Recommendation for Vista network backups

[-1]

At home, my family runs a 5 pc Vista network. All workstations are used on
a daily basis. Backups are really cumbersome. There is about 20-30 gig
worth of data that needs I backup nightly.

My current backup solution has been as follows:

One one pc, is a shared drive. All the data from the 4 other workstations
is copied (not moved) to the 5th pc over the network. A USB hard drive is
then connected to the 5th pc and a backup to this device is then performed.

It takes forever to move all the data first from all the workstations to the
5th pc and then from the 5th pc to the USB drive.

Would anyone have a suggestion on how to improve my backup process. I do
like to keep a copy of my data offsite (ie USB Hard drive) so that in the
event of any kind of disaster, an offsite backup is available.

Thank you

 

[Lang Murphy]

At home, my family runs a 5 pc Vista network. All workstations are used
on a daily basis. Backups are really cumbersome. There is about 20-30
gig worth of data that needs I backup nightly.

My current backup solution has been as follows:

One one pc, is a shared drive. All the data from the 4 other workstations
is copied (not moved) to the 5th pc over the network. A USB hard drive is
then connected to the 5th pc and a backup to this device is then
performed.

It takes forever to move all the data first from all the workstations to
the 5th pc and then from the 5th pc to the USB drive.

Would anyone have a suggestion on how to improve my backup process. I do
like to keep a copy of my data offsite (ie USB Hard drive) so that in the
event of any kind of disaster, an offsite backup is available.

Thank you

Try this:

1. Click on Start -> Control Panel

2. Click on Programs

3. Click on the Turn Windows Features on and off link under Programs link
(If a UAC prompt appears click Continue.)

4. Scroll down to Remote Differential Compression and uncheck the box

5. Click OK and after configuration is complete, restart your computer

Good luck.

Lang

 

[MICHAEL]

* -1:

At home, my family runs a 5 pc Vista network. All workstations are used on
a daily basis. Backups are really cumbersome. There is about 20-30 gig
worth of data that needs I backup nightly.

My current backup solution has been as follows:

One one pc, is a shared drive. All the data from the 4 other workstations
is copied (not moved) to the 5th pc over the network. A USB hard drive is
then connected to the 5th pc and a backup to this device is then performed.

It takes forever to move all the data first from all the workstations to the
5th pc and then from the 5th pc to the USB drive.

Would anyone have a suggestion on how to improve my backup process. I do
like to keep a copy of my data offsite (ie USB Hard drive) so that in the
event of any kind of disaster, an offsite backup is available.

Thank you

This may not help you, but it may be something you'd like
to check into. Windows Home Server just went to RC1 and
I have been so pleased with this product, I can barely contain
myself.... Microsoft has done good with this.

You have to signup for it, but that shouldn't be a problem. If you
have a computer to spare, even an old one, this could be something
for you to try. They've take Windows Server 2003 SBS (very solid) and
added some components to make it so simple to use for a home
network. One of the nicest features, it will back up all your computers
on the network. Have a look, if not for you now, it could be be down the
road. Microsoft had originally planed this as strictly an OEM appliance,
but I do believe that thinking has changed and they will offer it to users
as a separate product to install. There's been no official word on that or future
pricing. I really do like what they've done with this.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/windowshomeserver/default.mspx
https://connect.microsoft.com/WindowsHomeServer

Here's an excited Paul Thurrott talking about Windows Home Server beta.
http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/whs_preview.asp


-Michael

 

[MICHAEL]

http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/whs_preview2.asp
An updated review from April on the CTP release.


* MICHAEL:

 

[Lang Murphy]

* -1:

This may not help you, but it may be something you'd like
to check into. Windows Home Server just went to RC1 and
I have been so pleased with this product, I can barely contain
myself.... Microsoft has done good with this.

You have to signup for it, but that shouldn't be a problem. If you
have a computer to spare, even an old one, this could be something
for you to try. They've take Windows Server 2003 SBS (very solid) and
added some components to make it so simple to use for a home
network. One of the nicest features, it will back up all your computers
on the network. Have a look, if not for you now, it could be be down the
road. Microsoft had originally planed this as strictly an OEM appliance,
but I do believe that thinking has changed and they will offer it to users
as a separate product to install. There's been no official word on that
or future
pricing. I really do like what they've done with this.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/windowshomeserver/default.mspx
https://connect.microsoft.com/WindowsHomeServer

Here's an excited Paul Thurrott talking about Windows Home Server beta.
http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/whs_preview.asp


-Michael

I signed up and never heard a word from MS...

Lang

 

[MICHAEL]

* Lang Murphy:

I signed up and never heard a word from MS...

Lang

Lang, did you sign-up at the Connect site?
http://connect.microsoft.com/windowshomeserver

You'll see a link "Click here to sign up for the Windows Home Server RC"
which is, https://connect.microsoft.com/programdetails.aspx?ProgramDetailsID=1475

Then you'll see "Apply for Participation in this Program"

Hopefully, they'll get back to you. They've expanded the testing for
RC1, so you should get accepted.


