Need advice for upgrading to windows home server 2011 from windows 7 home premium

I had just recently acquired an innovative Dell XPS 8300 Server working Windows 7 Home Premium OS. I am a MSDN subscriber so desired to download and inaugurate Windows Home Server 2011 as an alternative. I have comprised and pulled down the .iso file for the server and decompressed it commencing from side to side Winzip other than nothing occurs when I hit it off on the install.exe. Several proposition on what I might be doing incorrect. Documentation on WHS is attractive skimpy. You not be able to do what you are attempting to do there is no upgrading path commencing from Windows 7 (Desktop OS) to WHS 2011 (Server). You necessitate to generate a bootable DVD or USB stick commencing from your .iso and inaugurate from new, totally wiping your Windows 7 installation.

Similar to numerous Windows Home Server users in the world, I have encompassed and been torn connecting staying through the Drive Extender version or description of WHS v1 or upgrading to WHS 2011. Possibly upgrading is a bit of a misnomer, as it is a totally innovative installation of the OS and a migration of all the data commencing from a WHS version or description 1 apparatus to a WHS 2011 appliance. Regarding the OS installation, I for eternity prefer an innovative OS installation vs. an OS upgrading, so that mifggt be a no-brainer to me. Concerning the migration of data, I opened the console on my 6 TB WHS v1 apparatus and took a real look at the size of just presently the Shared Folders. The genuine unduplicated size amounted to approximately 2.5 TBs of information.

The pronouncement was not uncomplicated. Mutually the Terry and myself have comprised been quite vocal and critical of Microsoft concerning the taking away of Drive Extender from WHS 2011. It was not so to a great extent the elimination of DE as it was the void of completely not anything being put back into the OS to replace DE. On the other hand, there are 3 levels of data protection obtainable to a user. The primary is data redundancy/duplication in the commencing form of RAID or comparable technology. Subsequent to the entire, DE is actually just presently a type of RAID. Or perhaps JBOD if you be resolute. Regardless, the system is basically duplicating the data so that to facilitate in the event of a single disk malfunction, you might not lose data. The attractiveness of DE was that it was total straightforwardness to add a drive to augment storage capacity; it was total simplicity to replace a failed drive.

I did not had familiarity the corruption issue that with the intention of was fixed by MS. I did not occurrence the stuttering issue that others have comprised and experienced. For me, it just presently worked. For others, it did not and I am convinced that to facilitate they are happy that DE is at present dead. As a side note, even although I have comprised and been quite critical of Microsoft regarding the removal of DE, they did refurbish my MVP status for an additional year. They have comprised no issue taking criticism, as I am convinced that to facilitate they are quite utilized to that. They the entire have to realize that to facilitate they basically do not/not be able to act on every “DO IT MY WAY” tirade that comes along. Even commencing from me. Or Terry or 95% of the user pedestal out there. Anyway, I was agreeably surprised and impressed by Microsoft over my renewal. Moving back to data protection, the subsequent level of prevention is an external local backup. I am quite forthrightly not impressed depression the explanation incorporated in WHS 2011, additional than there are alternatives which determine to be discussed in more detail later.

The most recent level of data prevention is an external offsite backup. Create 2 copies for every backup, one onsite and one offsite. In case your house burns down. This day and age, conceivably the offsite backup be able to be the cloud. So subsequent to the entire that, I am tranquil quite disappointed regarding the removal of DE, other than is merely a characteristic. And the void of a non-DE WHS is being filled. My merely concern regarding the explanations being developed is that most of them determine to have that well-known finger-pointing that always seems to happen in software. The user acquire caught connecting two companies positioning fingers at each other and the eventual loser always turns out to be you.

The entire you have comprised to do here is read the users enormous post on the pros and cons of upgrading. I had previously completed my decision on an additional subconscious level: do I wish for to be left behind by progress or maintain up through it. The most important predicament that I needed to get to the bottom of was that data duplication characteristic/void. On one occasion past that to facilitate minor predicament, life might be superior the entire in excess of again. In point of fact, there was one additional decision to make. There are in point of fact more than a few products to choose commencing from in this family: SBS 2011 Standard, SBS 2011 Essentials, Windows Storage Server Essentials 2008 R2 Embedded, and WHS 2011.

The SBS 2011 Essentials and customary are true business solutions sustaining and maintaining 25 and 75 users correspondingly. If you necessitate a domain controller and the entire the associated maintenance plus the cost, go for it. They basically have comprised no appeal to me for utilize in a home surroundings. The Windows Storage Server indispensables 2008 R2 Embedded are accurately that: an embedded OEM explanation merely. This one in position of fact had a number of appeal to me, more often than not for the reason that it personally resembles a NAS solution by means of hold up for additional 25 users, and it might join a domain, if I ever truly misplaced my mind and drifted away commencing from that home arena. On an accession sanity returned, Windows Home Server 2011 tranquil creates the most sense as the version or description for me. I desire centralized storage. I desire client backups. I do not utilize remote to face right of entry very often, a additional WHS 2011 makes it easy.

Till last starting on a Friday suddenly, I began the Great Journey commencing from WHS v1 to WHS 2011. My test server might at present become my production server. The essential specs:

• Motherboard: MSI K9A Platinum
• CPU: AMD Athlon 64 4400+ dual core Memory: 4 x 1 DDR2 sticks
• PSU: Seasonic SS-600HT 600W
• Video Card: MSI GeForce 8600 GT.

The WD EARS 2TB drives plus additional. The majority of these components are a by means of years preceding and might not impress the HW geeks much. I upgrading the memory freshly and the hard drives are quite recent acquisitions. Additional than for utilize as a Windows Home Server, it be supposed to do quite satisfactorily. Regarding the merely upgrade I might incorporate is a superior NIC, other than that be able to wait for another day. My initial inaugurate contained merely one HD, as the second EARS drive was in my WHS v1 machine and was about 1/3 full.