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 Post subject: WHS 2011 Worth It?
PostPosted: Wed Mar 01, 2017 12:23 pm 
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I have an ex490 which is currently running WHS v1. I am thinking of installing WHS 2011 but I would lose some features by upgrading to WHS 2011. Since there is not many Add-Ins available for 2011, I am not sure if I should upgrade or not. Obviously, the server is old and outdated. WHS 2011 is the same, old and outdated. The two big features that I would lose is the HDD and Status Led lights and Drive Extender. I don't know if it is worth the trouble to upgrade or just continue to run WHS v1.

Since everything is old, some Add-Ins are no longer available to download. It appears Drive Bender is still available to purchase but I am not sure about the Led Lights. It looks like there is Stablebit DrivePool as well but I am not sure if it is better than Drive Bender or about the same.

I would like to try and use 2011 but not if Add-Ins are not available. Perhaps, I should continue to use WHS v1 since I know the LED lights work and Drive Extender is there.


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 Post subject: Re: WHS 2011 Worth It?
PostPosted: Fri Mar 03, 2017 3:39 pm 
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Hi to answer your questions, upgrading to WHS 2011 is useless and a loss of time for an outdated product. I suggest you can upgrade to either Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials or Windows Server 2016 Essentials. I did upgrade from Server 2012 R2 Essentials to 2016 but it looked a bit sluggish, so I went back to 2012 R2 which is running good on my system similar to yours. I tried both Stable Bit DrivePool and StorageSpaces, and they mostly work the same. Storage spaces is a little limited compared to DrivePool. As for the lights, there is some lights management software that will mimic the ones you have. Unfortunately, development of the app has ceased long time ago but still does the job. I have a copy I can send you if you wish.

Hope this helps you choose,

Klode

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 Post subject: Re: WHS 2011 Worth It?
PostPosted: Mon Mar 06, 2017 7:59 am 
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Thanks for the response and I appreciate your thoughts. I ended up installing WHS 2011 on the ex490. The reason behind this, I don't need anything robust like a OS server at home where I deal with AD and family members "login" to the server. My need is not there for something heavy like Server 2012. I know the argument could be that WHS 2011 is similar or like an OS server. As that may be true, I wanted to try 2011 and see how I like it.

In terms of the Lights Management driver, I understand that I need the driver and Intel RST driver in order to make this whole thing to work. I would appreciate if you would send me whatever copies that you have that would work with an ex490 model. If you want to put it in the cloud and I could download it.


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 Post subject: Re: WHS 2011 Worth It?
PostPosted: Sat Mar 11, 2017 1:41 pm 
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FYI, I tried 2011, got the drivers and software to work.
But,
It's still not the same and the lights are very basic, like only work Blue if ok or red to remove, I don't believe they respond like WHS v1 which is why I went back.

I also didn't like the console either.
Using larger drives is very tempting, but my data needs are not that large.

I don't believe 2011 and having to purchase Drive pool or Stablebit drive pool to replace DE is not worth it. IMHO.

But many love it and would not go back.

Good Luck and let us know how it goes.

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