(Newbie)Help to setup a server

[Th_a_low_abo_ve]

Video/Photo Editing. First 3 employees.Wanted to setup current PC as a server so they can access and edit raw video footage and pics remotely for now.But open to having another setup as a server.budget for setup <USD600 preferably something which has potential for future upgrades. Will appreciate any help from anyone experienced with running such.

 

PC Build

i9 9900k

64Gb RAM

2080 SUPER

512GB Nvme SSD

2x 8TB HDD

1x 16TB

[Windows7ge]

Although this hardware should work OK just make sure you have a proper backup.

 

So what Operating System were you looking to use? Or is that part of what you need help with?

 

Will the employees be editing live off the server or predominantly downloading, editing, then re-uploading?

 

What are the usual file sizes they work with and are there often bulk transfers?

[Th_a_low_abo_ve]

currently on Windows 10.yes need help on that.

 

preferably editing off the server as the files are anywhere from 4GB to 40GB.

[Windows7ge]

On 7/10/2022 at 2:03 PM, Th_a_low_abo_ve said:

currently on Windows 10.yes need help on that.

 

preferably editing off the server as the files are anywhere from 4GB to 40GB.

When you reply to people make sure you quote them using the backwards pointing arrow. Unless someone explicitly follows your thread they don't get a notification that you replied.

 

If you aren't working with Windows Server then the best you can do is setup Drive Sharing so clients on the network can access the storage. Normally you would want to setup a proper SMB share but I don't believe that is an option on Windows 10 without the use of 3rd party software.

 

If clients are going to be working with files in excess of nearly 40GB I would want to use 10Gig networking but a $600 budget would not get it done. Your network will be the bottleneck but 1Gbit would be your affordable limit. Depending on if you're comfortable buying used hardware you could make 10Gig happen though. This would cut down on client wait time downloading/uploading but it'd still be limited by the speed of the mechanical storage array which is going to cap somewhere around 150~175MB/s unless you upgrade to solid state or use several plus hdds which again would take you well outside your budget.

[Th_a_low_abo_ve]

On 7/12/2022 at 5:44 PM, Windows7ge said:

When you reply to people make sure you quote them using the backwards pointing arrow. Unless someone explicitly follows your thread they don't get a notification that you replied.

 

If you aren't working with Windows Server then the best you can do is setup Drive Sharing so clients on the network can access the storage. Normally you would want to setup a proper SMB share but I don't believe that is an option on Windows 10 without the use of 3rd party software.

 

If clients are going to be working with files in excess of nearly 40GB I would want to use 10Gig networking but a $600 budget would not get it done. Your network will be the bottleneck but 1Gbit would be your affordable limit. Depending on if you're comfortable buying used hardware you could make 10Gig happen though. This would cut down on client wait time downloading/uploading but it'd still be limited by the speed of the mechanical storage array which is going to cap somewhere around 150~175MB/s unless you upgrade to solid state or use several plus hdds which again would take you well outside your budget.

thanks for the info on the quote will do so.

 

so for am guessing the first option i.e. using Drive sharing for Windows Server, is for the live editing bit which would mean no need for downloading or would you still need to download?Lets say we go for that option what are we looking at?can i setup a machine separate with Windows Server and move the storage drives there? I've seen stuff about NAS is that a viable option that is better?

 

Option 2 if i am ok with the used hardware for 10Gbig what kind of options am i looking at? Also what about the internet from the ISP? How much bandwidth is ok for the server location and the client side?

 

Whichever option is not too problematic to setup and maintain is definitely a good route.

Thanks for the help.

[Windows7ge]

28 minutes ago, Th_a_low_abo_ve said:

so for am guessing the first option i.e. using Drive sharing for Windows Server, is for the live editing bit which would mean no need for downloading or would you still need to download?Lets say we go for that option what are we looking at?can i setup a machine separate with Windows Server and move the storage drives there? I've seen stuff about NAS is that a viable option that is better?

Windows uses SMB for file sharing over a network. It's a network file sharing protocol. The "server" hosting the files has to broadcast that it's a server hosting files so when clients try to connect it responds. Otherwise nobody would be able to connect.