-Michael

 

[MICHAEL]

* MICHAEL:

* Lang Murphy:


Lang, did you sign-up at the Connect site?
http://connect.microsoft.com/windowshomeserver

You'll see a link "Click here to sign up for the Windows Home Server RC"
which is, https://connect.microsoft.com/programdetails.aspx?ProgramDetailsID=1475

Then you'll see "Apply for Participation in this Program"

Hopefully, they'll get back to you. They've expanded the testing for
RC1, so you should get accepted.

A friend just told me that after he finished the "Mandatory Survey",
he was able to download HomeServer right away. Don't forget to
click "Product Keys" and then "get key". He was able to do all
this without waiting for any acceptance email.


-Michael

 

[Lang Murphy]

* MICHAEL:

A friend just told me that after he finished the "Mandatory Survey",
he was able to download HomeServer right away. Don't forget to
click "Product Keys" and then "get key". He was able to do all
this without waiting for any acceptance email.


-Michael

Hmmm... will have to check that out... thanks!

Lang

 

[Lang Murphy]

* MICHAEL:

A friend just told me that after he finished the "Mandatory Survey",
he was able to download HomeServer right away. Don't forget to
click "Product Keys" and then "get key". He was able to do all
this without waiting for any acceptance email.


-Michael

Dude! AWESOME! I'm D/L'ing as I type... Never occurred to me to check out
"My Participation" to see if WHS was listed. Doh! I am really, really,
psyched about checking this out. I have a laptop I'd like to use it on but
it only has a 60GB drive... guess I have to go off and read the WHS forums
to see if I can get away with a 60GB HD... if not, I've got a GX240 with a
gig of RAM into which I can drop a 160GB HD.

Thanks again, Michael!

Lang

 

[Frank]

Dude! AWESOME! I'm D/L'ing as I type... Never occurred to me to check
out "My Participation" to see if WHS was listed. Doh! I am really,
really, psyched about checking this out. I have a laptop I'd like to use
it on but it only has a 60GB drive... guess I have to go off and read
the WHS forums to see if I can get away with a 60GB HD... if not, I've
got a GX240 with a gig of RAM into which I can drop a 160GB HD.

Thanks again, Michael!

Lang

We've been using WHS since the betas and just upgraded to the RC. It's
really a great product and we love it!
I don't think it will work or it meant to work on a laptop according to
the FAQ's.
We have it installed on an old BX440 mobo with 1 gig of RAM and an
overclocked 1 gigahertz Celeron with two 250 gig pata HDD's.
Runs great!
Enjoy!
Frank

 

[Jane C]

Lang, install it on a spare desktop. It's meant to be run headless - not
something that one can do with a laptop ;-)

 

[MICHAEL]

* Lang Murphy:

Dude! AWESOME! I'm D/L'ing as I type... Never occurred to me to check out
"My Participation" to see if WHS was listed. Doh! I am really, really,
psyched about checking this out. I have a laptop I'd like to use it on but
it only has a 60GB drive... guess I have to go off and read the WHS forums
to see if I can get away with a 60GB HD... if not, I've got a GX240 with a
gig of RAM into which I can drop a 160GB HD.

Thanks again, Michael!

You're welcome, Lang.

As Frank and Jane have said already, WHS is really meant
for a desktop machine, and meant to be run headless.
Although, I'm sure quite a few also use it from time to time
as a usable OS.... I do. When I'm messing around with the
machine that has WHS, I'll do some surfing and read newsgroups
too. You can tweak it a bit to make it more desktop/user friendly
if you want. The only "bad" thing is it's such a great a OS for
every day use, you might get spoiled.... Windows Server 2003 is
absolutely rock solid and quick as a server, and to use as a desktop OS.
But, it terms of controlling the basic functions of WHS, you can do
that from the "Console" on the other connected computers.
I would be careful if you go into "Services" and want to try to
enable/disable certain things. Little things like enabling "Themes"
is fine, but some Server 2003 services that have been disabled may
mess up WHS if you enable them.

The WHS forums can be very helpful, be sure to check them out.

I think you'll enjoy WHS. It does what it's supposed to do and does
it well. Even though I have local backup plans in place for my machines,
the backup feature in WHS is nice and seems to work well.... just another
safety net for me.

The joy of testing something new..... have fun!


Take care,

Michael

 

[Frank]

* Lang Murphy:



You're welcome, Lang.

