I've been using Windows 10 Pro and now Windows 11 Pro as a Home Server for over 2 years now with 6 HDD's with Storage Spaces, SMB shares, Plex, Torrent client and even Docker tho I no longer have a use for it. I manage it mostly headlessly with web ui's of the specific app I'm using or Remote Desktop but I can use it on my living room setup cause it also doubles as HTPC. It works very well not flawlessly but most of the time it just works. I have 10 Gbps NIC and my array can saturate about 6 Gbps download and about 3 Gbps upload. I use Toshiba n300 disks 4 TB disks.
I would suggest installing Windows Server instead of Windows 11 if its going to be used in a NAS. Then you can use more advanced features like ReFS (that's Microsoft answer to ZFS)
Yeah probably a better bet. But I wanted most of the steps in this video to work for people adding these functions to their normal desktop daily driver. (an ever BETTER bet is UNRAID or TrueNAS 😅)
I have an HP N40L MicroServer. I used to have Windows Home Server on it but after they stopped updating it I put OMV on it. Still use it today. I actually liked the Windows Home Server and it's PC backup feature.
Finally a YT person who dares to say that Storage Spaces can be used for NAS. Been using it for years. Never failed (running on Win Server OS though, not Win 10 or 11). Biggest advantage: When moving to new hardware: pull disks out, attach to new hardware, couple of clicks and your NAS is back online. For those nagging about performance: start reading about using multiple columns in storage spaces. And use mirror instead of parity. Bit more expensive, but difference with the equivalent of raid 5 can be disregarded when just having a couple of tens of terrabytes to keep safe.
Thank you for this daring video. I actually learned something new! There is something to be said about not having to use the command line. For all it's flaws, Windows is intuitive.
I've been tinkering with Truenas Scale to learn it knowing Core is probably going to stop getting updated at some point and while definitely not as intuitive as windows I haven't had to touch the command line so far. That said I have clients who use storage spaces with windows server and it does work so as always use what fits your needs best.
I use StableBit DrivePool on my NAS which (yes) is running Windows Server - This bit of software is fantastic, and i've not had any issues with any of it. I have tried Linux but i've struggled to find a good alternative to RDP for Linux as I have on Windows Server.
I didn't know that on Windows you can have the computer sleep while still being able to access network share (with wake on magic packet), could you please do a tutorial on how to do that on Linux based servers?
Great tutorial will use a lot of the info here! There is just one thing; Why does everyone say that Windows is not the best platform to do this on without coming up with some examples of why 😂 Will it use less resources to run? My nas is currently at 100W and I want to lower it
i ran a windows box as a nas for like 2 years, because my old drives were ntfs and i hadnt gotten around to migrating. and running them inside linux had all sorts of issues with speed, and power loss would usually cause issues to pile up. recently moved to debian and ext4 and being able to run my docker services without crippling overhead is freeing
did you install windows on the terramaster over its 'native nas software' also can you install unraid or freenas etc on the terramaster instead of its own native nas software? also is it better to build your own nas using nas motherboard etc or are the of the shelf like terramaster QNAP, synology etc better? the pros and cons?
I think for someone who is interested in doing their own NAS/Server whatever, the better option is to look into hype-v, assuming they wanna stay in the microsoft eco system, its not the best option, but its not terrible either. And its fairly easy to get started with.
I'm buying a mini-PC to use as a simple NAS, mostly for backup purposes, and I'll probably start out just using the built-in Win11 until I have the time to set up a Linux-based solution. So, this is very helpful. Please ignore the zealots who insist on never mentioning Windows. Software is just a tool, not a religion.
So stnd win 11 install wont work on ugreen cause it doesn't have tpm 2.0 ? Note win 12 releasing soon in 2024 or 2025?? Rufus will remove tpm also?? Any win update issuses if tpm is removed???
One can shit on Windows as much as he wants, but it still handles HDD spindown way better than TrueNAS, Proxmox, OMV, or other Debian stuff I've tried recently. Dunno why it's so hard for them to make it work properly.
Linux is better, but nobody explains it well enough, or what to do when things go wrong. There are also tons of steps which are totally unintuitive. Prowlarr for example, download and install on windows - on Linux it's some whole long list of steps, installing repositories, adding permissions. Same for setting up a network share. Same for Jellyfin. The steps just aren't intuitive for me. I'd like to use Linux, but I've done what I wanted to in Windows 10 (Tiny 10) in a fraction of the time I haven't done it in Linux. I don't want to touch the command line, or set up docker compose files, and be editing config files. I'd just like a step by step guide to install, click next, tick/untick boxes. Done. Linux is less bloated and far smoother, and doesn't do stupid unnecessary updates like windows. But the learning curve has been too steep for me so far and unless you have grown up with linux, then I think many people will get a headache when things don't work.
