HP Proliant / whs2011 vs Nas..really confused on which route to take

[capall]

Hi all,
I've done so much reading on NAS's and windows home server 2011, and the more I read the more confused I get. I'd really appreciate some feedback on pros/cons of each systems so that I can make an informed decision.

My needs are basic enough,

-current storage is 500GB and will maybe grow to 2TB in a couple of yrs
-incremental backup 3 laptops, with images
-store and stream audio,video and photos to media streamers/ATV with DLNA
-remote access to photos, music and documents from PC, iphones and ipads
-(1) 2Tb should be sufficient for the near future, or 2 drives in a mirror
-I will use an ext. USB or esata to backup

I've narrowed it down to DS111 or the DS212J / proliant + whs2011 (using 2 drives in a mirror). Neither will do trancoding, are similar in price and with one 2TB drive sufficient (or 2 in a mirror) the decision comes down to;

-how client backups and restores are handled
-how component failures are handled, with respect to data recovery
-what do you give up with one versus the other
-how much maintenance is involved
-any pros/cons for each in how media streaming is handled
-whs users seem to say they are for media serving only and not backup, yet NAS users seem to use them happily for serving and backup, thoughts?


any feedback on why you would choose one versus the other would be much appreciated.

thanks

 

[stevech]

I over-analyzed what to do, and chose a DS212, and am very pleased.
I have my client PCs arranged to store critical data on the NAS, not on the PC disk.
And the PCs can image their drive to the NAS (Acronis, et al).
I don't think it's often done, but the NAS can access folders on the client PCs to do a "pull" for backup.
QNAP and Synology have software that runs on the PCs to push a backup to the NAS.

I also run SecondCopy on two of my client PCs, for fast/instant backup of really important stuff.

 

[capall]

Thanks stevech,

I had another think about what I’m trying to do and realized that I should have first decided on the setup I needed and then found the appropriate hardware (PC/NAS/WHS) to solve it rather than narrowing it down to certain products first.

Along with wanting client backup with images, I’d also like to do the following

-Music;

A DIY / low cost system to stream music around the house to 6-8 zones, and be able to control via iphone/ipad. This limits me to software such as itunes, JRMC, casatunes and hardware of either apple express ‘s or PCI sound cards, both require a PC running 24/7. Handheld apps seem to run mostly on a PC. I could have the music on a NAS or WHS and have the software point to it. Either way a low power PC is best suited. Server can either store the music or back it up from the Music PC. I also want to be able to stream my music to my phone, but it seems this works best from a server (NAS/WHS).

-Video;

I’d like to be able to playback some video on a TV, possibly using media streamers such as ATV2, WD live, with play back software such as Plex, XBMC, which could pull content from a PC/NAS/WHS or use a HTPC with WMC..or PLex / XBMC etc

-Photos; same interface as video, but would also like to be able to stream away from home, which again, seems to work best from a server.

I feel like I’m going around in circles.

It’s as if the best solution to serve the content inside the home is from a PC and from a server to outside the home, but surely there’s an easy way to combine all this.

I also kinda feel that if using a server for client backups, its best to keep that separate from the media server, but then that suggest using 2 servers (backups and content serving).

Any configuration suggestions are much appreciated?

Thanks

 

[stevech]

I wrote up a detailed explanation of my own configuration for the NAS. Then I decided it was too detailed for public viewing!
so, the more generic version:

Synology DS212. Two 2TB drives. Not RAID. Volume 1, Volume 2, independent file systems- to protect from both drive failure and a corrupt file system.
NAS utilities copy drive 1 to drive 2 each day. Other NAS utilities make a "Time Machine" backup so I can go back to any set of files in the last 30 days.
Really important files are copied by NAS utilities to the always-inserted SD card (16GB). Double backup.
Desktop PCs use the NAS, e.g., y: on the desktop is a folder on the NAS. Acronis Tru Image on the PC does a periodic drive image onto the NAS. SecondCopy (cheap) does real time backup of critical PC files, to the NAS.
NAS can mount folders on PCs and backup them, as an option. I prefer the "push" from PC scenario.

USB3 drive intermittently connected to the NAS accepts a 700GB backup of the NAS- done manually when I wish, whereas all the above is done on my defined time schedule. Drive is kept off-site as a rule (fire/theft).

NAS has DLNA and folder sharing for media streaming/downloading on LAN or out to the Internet.
How one can securely access files from the Internet I'll not detail.

The main desktop PC has an SSD boot drive and one hard disk. But the NAS is the working storage for the desktop and a Home Theater PC.

 

[capall]

thanks for the detail, good usage info, let me mull it over