NAS: Windows vs Linux

[Nem]

My NAS is currently set up with openmediavault (http://www.openmediavault.org/) and everythings been fine, but lately I've been thinking about how I'd like to be able to tinker with the machine but I'm not comfortable enough with debian to be able to tinker without the constant fear of losing all my data. An example of this tinkering is I'd like to try out owncloud to see if I like it, and if not I'd like to be able to remove it easily. When I tried this with OMV in the past it screwed something up and it took so much googling to figure out what the actual problem was, let alone how to fix it

 

I currently use the NAS for the following:

- file server. It hosts SMB shares being accessed by 2 windows desktops and 2 mac laptops

- private vs public shares (ie some shares have access restricted to only certain users)

- plex media server

- couch potato server 

- sickbeard server

- all the home computers backup to the NAS via FTP

- connects to a VPN as a client

- also acts as VPN server for when the home laptops are away

- the nicest thing about OMV is that it provides a web interface to handle settings of all these different plugins that I've listed

 

Anyway, I've been thinking about just installing windows 8.1 or something on the NAS instead and running that in place of OMV. Can anyone provide some insight into why you would/wouldn't use windows 8 over omv/debian for a home NAS? What are the pros and cons? How comfortably will windows handle what omv currently handles?

 

Yes, I know there are other options like amahi, freeNAS etc. that allow you to click and install plugins from a web interface, but again if I want to go deeper than that I'd still have the same problem as with OMV as they are all linux based

 

Ultimately I'd like to get some of my sanity back and not have to worry about screwing something up on the NAS that I wouldn't know how to fix (at least without sinking a load of time into googling a solution), but I wouldn't make the switch to Windows if there are some valid reasons to stick with linux for this use case

[d3sl91]

I currently am running 8.1 pro to:

 

Plex

Sickbeard (Well, SickRage, basically the same).

File server (Both LAN and FTP)

Backup (Directly over LAN)

Random game servers

 

I pay for a VPN, and also have a VPN for work, so, don;'t do that (however I would use a dedicated hardware VPN if I did). 

 

 

So... all that to say, it's very possible, and in my case, has been running for about 4 years with zero failures or issues. Sickrage and plex can both be configured remotely (IP:Port) as can FTP server. Anything else is easy enough using teamviewer for RDP. It's been simple in my case

 

I am using eindows for the same reason you are. I don't know linux enough, and just need it to work no matter how much I tinker with new programs and software. 

[Nem]

do you run any sort of software raid/pooling on your drives?

 

are there any general disadvantages to using windows for this purpose over using linux?

[d3sl91]

do you run any sort of software raid/pooling on your drives?

 

are there any general disadvantages to using windows for this purpose over using linux?

I am currently using windows to pool 2x 2TB and 2x 1tb drives, and my OS is on an SSD. 

 

For pooling, windows works fine. However, I would reccomend using an actual raid controller. And in that case, it's whatever OS the controller supports (Windows is almost always supported, wheras Linux isnt always)

[handruin]

I run Linux for my NAS (Xubuntu 14.10) and one of the reasons for doing this is using ZFS for managing my data.  I can't do this on Windows as far as I know.  I also run VMware workstation on my NAS and host other Linux VMs for gaming servers and Mumble.  If you don't want to screw up your NAS, you may want to try a virtualization tool like VMWare workstation (paid) or VirtualBox (free) to experiment with other OSs without fear of ruining your primary OS.

 

I use and enjoy Windows 8.1 but I wouldn't use it for my NAS for a few reasons.  The first is ZFS availability.  It's the core of keeping my data available among other features like checksums, snapshots, thin-provisioning, expansion, etc.  I also like using a terminal (via SSH) to manage my server remotely.  I realize RDC is an option for Windows 8.1.  I also like the finer-grained security restrictions for putting this system onto the network.  I mitigate this by using the VM which also runs Xubuntu 14.10.

 

Overall, you could switch to Win 8.1 and then use a VM utlity to host a Linux VM which you expose to the internet for your various servers, etc.  This is how I was doing it for a while prior to building my NAS.  Once my NAS was built, I migrated the VM onto the NAS and it continues to run fine.