home server software

[JohnnyBlaze123]

i been looking into building a home server for a bit now, but im not sure about the which os i should use. i found amahi. i like it cause it has greyhole (diskpooling), which i could organise it by different folders and not just hdd. i just want to know what you guy think of amahi, and are there any alternatives to amahi, that also use greyhole. there site sucks cause there is only a bunch of screen shots and no demos and no real vids on actually using amahi, and there isnt much on youtube either. so i cant really get a feeel of it. any help, any thoughts?

[Enderman]

windows home server?

[JohnnyBlaze123]

windows home server?

 

microsoft no longer supports home server, it was my first choice

[SlayerOfHellWyrm]

You can get an ISO of Server 2003/2008 R2/2012 R2 online, and then either pay for a key which is expensive, or... acquire one via other means. I'd suggest going the legal route, but in the end, it's up to you. Personally, I use Server 2008 R2, but I have the most experience with it. I know there's plenty of free alternatives, like Amahi, and various Linux server distros, but I know 2008 R2, not them.

 

PS: 2012 R2 has Storage Spaces, which is essentially the same as a diskhole where it can make a bunch of physical drives look like one logical drive, or logical folder. This can also be done on Windows 8.1, but this might not be ideal to use as a server, depending on what you want to do. Chances are however, 8.1 will be the best server for you, assuming you just want it to run games, and act as a NAS.

[JohnnyBlaze123]

You can get an ISO of Server 2003/2008 R2/2012 R2 online, and then either pay for a key which is expensive, or... acquire one via other means. I'd suggest going the legal route, but in the end, it's up to you. Personally, I use Server 2008 R2, but I have the most experience with it. I know there's plenty of free alternatives, like Amahi, and various Linux server distros, but I know 2008 R2, not them.

 

PS: 2012 R2 has Storage Spaces, which is essentially the same as a diskhole where it can make a bunch of physical drives look like one logical drive, or logical folder. This can also be done on Windows 8.1, but this might not be ideal to use as a server, depending on what you want to do. Chances are however, 8.1 will be the best server for you, assuming you just want it to run games, and act as a NAS.

i will be using it more as a media server. i want to be able to stream it to any device. i like what i see on amahi. but there support just sucks

[SlayerOfHellWyrm]

i will be using it more as a media server. i want to be able to stream it to any device. i like what i see on amahi. but there support just sucks

Pretty much all OS's nowadays support streaming files via something like SMB (server message block), in the case of Windows of NFS (network file system) in the case of Linux. How you access the data is what matters. Either via a shared folder that devices an connect to in some way, or via software that grants access. Really, a share will usually suffice, unless you want to stream to a phone or tablet in which case, I don't know since it's not something I've ever done personally.

[rockking1379]

ubuntu server. i have a vm server that runs web, db, minecraft (not for much longer), among others. only one vm is windows server and its only that way because the game i want to run requires .net 4 so had no choice really. for streaming, you can use plex media server on ubuntu. thats what i do and it works well

[azdaspaz]

I use FreeNAS, if your primary use will be storage. 

 

There's a great guide my MG2R on creating your own debian based home server here: 

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/6398-howto-create-your-own-linux-home-server-using-debian/