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    Hi, I'm a complete newbie to WHS (so new that I've not actually installed it yet!).

    I'm wondering how best to set up my disk config. I'm starting out with a fairly modest WHS setup. Most of my data currently is on my own PC (2TB total capacity) with up to 4-5 other PCs on the home network at various times. I have a small form factor desktop which is limited to 2 HDD (with possibly 3rd space if I ditch the DVD drive). I have a spare 320GB SATA HDD I was going to use as the system disk and add a 1 or 2TB Data drive initially. I've also got a USB 3.0 backup external drive with 1.5TB HDD on my own PC which I use for local backups but which I'd thought of using on the WHS instead.

    So I thought of setting WHS up to store all the PC shared files on the internal HDD and get it to do backups to the external USB 3 drive. I also planned to use USB drives (external) to expand the system if / when required.

    Does this sound like a sensible approach?

    Does WHS "move" or "copy/backup" files from the client PCs on the server storage drives - or is this user selectable. If I use the USB external drive I don't want to end up with multiple / duplicate backups.

    Grateful for any and all comments/help. Thanks

    Again, sorry for the very basic questions!

    Ken

    Wednesday, May 2, 2012 4:12 PM

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    Sorry - one other question. Is the client backup data stored entirely separate from the shared folders and / or in a different (backup) format - so if I had for example 500Gb of files I wanted to have as shared folders on the server and have that client PC backed up, the combined space would be 1TB on the server. Or is there only one instance of the file on the server whether its a backup, shared file or both.

    Ken

    Yes, shares and client backups are two totally separate things and indeed they may reside on different drives - you decide where. They are also different formats. In the scenario you quote, the Server would store the 500GB of data in shares but if that data also resides on your client, then unless you exclude the client drive from backups, the same data would be backed up on the server thus doubling the storage space required. It's only when the same data (OS & data) exists on multiple clients that the server only backs it up once.

    Phil P.S. If you find my comment helpful or if it answers your question, please mark it as such.

    • Proposed as answer by Phil Harrison Friday, May 4, 2012 10:06 PM
    • Marked as answer by Sean Zhu - Tuesday, May 8, 2012 8:10 AM
    Friday, May 4, 2012 10:05 PM

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    You can get rid of the DVD drive on your PC after WHS is installed so that will create more space for an additional drive. You can back up all of your client PCs to the server in such a way as to be able to do a complete restore in the event of failure of your client. This is done automatically on a schedule you decide and you can include or exclude client PC drives as you see fit. Given you have 2TB of data on your main client, it will be difficult to back it all up directly to the server. There is no drive pooling in WHS 2011 so you will have to manually manage where on the server things are backed up.

    Generally internal drives are used for server storage and externals for Server backups. Note that USB 3.0 drives can cause server backup problems - search this forum.

    Backups are made of clients on the server, leaving the Client data fully intact.

    I suggest you refer to the following online help: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff357696.aspx

    Phil P.S. If you find my comment helpful or if it answers your question, please mark it as such.

    Wednesday, May 2, 2012 5:40 PM
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    Phil

    Thanks for quick reply - very helpful.

    Regards

    Ken

    Friday, May 4, 2012 6:23 PM
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    Sorry - one other question. Is the client backup data stored entirely separate from the shared folders and / or in a different (backup) format - so if I had for example 500Gb of files I wanted to have as shared folders on the server and have that client PC backed up, the combined space would be 1TB on the server. Or is there only one instance of the file on the server whether its a backup, shared file or both.

    Ken

    Friday, May 4, 2012 6:31 PM
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    Backups are separate from shares.

    I'm not on the WHS team, I just post a lot. :)

    Friday, May 4, 2012 9:28 PM
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    Sorry - one other question. Is the client backup data stored entirely separate from the shared folders and / or in a different (backup) format - so if I had for example 500Gb of files I wanted to have as shared folders on the server and have that client PC backed up, the combined space would be 1TB on the server. Or is there only one instance of the file on the server whether its a backup, shared file or both.

    Ken

    Yes, shares and client backups are two totally separate things and indeed they may reside on different drives - you decide where. They are also different formats. In the scenario you quote, the Server would store the 500GB of data in shares but if that data also resides on your client, then unless you exclude the client drive from backups, the same data would be backed up on the server thus doubling the storage space required. It's only when the same data (OS & data) exists on multiple clients that the server only backs it up once.

    Phil P.S. If you find my comment helpful or if it answers your question, please mark it as such.

    • Proposed as answer by Phil Harrison Friday, May 4, 2012 10:06 PM
    • Marked as answer by Sean Zhu - Tuesday, May 8, 2012 8:10 AM
    Friday, May 4, 2012 10:05 PM