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What OS should I choose for storage server?

i work at a family auction house that's working on getting a file server. We hold customer information, every item we have ever sold, who sold the items, who bought them, for how much, and when they were sold. I'm new to servers and was wondering which operating system I should use. I would like to be able to use a hardware raid for better reliability. 

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Figure out what application you want to use to handle all of that information first.

 

While Linux is handy because it's easy to do things like remote in and work on stuff, if the application that fits your needs runs only on Windows, then that's not a problem either. You'll just have to work with what it's capable of.

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a simple way to get a headless server running effectively and cheaply (e.g. free) is ubuntu server. Just select the samba file server when you install and you're just a tiny bit of configuration and authentication setup away from a working file system. 

 

As far as raid goes, you might want to look into software raid. It does have the downside of not having battery cache protection (e.g. a sudden system powerloss has the chance to be problematic if you are actively writing when it goes down), but it does allow you to rebuild and recover the array if you only have the drives. In other words, you can take the drives (assuming they are still working) and mount them on another system, and rebuild the array as long as it uses the same RAID manager (e.g. mdadm in linux).

 

Either way you should have a reliable backup service, as RAID is NOT a backup solution. It doesn't matter how much parity you put into it, RAID should not be your last line of backup. Crashplan offers business plans for companies less than 200 people for $10 a month with unlimited capacity. RAID helps more with uptime and performance than true backup, as RAID can fail (it's unlikely, but can happen with software or hardware raid) and it will take all your data with it if you aren't doing a real backup. 

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18 minutes ago, M.Yurizaki said:

Figure out what application you want to use to handle all of that information first.

 

While Linux is handy because it's easy to do things like remote in and work on stuff, if the application that fits your needs runs only on Windows, then that's not a problem either. You'll just have to work with what it's capable of.

The program we use that stores all this information is call AuctionFlex. It's a monthly subscription program we use on Windows. The program itself does not need to be installed on the server, just the files need to be there. I don't know if this would make a difference. I'm very new to the software side of servers. 

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1 minute ago, CPU_bot said:

The program we use that stores all this information is call AuctionFlex. It's a monthly subscription program we use on Windows. The program itself does not need to be installed on the server, just the files need to be there. I don't know if this would make a difference. I'm very new to the software side of servers. 

Does this program connect to a server, or does it load up the database like a local file?

 

If it's the former, then that requires some digging around as to how it communicates to the server and what the server needs to do to allow connections to it. If it's the latter, a file server would work just fine, and that can be independent of OS. Though since I'm a snob of using things like SSH and whatnot to remote in, I lean more towards Linux based OSes for this.

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26 minutes ago, M.Yurizaki said:

Does this program connect to a server, or does it load up the database like a local file?

 

If it's the former, then that requires some digging around as to how it communicates to the server and what the server needs to do to allow connections to it. If it's the latter, a file server would work just fine, and that can be independent of OS. Though since I'm a snob of using things like SSH and whatnot to remote in, I lean more towards Linux based OSes for this.

The program files itself are stored on the individual computers which get assigned workstation numbers. The customer files and sales records within the program can be stored anywhere. We had them on a Synology DS412+ for nearly 5 years, but we had some issues with that which is what actually caused us to move to a server, we also had them on one of our computers temporarily with large amounts of backups every night, and are now once again sitting on the repaired DS412+ until the server comes in next week. I also can appreciate being able to remote in through SSH. I friend of mine is teaching me how to use it and I'm really starting to enjoy it. 

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54 minutes ago, reniat said:

a simple way to get a headless server running effectively and cheaply (e.g. free) is ubuntu server. Just select the samba file server when you install and you're just a tiny bit of configuration and authentication setup away from a working file system. 

 

As far as raid goes, you might want to look into software raid. It does have the downside of not having battery cache protection (e.g. a sudden system powerloss has the chance to be problematic if you are actively writing when it goes down), but it does allow you to rebuild and recover the array if you only have the drives. In other words, you can take the drives (assuming they are still working) and mount them on another system, and rebuild the array as long as it uses the same RAID manager (e.g. mdadm in linux).

