Remember that the duplication (1) applies ONLY to dat in the Shared Folders (unless you install the BDBB Add-In and use that to duplicate the Client Backup Database) and (2) you can control which Shared Folders are backed up.

You don't need to duplicate all of them but you SHOULD duplicate the ones most critical to you.

_________________
....JBick

EX475, 2 GB, LE-1640
PC1: Vista-->W7 Ultimate/32, (D-Drive RAID-5 Array)
PC2: Lenovo Laptop, Win XP Home SP3
2xLinksys WRT54G v1.1 and 2xNetGear GS105 Gbit switch

Ah good point. So if I do a full backup of my computer, duplication doesn't work on that. Now what would I do, put the critical stuff from that same computer into the shared folders and turn duplication on in order to have a "redundant" backup of that? Or would the BDBB plugin basically do the same thing?

The Backup DataBase Backup (BDBB) Add-In will set up your Client Backup Database to be duplicated if you so desire. (It can also be used to make a copy of that database to a drive that is not in the storage "pool", such as an external drive that can be removed and taken off-site.) While this will make a complete copy of everything on all your clients (or all the ones that are backed up) it will take a lot of space. Selectively synchronizing or copying selected key files to Shared Folders and duplicating those is another alternative -- and WHS will allow even those to be backed up to a drive that is not in the "pool".

The approaches are, therefore, different ways to accomplish the same objective. Which method you choose is up to you based on your degree of paranoia vis-a-vie your tolerance of cost and inconvenience!

Also bear in mind that the Shared Folders may be a better place for the actual storage of some of your files. If, for example, you have a lot of music, video and photo data on your client, would it be better to put it on the server, where it is accessible to other computers and playback devices, and remove it from the client? This may be architecturally more attractive, but you then would want to at least duplicate this data since there is no second copy on the client or in the client backups.

The beauty of the MSS (and WHS) is the flexibility it gives you. With that, of course, comes the need to make decisions...! And what is right for me (extremely paranoid as you will see from my postings) may not be right for you!

_________________
....JBick

EX475, 2 GB, LE-1640
PC1: Vista-->W7 Ultimate/32, (D-Drive RAID-5 Array)
PC2: Lenovo Laptop, Win XP Home SP3
2xLinksys WRT54G v1.1 and 2xNetGear GS105 Gbit switch

Haha thanks, John. So basically the BDBB add-in will back up and/or do file duplication for the entire client database, not just one client, if I understand you right. That's an option, though again, I may have to add another drive to accomplish that. As it stands right now I have a "full" backup of one client and I *also* have all of my music and pictures in the Shared Folders. I still have both on the client as well as to me, the point of the WHS was not to share (though it's an added benefit), but to backup the data.

Basically the BDBB add-in will back up or duplicate the entire client database, not just one client.

Sounds like you are getting a good start there.

I recommend using the MSS for a few weeks BEFORE deleting any "original" data. Try the features, install Add-Ins, access it remotely. Play.... THEN, when you know what you really want to do with it, do a Factory Reset and start all over! (This way you are releaxed and willing to take risks while learning!

Welcome to the World of MSS/WHS!

_________________
....JBick

EX475, 2 GB, LE-1640
PC1: Vista-->W7 Ultimate/32, (D-Drive RAID-5 Array)
PC2: Lenovo Laptop, Win XP Home SP3
2xLinksys WRT54G v1.1 and 2xNetGear GS105 Gbit switch

Thanks again, John. So a factory reset (if I understand right from reading this forum) will only reset the MSS the same way doing a reinstall of Windows will (like with the recovery console). Meaning it basically just deletes the Windows folder, restoring all settings to factory but leaves the actual data (shared folders and full backups) in place. Now will that affect the database as well or is that left untouched?

No, a Server RESTORE just reloads the system so\pace (C-Drive), leaving data intact.

A Factory RESET reformats all the drives, erases EVERYTHING and leaves it as shipped from the factory. In this case you re-load all your data.

The reason I recommend it is that KNOWING you qare going to do this you will feel free to experiment without giving a thought to loosing any data. You will be free to rename folders, change structures and completely reorganize it when you do the reset. You are, literally, starting over. And you WILL do things differently at that point. (Of course you can also decide you have done it all right the first time and continue, But at least you have a choice.)

_________________
....JBick

EX475, 2 GB, LE-1640
PC1: Vista-->W7 Ultimate/32, (D-Drive RAID-5 Array)
PC2: Lenovo Laptop, Win XP Home SP3
2xLinksys WRT54G v1.1 and 2xNetGear GS105 Gbit switch

Ah my mistake. That's an important distinction. Thank you for clearing that up. Maybe I'll do a restore, but I'm definitely going to wait until after I get a gigabit switch in the mix. Transferring over a 1.2 TB or so took *forever* Of course every backup after that wasn't so bad as it only takes a delta of what's changed. Excellent feature!