The point with a NAS is: things should NOT go wrong. And if they do, solution should be intuitively. On that part: Storage Spaces is not the most performant, but tell me: who can saturate a 10G link in his home? Using storage spaces is basically a no brainer (even my wife understands what to do. Pull out disks. Put into any windows machine with at least Win10 and disks come up. If disk fails: replace disk (any size but at least as big as the faulty one). Couple of clicks and you are up and running. I do know that there are more performant options such as unraid. But when anything fails there and you are not around to repair and your spouse has to do it.... goooooood luck with that
I used unraid and truenas, and fu””Ing File system never cant get Mount a usb 3.2 HDD that case was made for raid ,I didnt sleep for 3 days trying To get work my video card also but … now Im here and Windows worked 100% as principal system with all my hardware and is faster.
I hoped this was a late April Fools joke. You should not be recommending people to use spyware on their NAS where they probably keep their important files. I know, I know. People can use what they want, I agree. But people see you as an authority and with your reach you have the power to influence people.
@@RupertBundem I believe you should not speak for everyone. Even if it's just a minority, there are people who care. And you can't prove Windows isn't spyware. It's not open source after all : )
@@RupertBundem To me proprietary software is guilty until proven innocent. Better safe than sorry. If you know how to use Wireshark, compare outgoing packets from a modern Windows system to an older WIndows or any other OS like Linux based systems, Mac or one of the BSD's. There is a clear difference, and A LOT of packets are going straight to Microsoft servers even if you opt out of everything they let you.
@@RupertBundem If it doesn't affect you then why did you choose to engage in this conversation in the first place? If you don't care then just let me be paranoid in peace, lol.
Cool vid but in all honesty i dont think a person that cant even google a synology or learn truenas/unraid/omv or even casa os shouldnt own a nas they should buy a das and end it.
I dont know how much actual time did it took for you to do all this, but I bet i can do all this under the time of this videos length in Linux. Networking in Windows is a headache, Microsoft themself use Linux Servers for their cloud services (basically a big a$$ NAS).
There are steps to get people interested in Linux and actually keep them. If you have people just switch the desktop OS to Linux out of the gate most will switch back. If someone only familiar with Windows tries this, eventually they will want something better. For example, Docker Desktop isn't the best for this use. But if someone familiarizes themselves with it, and likes it, they eventually switch their containers to a Linux install.
@@TechHut Yeah, but you're being wishy-washy. Your title alone speaks volumes, "Here's a very bad idea AND I'll show you how to do it". I paraphrased but you get it. Also, did you erase my reply to @tharsis where he called me a BOT?
I've been using Windows 10 Pro and now Windows 11 Pro as a Home Server for over 2 years now with 6 HDD's with Storage Spaces, SMB shares, Plex, Torrent client and even Docker tho I no longer have a use for it. I manage it mostly headlessly with web ui's of the specific app I'm using or Remote Desktop but I can use it on my living room setup cause it also doubles as HTPC. It works very well not flawlessly but most of the time it just works. I have 10 Gbps NIC and my array can saturate about 6 Gbps download and about 3 Gbps upload. I use Toshiba n300 disks 4 TB disks.
I would suggest installing Windows Server instead of Windows 11 if its going to be used in a NAS. Then you can use more advanced features like ReFS (that's Microsoft answer to ZFS)
Yeah probably a better bet. But I wanted most of the steps in this video to work for people adding these functions to their normal desktop daily driver. (an ever BETTER bet is UNRAID or TrueNAS 😅)
@@TechHut or maybe install Xpenology and confuse everyone 😄
@@TechHut respect.
ya but way more of a chance of driver issues also..
@@caspersmith7112Reddit profile picture, not surprised at the content of this comment
Thanks for the Video! I was looking a Docker on Windows 11, didnt know how to mount the drives into jellyfin , but now I do! So BIG thanks for that 👍
This video was perfect for me. Thank you and subbed.
I have an HP N40L MicroServer. I used to have Windows Home Server on it but after they stopped updating it I put OMV on it. Still use it today. I actually liked the Windows Home Server and it's PC backup feature.
Windows Home Server was genuinely pretty cool. Of course, Microsoft dropped it because it was cool.
