Am I overthinking something?

[AndyP79]

Hi all, first time posting. Okay, so, I've been Googling this, and can't seem to get a straight answer. Here we go:

I am currently in school, and wanting to put to use some of my education so it's not just one big vocabulary test. 

I am going to build a desktop. Doesn't matter what. I am wanting to turn it into a server. The idea is for using it to host my files to access with my Surface Pro while at school or out and about. A simple OneDrive replacement. No big deal right. Easy enough. 

I currently have a decent laptop set up as a desktop with two 28"monitors. Kick ass right. 

The server build will be much more powerful than that laptop. So me thinks: hey, why not set up a virtual machine on the server build with a copy of Windows Pro in the Windows Server build. No worries about the cost of the OSs, I get them free with my enrollment of classes. Not bad right? I'll be making that Windows Pro VM look at the server. 

So, a nicely built desktop, running Server, with a VM running WP, pointed at separate drives. Can I treat that VM WP as a daily driver as I would a laptop or any other stand alone, other than basic maintenance? I know I can run the VM, but am I overlooking how to use it with the Server? I can't seem to find a decent answer in this for some reason? I don't know if I'm over looking something it not asking the right questions? 

Is my goal here realistic or should I head in another direction. Like I said, I get legit copies free from school, so this only costs me whatever I spend on the PC. 

 

[AndyP79]

Quick side note, this is going to be set up in my small bedroom, so space is a premium. The extra case build is going to be it in space allowance, no more towers after this one. 

[Jarsky]

You could setup a Linux server and create a secure SOCKS5 proxy RDP tunnel and just mount your drives remotely via the RDP protocol to the server?

The way mine used to be configured is Server Hardware > Windows Server 2012 R2 > Hyper-V with Linux VM with port 22 open to internet.

 

SSH to the Linux VM, then open RDP tunnel over SSH to the Windows server and control that as a daily driver.

[AndyP79]

26 minutes ago, Jarsky said:

You could setup a Linux server and create a secure SOCKS5 proxy RDP tunnel and just mount your drives remotely via the RDP protocol to the server?

The way mine used to be configured is Server Hardware > Windows Server 2012 R2 > Hyper-V with Linux VM with port 22 open to internet.

 

SSH to the Linux VM, then open RDP tunnel over SSH to the Windows server and control that as a daily driver.

For the time being, in sticking with the M$. I get them for free from school, and everything I'm doing at the moment is M$ based. I've played with Ubuntu before, but I know nothing about Linux servers. In the future I definitely will play with it, but for now I want to stick with the Microsoft I've been studying and keep it simple. This will be my first Server and I don't want to over complicate it. 

[leadeater]

Depending on OS edition on the laptop you could setup a Windows Server for Direct Access then your laptop will always have access to your home network as long as you have an internet connection. I think you need to setup an Active Directory Domain and join the laptop to it though for it to work, not a big deal for someone experienced in this sort of thing but can be a bit daunting for someone who as never done it before.

 

Direct Access also requires a bit of network Kung Fu and a static public IP address, dynamic DNS might work but never tried it.

[AndyP79]

2 hours ago, leadeater said:

Depending on OS edition on the laptop you could setup a Windows Server for Direct Access then your laptop will always have access to your home network as long as you have an internet connection. I think you need to setup an Active Directory Domain and join the laptop to it though for it to work, not a big deal for someone experienced in this sort of thing but can be a bit daunting for someone who as never done it before.

 

Direct Access also requires a bit of network Kung Fu and a static public IP address, dynamic DNS might work but never tried it.

Cool, that's pretty much the line of thought I've been thinking about. Both the laptop and the Surface are WP, and the VM I'll run on the Server is going to be WP also. In one of the classes I'm in right now, I've been doing Server stuff, and it was more hands on than the Server class, so service time around, and it's starting to click and make sense. So, yea, I ultimately, using Direct Access would like to be able to access the Server files (Word, Onenote, etc.). I feel like, well, eventually that is the direction I'll probably go when I start working, so if I can tell the future employer, that yes, I run my own true server, not just a NAS, to use myself, in the same configuration you like, well, that hopefully will get me a nice job somewhere. Experience now is money later, right. Thanks for the good words.