 

Either way you should have a reliable backup service, as RAID is NOT a backup solution. It doesn't matter how much parity you put into it, RAID should not be your last line of backup. Crashplan offers business plans for companies less than 200 people for $10 a month with unlimited capacity. RAID helps more with uptime and performance than true backup, as RAID can fail (it's unlikely, but can happen with software or hardware raid) and it will take all your data with it if you aren't doing a real backup. 

Can I create SMB(Windows) shares on Ubuntu as well as create a group and user with specified login for the shares? I've used Ubuntu in the past on my desktop but never in a server configuration. 
 

With the RAID's, I'm considering either 2 RAID 1's or a single Raid 10. Would it be better to do a hardware RAID 1 for the first array, and then a software RAID 1 for the second array. Both arrays would have 2 2TB Western Digital Black drives. I've heard arguments for both software or hardware RAID's so with me being so new I'm quite conflicted on what would be the best thing to do. 

 

I know RAID is not a backup and we have multiple backups some within the program we use itself, others on flash drives, and a nightly on a home made NAS. The RAID arrays I can take care of. 

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1 hour ago, CPU_bot said:

Any specific distribution? 

Not sure, I only know that Linux is good for servers.

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If Licensing costs aren't an issue. Windows Server would probably be the easiest. You would also have a wide range of other uses for the server such as Active Directory and you can Remote Desktop onto the server and use a gui if you don't like to use the terminal..

 

Alternatively, you could load up something like FreeNas which you manage through a webui. Or you could use something like Ubuntu Server and install Samba to make SMB shares for use with Windows.

 

I hope I sorta answered your question but feel free to PM me for any more advice or questions :)

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Raid 10 is great for performance in an environment where you need IOPS/speed but at a great cost to storage as you increase redundancy. By default you can only lose 1 drive, if 2 drives of the same pair die then you've lost the entire volume. You can increase this to two drives, but then you're only getting 1/3 of the storage. If performance is not a factor, then something similar to Raid 6 or RaidZ2. **Raid 6 / RaidZ2 are not slouches however.

 

Personally if it's for a business and time is important, I'd stick with a turnkey solution such as qnap or synology (with extended warranty). However if you can be down for a few days while you troubleshoot or whatever, then DIY is fine. It's much easier to pickup the phone and tell the vendor to fix it.

 

ZFS is a great file system regardless if you go with Linux or FreeNAS, very strong and resilient file system. I've found FreeNAS very very easy to use and has a very easy GUI. I think however you have a lot more control / options if you went with linux+ZFS (easier to run/manage VMs, docker, etc...).

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1 minute ago, burnsmorgan14 said:

If Licensing costs aren't an issue. Windows Server would probably be the easiest. You would also have a wide range of other uses for the server such as Active Directory and you can Remote Desktop onto the server and use a gui if you don't like to use the terminal..

 

Alternatively, you could load up something like FreeNas which you manage through a webui. Or you could use something like Ubuntu Server and install Samba to make SMB shares for use with Windows.

 

I hope I sorta answered your question but feel free to PM me for any more advice or questions :)

Yeah we've looked at Windows Server and that is a steep price for us to pay right now. Money is quite tight at the moment (we are currently trying to move our business of 25,000 square feet within the next month or so). I have read up on FreeNas and I've heard for business use it's not ideal for there are some issues with it, but that it's very good for home use. And is Ubuntu Server the same thing as regular Ubuntu 16.04LTS?

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Just now, CPU_bot said:

Yeah we've looked at Windows Server and that is a steep price for us to pay right now. Money is quite tight at the moment (we are currently trying to move our business of 25,000 square feet within the next month or so). I have read up on FreeNas and I've heard for business use it's not ideal for there are some issues with it, but that it's very good for home use. And is Ubuntu Server the same thing as regular Ubuntu 16.04LTS?

I probably use FreeNAS in a much more complex way then you will, and can tell you it's very stable so long as you aren't trying to go bleeding edge. The only issue I've ever had is AD integration but honestly I should be mounting an iSCSI target or VHD and letting windows handle it, but I like to tinker.

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I've never had an issue with Freenas and I just used it to basically share a drive on the network. If you're sceptical, then probably best that you use Ubuntu server. It's easy enough to set up and you can set user/group access to different samba shares. 

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1 hour ago, CPU_bot said:

Yeah we've looked at Windows Server and that is a steep price for us to pay right now. Money is quite tight at the moment (we are currently trying to move our business of 25,000 square feet within the next month or so). I have read up on FreeNas and I've heard for business use it's not ideal for there are some issues with it, but that it's very good for home use. And is Ubuntu Server the same thing as regular Ubuntu 16.04LTS?