 

With Windows Server you can setup a proper SMB network share but the need for it isn't justifiable unless you need many other features inherit to that version of windows. Windows 10 on the other hand can only perform Drive Sharing. It behaves similarly to a proper SMB share but isn't entirely the same. Basically you can get away with Windows 10 if that's what you want to use.

 

You will have to setup some sort of Share for clients to access the server period. Weather they want to edit the files locally or directly off the server. NAS is Network Attached Storage and would be a step up from Windows Drive Sharing in this situation. There's many free to use Linux & UNIX based operating systems that would allow you to setup how the data and users are managed.

 

38 minutes ago, Th_a_low_abo_ve said:

Option 2 if i am ok with the used hardware for 10Gbig what kind of options am i looking at? Also what about the internet from the ISP? How much bandwidth is ok for the server location and the client side?

I would look at hardware like Mellanox Connect-X3 CX311A adapters, then if the clients are very close you can run DAC to the network switch like a used Dell S4810P, or if they're farther away fiber optic cables & SFP+ transceivers.

 

Provided the server and the clients are all on the same network, same site/location your ISP plan is irrelevant.

[wseaton]

Using a Windows Server just for file sharing in a small office is a PITA. Unless you are using active directory it's pier to pier, and that's a nightmare. Yeah, you can go full trailer park and utilize the public folder as a common share, but this is really, really schlockey. Unless you want to utilize active directory Windows Server is a waste of cash for file services.

 

Doesn't matter because hardware is the big issue here and not the file sharing OS.

 

A basic NAS fits the bill for this. The question then becomes if you want to make the full leap to 10Gb. 1Gb NAS boxes (Synology, etc) are less than $600. 

 

For live video editing on a shared drive you better add a decimal point to your budget. You will need 10Gb NICs, Switches, and SSD storage in your NAS or server.

 

On a tight budget I would stick to editing locally and just copying files to/from your NAS whatever it is.

 

 

[Th_a_low_abo_ve]

On 7/12/2022 at 5:44 PM, Windows7ge said:

When you reply to people make sure you quote them using the backwards pointing arrow. Unless someone explicitly follows your thread they don't get a notification that you replied.

 

If you aren't working with Windows Server then the best you can do is setup Drive Sharing so clients on the network can access the storage. Normally you would want to setup a proper SMB share but I don't believe that is an option on Windows 10 without the use of 3rd party software.

 

If clients are going to be working with files in excess of nearly 40GB I would want to use 10Gig networking but a $600 budget would not get it done. Your network will be the bottleneck but 1Gbit would be your affordable limit. Depending on if you're comfortable buying used hardware you could make 10Gig happen though. This would cut down on client wait time downloading/uploading but it'd still be limited by the speed of the mechanical storage array which is going to cap somewhere around 150~175MB/s unless you upgrade to solid state or use several plus hdds which again would take you well outside your budget.

I think i'll go for the 1gbps option for now then plan for expansion later as i update the drives. What are some good options for the hardware setup i.e. switches and or anything else

[Windows7ge]

4 hours ago, Th_a_low_abo_ve said:

I think i'll go for the 1gbps option for now then plan for expansion later as i update the drives. What are some good options for the hardware setup i.e. switches and or anything else

For all intensive purposes here a switch is a switch. If you want something fancy I can recommend the Ubiquiti EdgeSwitch 48 Lite but you can just as easily pick up a 48 port Gigabit switch off eBay for significantly less money second hand. Dell, Netgear, CISCO, all good names. Careful around some of the CISCO stuff though. They may or may not come with their operating system.

 

Beyond that Cat5e, Cat6a if you want some future proofing and just normal RJ-45 connectors. You can make things look cleaner if you decide to install wall sockets.

[Gyro zeppelin]

11 hours ago, Th_a_low_abo_ve said:

我想我现在会选择 1gbps 选项，然后在我更新驱动器时计划稍后进行扩展。硬件设置有哪些不错的选择，即开关和或其他任何东西

emmm if you want to try NAS then I can help you, I am a minipc site administrator, usually get some ads that need promotion or something. Right now I have a resource on hand to test NAS for free.