using a virtual Windows 11 and SSDs. What do you think? I think this would be a good long-term solution. I am thinking I have 2 options for backup. I could take a snapshot of the virtual for backup or I could use robocopy to keep the data in sync which would be a backup with readable files. This kind of appeals to me. Robcopy would only need to backup the deltas for backup. I could create a batch file to run.

I would need a tower case with current gen Intel chipset so it would last long term. This would be cheaper than a larger NAS. I need my NAS to be quiet above all else. No spinning hard drives unless I use just 1 which is where I started.
PS
I am going to run an ethernet physical port for the virtual so to make things easier with its own IP address.

 

[eightiescalling]

RAID in Windows isn't my area but what do you want to do with the tower pc beyond storage? Running the RAID element inside a VM seems unnecessary complexity.

Same goes for spec. Just from a RAID perspective, wanting current Intel spec for longterm is overkill. My (Linux) based setup is running on a 3rd gen Intel chip and that is still overpower for the RAID element even today.

 

[coxhaus]

I have only used software RAID a few times in Windows a long time ago. I usually used RAID controllers. I did a lot of RAID but I did not do a lot of VMs. I was already into networking by then and not a server guy anymore. NT and 2000 was my main OS back then. I used PERC controllers back then. In my early server days, I used IBM servers with IBM controllers. To have Microsoft software RAID now you may need server. I have not kept up. And server is too expensive plus I am not up to run a domain. I just want to create shares and map drives. I was thinking if I used a VM and I had a snapshot I could just restore the snapshot to bring it alive again if I have an issue or I need to move it to a different PC. So, I would backup the VM using the snapshot and keep it handy. Some of this may have changed when I last did it. My last RAID at home was using Microsoft Home server using 7 drives in a hot swap backplane I bought from SuperMicro with an Intel RAID controller. I was really noisy. All this stuff is outdated nowadays.

I was thinking more running the VM across the RAID with the data there also. The RAID would be defined to the host OS. I may have to buy a controller. I looked at a half price Dell T150 server which stated there is no RAID in the BIOS you need a PERC controller. If I buy a discounted Dell workstation tower they probably have RAID built-in to the BIOS. I don't know if you can run both a single drive and a RAID and use BIOS. But I know if I use BIOS for boot then I can use a controller for the RAID, will work. You just set the RAID not to boot. The simple option would be to use a second big drive if I don't care about speed, but I am not going spin more than 1 hard drive. I could use an SSD to boot and an 8 or 10 gig hard drive for a second drive. I would be limited to the speed of the hard drive for the NAS. I don't really need a lot of space.

I was just thinking newer than 6 gen for a processor. 6 gen will not support Windows 11 using a Dell.

 

[eightiescalling]

As I said, I can't vouch for windows but running RAID really is simpler than it sounds - that's part of the reason for my question on what do you want the tower pc to do beyond storage.

If the machine doesn't need to be used as a daily desktop and run windows apps then some of the off the shelf alternatives (freenas, truenas etc) may be easier.

From what I've seen on your usage, simpler hardware (basic mobo with a couple of spare sata ports, CPU a few generations back etc) would more than cover your needs. If you're adding raid controller cards and VMs without a specific double duty need on the machine then I'd suggest a lower spec off the shelf NAS device to reduce the demands on your time.

 

[bbunge]

I have only used software RAID a few times in Windows a long time ago. I usually used RAID controllers. I did a lot of RAID but I did not do a lot of VMs. I was already into networking by then and not a server guy anymore. NT and 2000 was my main OS back then. I used PERC controllers back then. In my early server days, I used IBM servers with IBM controllers. To have Microsoft software RAID now you may need server. I have not kept up. And server is too expensive plus I am not up to run a domain. I just want to create shares and map drives. I was thinking if I used a VM and I had a snapshot I could just restore the snapshot to bring it alive again if I have an issue or I need to move it to a different PC. So, I would backup the VM using the snapshot and keep it handy. Some of this may have changed when I last did it. My last RAID at home was using Microsoft Home server using 7 drives in a hot swap backplane I bought from SuperMicro with an Intel RAID controller. I was really noisy. All this stuff is outdated nowadays.

I was thinking more running the VM across the RAID with the data there also. The RAID would be defined to the host OS. I may have to buy a controller. I looked at a half price Dell T150 server which stated there is no RAID in the BIOS you need a PERC controller. If I buy a discounted Dell workstation tower they probably have RAID built-in to the BIOS. I don't know if you can run both a single drive and a RAID and use BIOS. But I know if I use BIOS for boot then I can use a controller for the RAID, will work. You just set the RAID not to boot. The simple option would be to use a second big drive if I don't care about speed, but I am not going spin more than 1 hard drive. I could use an SSD to boot and an 8 or 10 gig hard drive for a second drive. I would be limited to the speed of the hard drive for the NAS. I don't really need a lot of space.

I was just thinking newer than 6 gen for a processor. 6 gen will not support Windows 11 using a Dell.