As Frank and Jane have said already, WHS is really meant
for a desktop machine, and meant to be run headless.
Although, I'm sure quite a few also use it from time to time
as a usable OS.... I do. When I'm messing around with the
machine that has WHS, I'll do some surfing and read newsgroups
too. You can tweak it a bit to make it more desktop/user friendly
if you want. The only "bad" thing is it's such a great a OS for
every day use, you might get spoiled.... Windows Server 2003 is
absolutely rock solid and quick as a server, and to use as a desktop OS.
But, it terms of controlling the basic functions of WHS, you can do
that from the "Console" on the other connected computers.
I would be careful if you go into "Services" and want to try to
enable/disable certain things. Little things like enabling "Themes"
is fine, but some Server 2003 services that have been disabled may
mess up WHS if you enable them.

The WHS forums can be very helpful, be sure to check them out.

I think you'll enjoy WHS. It does what it's supposed to do and does
it well. Even though I have local backup plans in place for my machines,
the backup feature in WHS is nice and seems to work well.... just another
safety net for me.

The joy of testing something new..... have fun!


Take care,

Michael

Michael, have you tried Server 2008?
Frank

 

[MICHAEL]

* Frank:

Michael, have you tried Server 2008?
Frank

Absolutely. Been playing with that for awhile.
Haven't you seen me brag about it here?

I've really only played with it as a desktop OS
and not as a server. It is a fine piece of coding.
Stability and performance that I hope is worked
into Vista come SP1.


-Michael

 

[Frank]

MICHAEL wrote:>>>Michael

Absolutely. Been playing with that for awhile.
Haven't you seen me brag about it here?

No...in all the excitement I guess I missed it.

I've really only played with it as a desktop OS
and not as a server. It is a fine piece of coding.
Stability and performance that I hope is worked
into Vista come SP1.

Yeah me too. I'm running both the x32 & x64 version as desktops setup
just like Vista. Well almost except no snipping tool and no dreamscene,
but with Aero and everything else.
Frank

 

[-1]

With WHS, is there a way to setup security.

For instance, can we have the kids computers backed up to WHS and have the
data accessible from every pc, but at the same time, have the parents pc
backed up and only give access to the parents. This prevents files from
accidentally being deleted, modified, etc

 

[Lang Murphy]

We've been using WHS since the betas and just upgraded to the RC. It's
really a great product and we love it!
I don't think it will work or it meant to work on a laptop according to
the FAQ's.
We have it installed on an old BX440 mobo with 1 gig of RAM and an
overclocked 1 gigahertz Celeron with two 250 gig pata HDD's.
Runs great!
Enjoy!
Frank

Yeah, read in the WHS forums that they're enforcing HW minimum reqs in RC
so, yes, it'll be the desktop. Thanks for the feedback.

Lang

 

[Lang Murphy]

Lang, install it on a spare desktop. It's meant to be run headless - not
something that one can do with a laptop ;-)

What? One can't rip off the LCD? ;-)

Yeah, I'll be going with the desktop.

Thanks!

Lang

 

[Frank]

With WHS, is there a way to setup security.

For instance, can we have the kids computers backed up to WHS and have the
data accessible from every pc, but at the same time, have the parents pc
backed up and only give access to the parents. This prevents files from
accidentally being deleted, modified, etc

Sure, you can a make access or block any folder/file/user.
Frank

 

[Lang Murphy]

* Lang Murphy:

You're welcome, Lang.

As Frank and Jane have said already, WHS is really meant
for a desktop machine, and meant to be run headless.
Although, I'm sure quite a few also use it from time to time
as a usable OS.... I do. When I'm messing around with the
machine that has WHS, I'll do some surfing and read newsgroups
too. You can tweak it a bit to make it more desktop/user friendly
if you want. The only "bad" thing is it's such a great a OS for
every day use, you might get spoiled.... Windows Server 2003 is
absolutely rock solid and quick as a server, and to use as a desktop OS.
But, it terms of controlling the basic functions of WHS, you can do
that from the "Console" on the other connected computers.
I would be careful if you go into "Services" and want to try to
enable/disable certain things. Little things like enabling "Themes"
is fine, but some Server 2003 services that have been disabled may
mess up WHS if you enable them.

The WHS forums can be very helpful, be sure to check them out.

I think you'll enjoy WHS. It does what it's supposed to do and does
it well. Even though I have local backup plans in place for my machines,
the backup feature in WHS is nice and seems to work well.... just another
safety net for me.

The joy of testing something new..... have fun!


Take care,

Michael

Michael,

I went off and read the WHS forums this morning and since RC is enforcing HW
reqs now, I know I have to use the desktop. I'm clearing off a 160GB drive
as I type and will drop that in my GX240 and have at it this weekend.

The GX240 is connected to an 8 port KVM... so I'll have access to it from
that. No doubt I'll mess around with the console. Until I see it, I guess I
won't know which method is the preferred method (for me) although I'm
assuming the purpose of the console is to keep the inquisitive from bringing
their server down. ;-)

If the GX240 presents problems, due to HW issues, like I have a USB 2.0 card
installed, then I'll try a GX620, which, I should think, is new enough to
meet all reqs.

Should be an interesting weekend! LOL!

Lang