Yes, Ubuntu server and Desktop are very similar, maybe a few extra packages and the GUI being the only differences I can think of. I have used desktop Ubuntu distributions for server tasks in the past and not had issues. I would recommend using the server version to save on resources, but I also understand that employers sometimes was something that they could make changes to also. 

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2 hours ago, CPU_bot said:

Can I create SMB(Windows) shares on Ubuntu as well as create a group and user with specified login for the shares?

yup.

Gaming build:

CPU: i7-7700k (5.0ghz, 1.312v)

GPU(s): Asus Strix 1080ti OC (~2063mhz)

Memory: 32GB (4x8) DDR4 G.Skill TridentZ RGB 3000mhz

Motherboard: Asus Prime z270-AR

PSU: Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W

Cooler: Custom water loop (420mm rad + 360mm rad)

Case: Be quiet! Dark base pro 900 (silver)
Primary storage: Samsung 960 evo m.2 SSD (500gb)

Secondary storage: Samsung 850 evo SSD (250gb)

 

Server build:

OS: Ubuntu server 16.04 LTS (though will probably upgrade to 17.04 for better ryzen support)

CPU: Ryzen R7 1700x

Memory: Ballistix Sport LT 16GB

Motherboard: Asrock B350 m4 pro

PSU: Corsair CX550M

Cooler: Cooler master hyper 212 evo

Storage: 2TB WD Red x1, 128gb OCZ SSD for OS

Case: HAF 932 adv

 

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  • 9 months later...
On 7/21/2017 at 4:32 PM, CPU_bot said:

Yeah we've looked at Windows Server and that is a steep price for us to pay right now. Money is quite tight at the moment (we are currently trying to move our business of 25,000 square feet within the next month or so). I have read up on FreeNas and I've heard for business use it's not ideal for there are some issues with it, but that it's very good for home use. And is Ubuntu Server the same thing as regular Ubuntu 16.04LTS?

Probably a little bit too late, but Freenas the stable release is rock solid and very good for business. And ZFS is very scalable and very reliable, if the storage grows a lot you can move to TrueNas that can scale to petabytes in size very easily 

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I'd recommend FreeNAS running your storage and another seperate box for your servers. FreeNAS is very stable as an OS and ZFS is extremely resilient to things like sudden power loss and hardware failure. You just need to make sure the hardware is correct before proceeding. If you want to take that guesswork out, TrueNAS sells servers and configurations that will work very well, but if you want to do it cheaply, getting an old server like a Dell R510 with a Perc H200 flashed to IT mode with the LSI 9211-8i firmware and populating it with new drives works extremely well and is much cheaper, but requires some investment to learning more about the hardware you will be using.

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  • 1 year later...
On 7/21/2017 at 6:55 PM, CPU_bot said:

i work at a family auction house that's working on getting a file server. We hold customer information, every item we have ever sold, who sold the items, who bought them, for how much, and when they were sold. I'm new to servers and was wondering which operating system I should use. I would like to be able to use a hardware raid for better reliability. 

windows you can just setup a smb server

Spstampy

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Personally I would just recommend unraid, simple parity protected array to help protect against drive failure and non of the headaches involved with tradition RAID arrays.  The price was well worth it to me for just how little time it took to get up and running.  When I was a teenager I loved delving into the Linux CLI and doing things for myself but those days are long gone.  I just need something that works.  Unraid is simple, easily expandable and there is a wealth of information online for it.

 

I know a lot of people will recommend FreeNAS, it may be just as good as an option, but I've never used it before.  I'm actually downloading it now to play around with and see how it works, but for me unraid ticks all the boxes and much more.

 

Also I wouldn't recommend server class equipment for a small business (not exactly sure what size your employers business is), with little time and resources.  The company I work for is very small and all the servers / computers I've built with used eBay parts and more recently Ryzen systems are still going strong while all the "business" servers and proprietary PC's are in a pile in the back.

 

Also to get better recommendations from everyone, what storage capacity are you going for?  Depending on the size of the business you may not need much at all.

 

 

 

Edit: Sorry didn't notice this thread was from 2 years ago #FacePalm

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