Yes, you can get Windows 11 on a Gen 6, and older, processor. But why would you want to use Windows for a NAS? The security issues alone are not worth it. The several Linux based packaged apps for NAS are well worth the money. For free you can't get better! If you do not like the "noise" of the hard drives just put the NAS in the basement or a closet. As for software RAID, I have had some bad experiences with it and that is why I've invested in a real NAS. Two of them, in fact.

 

[Labdoc]

See the "Askwoody plus" newsletter from June 26 for a write-up by Ben Myers on using TrueNAS and old hardware. The article describes a low-cost and fast setup.

 

[coxhaus]

I know Windows or at least the old ones. It is really easy for me. I saved my data from my Synology NAS on to a Windows PC. It took me less than an hour to get a Windows PC put together to start backing up my data. You get much better security with Windows than any commercial NAS like Synology or QNAP. Defender is good in Windows.

Dell is not supporting Windows 11 on a 6th gen CPU. I am not going to build a server and have it out of spec.

Does anybody use Windows as a NAS?

 

[coxhaus]

So, I bought an 8 gen Dell tower with Windows 11 that I am going to share files on. It has a 256 SSD on the motherboard for booting and a 65 watt cpu i7. I bought a 4TB SSD to use for storage. It will keep the noise down and the heat running in my closet.

 

[sfx2000]

FWIW - I've got a couple of PC's that are eligible for Win11 upgrades...

Holding off because of reports on SSD throughput and network issues..

 

[coxhaus]

I just have mine together. I needed a bracket for my 2.5 SSD drive. I moved my music internal, and I hit around 120Mbytes to 130Mbytes or whatever Microsoft uses in their copy operation. Not the fastest I have seen. It took a while, so I did not watch it all. I have file and print sharing setup. I still have to setup the shares.

 

[coxhaus]

So. I kind of got my networking working using 2 Windows 11 PCs. There seems to be a problem with workgroup and using a Microsoft account rather than a local account. I could not make it work. So, I made 2 matching local accounts on my 2 Windows 11 PCs to be able to share files. It works and I moved all my laptop files and pictures to my Windows 11 NAS. The pictures were also a problem in that I ended up moving my pictures to my D drive and then logging in as my local account to copy the files to the NAS. I still have some issues, but my files are safe again.

Speed was not great, but I used my wireless and I got around 20MB copying files. I guess I could have walked into the room with the switch and plugged in as my granddaughter is back home but then I would have needed to find a CAT6 cable. I moved all that out when my granddaughter moved in this summer.

The one thing I do like is I get icons of the pictures on my Windows NAS. I can scan the pictures looking at the icons and tell which picture I want. On my old NAS I only got numbers. I would have to pull up each and every picture to tell which one I wanted.

 

[coxhaus]

FWIW - I've got a couple of PC's that are eligible for Win11 upgrades...

Holding off because of reports on SSD throughput and network issues..

I may have found my network slowness, but I will need more testing. My Dell Windows 11 NAS had the default Intel NIC drivers loaded by Microsoft with Windows 11 which was version 12.x. I updated my Dell using the latest Dell drivers and it changed my NIC driver to 24.x which is a lot newer.

The more I think about it I like that when I am using a Microsoft account that if I get hacked, they do not have a pipe into my NAS using Windows 11. I need to login into my NAS using a local account before there is a straight shot into my NAS.

 

[sfx2000]

The more I think about it I like that when I am using a Microsoft account that if I get hacked, they do not have a pipe into my NAS using Windows 11. I need to login into my NAS using a local account before there is a straight shot into my NAS.

Excellent idea - I do the same for my Mac Mini 2014 that runs as a TimeMachine and Content Caching host - it has a local account for admin, and is not signed into iCloud or any other services...

Microsoft is making it harder over time to have local accounts, and they do try hard to convert existing local accounts over to Microsoft accounts, I have had more than a couple of lab laptops that got converted over by users - I suppose I could have prevented that to some degree with AD and Account Profiles, but that is overhead that I really don't have the time to setup and admin...

 

[coxhaus]

This sounds promising. They may have fixed the SSD issue.

Microsoft finally fixes Windows 11 SSD slowdown bug

As noted by Windows Latest, the issue now seems to have been fixed for good, as many affected users are reporting that their SSDs are back to...

www.techspot.com

 

[L&LD]

I didn't even know there was such an issue. I've noticed no difference on any machine I've used (repeatedly) in the last few weeks/months.

 

[paxton6]

Regarding your backup strategy, both snapshotting and robocopy are viable options. Snapshotting provides a point-in-time recovery point for your entire NAS, while robocopy offers a more granular approach, backing up only changes to your data. The choice between the two depends on your specific needs and preferences.
On the other hand , many GUI alternatives to robocopy are available to handle this issue like Goodsync and Gs Richcopy360 .
also Rsync is great

 

[coxhaus]

I like the robocopy with the /mir option. I used it for many years.

 

[AnaMikaay]

For backups, both options you mentioned are viable. Taking snapshots of the virtual machine or using robocopy for incremental backups are both effective methods. The batch file for robocopy is a nice touch for automation.