If you are not going to do a FACTORY RESET I would not bother with doing anything. The Server Restore just re-installs the software, not the data, and it is the data structures (Shared Folder structure) you may find you wish you had done differently.

Good luck either way!

_________________
....JBick

EX475, 2 GB, LE-1640
PC1: Vista-->W7 Ultimate/32, (D-Drive RAID-5 Array)
PC2: Lenovo Laptop, Win XP Home SP3
2xLinksys WRT54G v1.1 and 2xNetGear GS105 Gbit switch

Sorry that was a typo that time I mean maybe I'll do a factory reset and start anew.

John,

This is a very useful post. Thank you.

I just ordered my 485 last night... and then planned to get two WD 1.5 TB Green drives per this advice. The problem is that everyone I would normally buy from (amazon, newegg, frys) is out of stock. I might try running to Fry's today to check the shelves.

My main choices seem to be:

a) Use just the 750GB drive initially, and add two WD 1.5 TB drives when they become available
b) Buy two Seagate 1.5 TB drives instead (each about $15 cheaper than WD green)
c) Buy two WD 2.0 TB drives at a higher $/byte cost

Questions:

1) I particularly liked your comment that if you start with 3 drives... then drive 0 will never have data on it unless drives 1 & 2 fill. If I take option a, how difficult is it to migrate data off of drive 0 at a later date when I get the two new drives?

2) Do you (or anyone) have a strong preference for WD green 1.5's over Seagate 1.5?

3) If you If I choose options b or c, should I install them prior to power-on/installation, to make sure that drive 0 remains empty?[/list]

/Jim

_________________
My family website: www.pappas.me

(1) Not particularly difficult ("Drive Balancer" and at least one other tool available). But, with a single drive you will not have duplication...

(2) Seagate drives are good drives. They run a bit hotter but many folks around here use them. Not a "bad" choice at all, just not my personal preference. Availability is a big positive at times! A $15 difference would not make my decision though. If you think your storage requirements are going to grow you might just bite the bullet and get the 2TB drives. (And the Seagate ones are good too! In fact they have more of a track record right now.)

(3) The I generally recommend starting up with the factory configurations for a few DAYS. Let it burn in, cycle the power a few times (being off for a few hours, not just instant re-powering) be sure the HP warranted things work properly. Then add ONE disk and get a another day or two of run time. Then the second. This way you can have faith in each part before adding another.

(3, cont.) In the meantime PLAY with it. Add shares. do backups for one client, add Add-Ins, setup and test the remote. BUT DO NOT USE IT FOR ANYTHING NOT BACKED UP ELSEWHERE. Run it this way for a couple WEEKS. Get confident. Learn how you SHOULD have configured things, because you WILL wish you had done it differently! And know that at the end of this period you should do a Factory Reset and start all over. This time you can configure it with the knowledge gained the first time and now all the data will be on the other drives to begin with. All the hardware will have been tested thoroughly and you will not have any data on the MSS that would have been lost while you were learning.

_________________
....JBick

EX475, 2 GB, LE-1640
PC1: Vista-->W7 Ultimate/32, (D-Drive RAID-5 Array)
PC2: Lenovo Laptop, Win XP Home SP3
2xLinksys WRT54G v1.1 and 2xNetGear GS105 Gbit switch

I decided to order a pair of 2GB WD Green drives. Assuming that I can get the TiVo attached to the media server... I will probably use the space.



Good advice... and thank you for taking the time!

/Jim

_________________
My family website: www.pappas.me

Glad to be of help, Jim! Let us know if you have other questions! (And if I neglected to mention it before, WELCOME to the world of MSS/WHS!

_________________
....JBick

EX475, 2 GB, LE-1640
PC1: Vista-->W7 Ultimate/32, (D-Drive RAID-5 Array)
PC2: Lenovo Laptop, Win XP Home SP3
2xLinksys WRT54G v1.1 and 2xNetGear GS105 Gbit switch

The server arrived today... and now I have a weekend to play with it. I have not installed my extra hard drives yet. I am currently doing an backup of my first PC (the one with tons of data on it... maybe I should have picked a smaller PC first). It really doesn't matter... as I plan to "blow away" the configuration as JohnBick suggested and start fresh. It seems like a good thing to do just to get used to the device.

I was surprised that it did not give more of a guilded setup proceedure. However... I did get an error about losing connection to the server... so maybe it just failed prematurely. I have since moved the server to a 1G switch instead of the 100Mb switch where I originally had it connected.

I am sure that I will have 1000 questions... but I will not hijack this thread any further.

/Jim

_________________
My family website: www.pappas.me