WHS 2011 or Server 2012 R2 Essentials?

[BonzaiDuck]

Ya know Ketchup, I am thinking along the same lines here. With Windows 8 having the drive pooling with Storage Spaces and the ability to set it up to do automatic backups for all systems on the network, I just don't see the need to use the Server 2012.

Seems a pretty big waste of a server OS.

I might agree with that. The fact is, if Win 8 does all that, it can replace my orphaned WHS 2011.

People are going to make sense out of their own financial and tech strategies. But there's a reason for pause if you're paying in the range of $400 for an OS and the box is a home server. Maybe if you incline toward rocking 12 or more hard-disks, but for what I have in mind, Win 8 would just have to do.

 

[uallas5]

Paul at WinSuper Site did a bunch of write ups on this exact subject beginning with:
http://winsupersite.com/article/win...012-essentials-home-server-replacement-144275.

More articles are off this listing including backups, adding non-domain pc's, etc.:
http://winsupersite.com/taxonomy/term/12365/more

A few weeks ago I did the initial install of essentials on an old pc I grabbed from work (Q9550, 8Gbs RAM, Gigabyte solid caps board, Antec Sonata case) but haven't configured it past the initial install and updating, been to busy. I've got a few enterprise Hitachi 2Tb drives that I'll be able to re-purpose in it with Storage Spaces. Then my much too big and older HTPC can be replaced by the new mini-itx that I'm in the process of setting up.

 

[stinger608]

Thanks Uallas5!

I had actually read a lot of them articles at the super site. There is some great info on 2012 Essentials on Paul's site.