Windows Storage Server 2003?

[altecsole]

Is anyone using Windows Storage Server? It seems that you can't buy it as a product in it's own right, you have to buy one of those NAS devices from the big boys, such as Dell - Evesham do some nice ones!

 

If anyone is using it in this way; what's your opinion of it?

[Geoff]

Seems a bit redundant to buy it on its own when you can DIY better/cheaper.

[ChrisH]

Were looking at some. There seems to be some nice features in the OS like file filters by groups etc that would be ideal for our home directories.

I would want hardware support on our most important file storage therefore I would not DIY in this case.

[mrtechsystems]

I use NAS Box here purchased from a company called Chisholms this works very well with the software V2i Protector now called Norton Live state any info just ask me

[altecsole]

I use NAS Box here purchased from a company called Chisholms this works very well with the software V2i Protector now called Norton Live state any info just ask me

 

Does you NAS box have Storage Server 2003 installed? I had a quick look at Norton Live state - looks like a reasonable image/backup solution - bet it's expensive though!

[russdev]

well interesting i was just talking about nas boxes with county guy as might be getting one to solve a few problems.. then a gun to shoot the person who caused the problems..

 

any recommendations on nas boxes would be good onlky has to be cheap not heavy use and does not need high drive space either.

 

russ

[altecsole]

Evesham do some nice Windows Storage Server 2003 ones - have a look here

 

Buffalo also do a cheaper version based on Linux - have a look here. I think they're about £600 + vat.

[eejit]

What's wrong with getting a PC with onboard RAID. Don't use the RAID, just use it for extra HD connections, therefore you can connect 6 or 8 drives to it and get over 2TB of storage for under 2 grand. All you do is share drives, right? I'm clearly missing something, as prices are always much more than that.

[Geoff]

Thats all I do at home! I have an old Athlon 1Ghz with a bunch of 250Gb drives stuck together with EVMS and Linux. I run Samba to share it for my windows machines.

 

Presumably in school enviroment the only extra you'd want to configure is (software?) raid 5 and some backup system.

[eejit]

With SMB, can it interact with AD, so that you can apply user permissions on a folder?

[ChrisH]

I wont ask what you need all that storage space for at home......

[Geoff]

Yes, provided you use a filesystem that supports extended ACLs (ext3, reiserfs, jfs or XFS) and you use Samba 3 (with ACL support enabled). Personally I would use JFS as it allows you to grow the filesystem onto bigger/extra disks without a reformat.

 

The only thing you cannot do is have groups in groups. It also cannot act as a domain controller in AD (Although it will work on an NT4 network as a PDC/BDC).

[tarquel]

*laughs @ Chris*

 

so no one has got/used a Windows Storage Server 2003 serup then? *he says remembering the topic title lol*

 

Its probably what I'll go for next year (if I can) so any info and experience ppl have would be most welcome

 

Cheers,

N.

[Ric_]

I seem to remember PC Pro running an article about Storage Server's merits. Would have to dig it out - try searching at their web site.

[tarquel]

Will do, altho I'm not gonna need the info til next year lol (maybe xmas when the head wants a chat again )

 

Cheers Ric

[altecsole]

Re: Storage Server 2003

 

The one answer I can't get is whether it will work with our existing 2000 AD domain, or whether we will have to upgrade at least one DC to 2003 AD first. It's supposed to work with a variety of OS and also tie in with AD - it just doesn't say whether this is only 2003 AD.

[Geoff]

Well vanilla W2k3 will work on a W2k AD so I don't see why the storage server variant wouldn't.

[altecsole]

Well vanilla W2k3 will work on a W2k AD so I don't see why the storage server variant wouldn't.

Yes, that's what I thought. However, our supplier has told the Network Manager that it won't work unless we have a 2003 AD domain?

[Geoff]

Obvious solution is to ask for an evaluation system to play with.

[RobC]

Altec, I would put money on that being a ruse to get you to buy 2k3 off them.

[Ric_]

That info about needing a 2K3 domain is bollocks - it will work fine!

[tarquel]

Altec, I would put money on that being a ruse to get you to buy 2k3 off them.

 

I would have to agree.

 

Just as Server 2k3 can be a member server on a 2000 domain (as far as I remember that is), it stands to reason that a storage server 2k3 can be on a 2k domain also.

 

Probably configurable in most domain scenarios

 

Cheers

[Lord_Edam]

We've recently setup Storage Server 2003 on a big box we bought from Dell. It sucks. Well, no. It isn't that the server sucks - it's that the web interface sucks.

 

The whole point of Storage Server is quick & easy file sharing, but I found the web interface so lacking in advanced functionality that it was quicker for me to go to access drive$ shares directly and use Computer Management for the rest. Anything more complex than "allow this group read/change, full control or denied access to this shared folder" is impossible through the web interface (which, BTW, is limited to IE)

 

(infact, I prefered the old Sony Storstation we replaced with this and that didn't even do permissions properly, being based around Samba from four years ago)

 

It's a nice way of saving money on your filestore, but I'd probably try finding some way of justifying the few hundred extra for a full server.

[ChrisH]

I cant seem to find a definitive answer to the quoted different versions like Dells Site lists:

MS Windows Storage Server 2003 Express with Software Raid

bog standard version

 

MS Windows Storage Server 2003 Express with Hardware Raid [add £79.00 or £3/month1] Standard version that supports Hardware raid

 

MS Windows Storage Server 2003 Standard External Storage [add £239.00 or £9/month1] Does this mean this supports hardware RAID as well?

 

 

MS Windows Storage Server 2003 Standard with Print [add £305.00 or £11/month1] See comment above

[Geoff]

Seems to me you'd be better off just buying the hardware and sticking your favorite Linux distro on with Samba. If you still want the web interface just configure SWAT.

 

If you don't like it, try out storage server 2k3.