[leadeater]

4 minutes ago, AndyP79 said:

Cool, that's pretty much the line of thought I've been thinking about. Both the laptop and the Surface are WP, and the VM I'll run on the Server is going to be WP also. In one of the classes I'm in right now, I've been doing Server stuff, and it was more hands on than the Server class, so service time around, and it's starting to click and make sense. So, yea, I ultimately, using Direct Access would like to be able to access the Server files (Word, Onenote, etc.). I feel like, well, eventually that is the direction I'll probably go when I start working, so if I can tell the future employer, that yes, I run my own true server, not just a NAS, to use myself, in the same configuration you like, well, that hopefully will get me a nice job somewhere. Experience now is money later, right. Thanks for the good words.

You'll actually need to use Windows Enterprise or Education:

 

Supported OS for Direct Access:

• Windows 10 Enterprise
• Windows 10 Education
• Windows 8.1 Enterprise
• Windows 7 Enterprise
• Windows 7 Ultimate

https://directaccess.richardhicks.com/2015/12/14/directaccess-and-windows-10-professional/

 

You should have a copy of one of these through Microsoft Imagine.

[AndyP79]

Ahh, good call, I didn't even think about that. Cool. Guess I'll be upgrading the Surface Pro and laptop to Enterprise then. I could see it, I'd load up Pro and not even realize and take a month of Googling to figure out what went wrong. Lol!

[AndyP79]

Okay, so bump in the road. Apparently, Windows 10 Enterprise or Education need to be bought through bulk purchase  only. Meaning, as a mear mortal, I cannot just sign up for an upgrade. So that throws a bit of a wrench in it...maybe..... So, new question: IF I install Server 16 on the server tower, and then run WP on the VM, SP, and LT, will they be able to connect to so Direct Access can control everything for permissions? Or do they just get Domain access? Or am I now confused? Also, do I need to purchase a domain from Go Daddy or something and then host it to the server or am I misunderstanding that terminology?

Forgive my ignorance, it is late, meds are kicking in, and I have been Googling in circles all day. 

Appreciate the help in advance to those willing to jump in

[leadeater]

6 hours ago, AndyP79 said:

Okay, so bump in the road. Apparently, Windows 10 Enterprise or Education need to be bought through bulk purchase  only. Meaning, as a mear mortal, I cannot just sign up for an upgrade. So that throws a bit of a wrench in it...maybe..... So, new question: IF I install Server 16 on the server tower, and then run WP on the VM, SP, and LT, will they be able to connect to so Direct Access can control everything for permissions? Or do they just get Domain access? Or am I now confused? Also, do I need to purchase a domain from Go Daddy or something and then host it to the server or am I misunderstanding that terminology?

Forgive my ignorance, it is late, meds are kicking in, and I have been Googling in circles all day. 

Appreciate the help in advance to those willing to jump in

I thought you got copies of those more advanced versions of Windows 10 through Microsoft Imagine for free, I did back when it was Academic Alliance then Dream Spark.

 

You might need to buy a domain but only if dynamic DNS doesn't work. When you setup direct access the computers need to know where to connect to and that is set using a DNS record in the configuration.

 

It might just be easier to setup a VPN instead, less cool and jazzy but will work, even with dynamic DNS.

 

If you only need RDP access to the VM you are going to run on the server you can just port forward to the VM or use an RDP gateway.

 

Honestly it's going to be confusing because there are many ways to do something like you are asking, like heaps, so you need to define very accurately what it is you want then find the solution based on those requires.

 

An example of that is using your One Drive replacement statement, remoting to a VM is nothing at all like One Drive so wouldn't meet that requirement. However if you just want remote access to files on your network/server RDP would meet that.