Finally a YT person who dares to say that Storage Spaces can be used for NAS. Been using it for years. Never failed (running on Win Server OS though, not Win 10 or 11). Biggest advantage: When moving to new hardware: pull disks out, attach to new hardware, couple of clicks and your NAS is back online. For those nagging about performance: start reading about using multiple columns in storage spaces. And use mirror instead of parity. Bit more expensive, but difference with the equivalent of raid 5 can be disregarded when just having a couple of tens of terrabytes to keep safe.
Thank you for this daring video. I actually learned something new! There is something to be said about not having to use the command line. For all it's flaws, Windows is intuitive.
I've been tinkering with Truenas Scale to learn it knowing Core is probably going to stop getting updated at some point and while definitely not as intuitive as windows I haven't had to touch the command line so far. That said I have clients who use storage spaces with windows server and it does work so as always use what fits your needs best.
I use StableBit DrivePool on my NAS which (yes) is running Windows Server - This bit of software is fantastic, and i've not had any issues with any of it. I have tried Linux but i've struggled to find a good alternative to RDP for Linux as I have on Windows Server.
Stablebit drivepool
I didn't know that on Windows you can have the computer sleep while still being able to access network share (with wake on magic packet), could you please do a tutorial on how to do that on Linux based servers?
Great tutorial will use a lot of the info here! There is just one thing; Why does everyone say that Windows is not the best platform to do this on without coming up with some examples of why 😂 Will it use less resources to run? My nas is currently at 100W and I want to lower it
You went above and beyond for that sub and like.
i ran a windows box as a nas for like 2 years, because my old drives were ntfs and i hadnt gotten around to migrating. and running them inside linux had all sorts of issues with speed, and power loss would usually cause issues to pile up. recently moved to debian and ext4 and being able to run my docker services without crippling overhead is freeing
did you install windows on the terramaster over its 'native nas software' also can you install unraid or freenas etc on the terramaster instead of its own native nas software? also is it better to build your own nas using nas motherboard etc or are the of the shelf like terramaster QNAP, synology etc better? the pros and cons?
I think for someone who is interested in doing their own NAS/Server whatever, the better option is to look into hype-v, assuming they wanna stay in the microsoft eco system, its not the best option, but its not terrible either. And its fairly easy to get started with.
That was a fun watch! Subbed. :)
Question: For SSH how can I limit access to certain folders and not have the user access everything?
I think this would be better with the windows server core edition, yes that not a everyone
I'm buying a mini-PC to use as a simple NAS, mostly for backup purposes, and I'll probably start out just using the built-in Win11 until I have the time to set up a Linux-based solution. So, this is very helpful. Please ignore the zealots who insist on never mentioning Windows. Software is just a tool, not a religion.
What is that phone you are using please? Since there aren’t really any pocket sized (
It's the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, I got it used about a month ago.
@@TechHut Oh, neat, thanks! I hadn't actually seen it in use from that angle so didn't appreciate the actual dimensions.
Awesome video man great job
Appreciate you 👏
You forgot about one more really cool feature of windows - winget. It's like apt, but sexier!
And don't forget about chocolatey...
Yeah, in my experience they work great, until they don't
Excellent video!
actually a good video, learn some interesting thing about windows as nas
thx
Can you connect the Windows NAS directly (not streaming) to a TV to watch your content?
Win 11 uses a lot of resource. I prefer proxmox and install windows wm and passthrough gpu.
Oh me too
What's your point? It's not as if a Windows VM is going to need fewer resources than a bare metal install.
can the same setup be preformed using a de-bloated version of windows 11 i.e de-bloated using NTLite or the schneegans autounattend.xml file?
So stnd win 11 install wont work on ugreen cause it doesn't have tpm 2.0 ?
Note win 12 releasing soon in 2024 or 2025??
Rufus will remove tpm also??
Any win update issuses if tpm is removed???
Is there any problem to keep pc on 24*7
what about the next step later on with MS copilot computer ready ?
More afraid than enthusiastic.. yet would this CPU be compatible with Linux ?
i was thinking of going proxmox so i have truenas on one vm and then a windows11vm running my Minecraft servers thats what im thinking of right now
Create a second video for this, title "Security for WinNAS". Please & Thanks.
server make much more sence for a nas
well, my NAS runs on Windows embedded 7 standard for years, to be exact, since 2018
Be aware that lot of features are only available on Windows Pro version
11 = recall = gimme your passwords
One can shit on Windows as much as he wants, but it still handles HDD spindown way better than TrueNAS, Proxmox, OMV, or other Debian stuff I've tried recently.
Dunno why it's so hard for them to make it work properly.
Did you mean "Running Botnet Node on your Home Server is BAD IDEA "
Funny considering current events
Running Windows 11 on anything is a bad idea
I know my request might be weird but I want to know how can I do a Minecraft moded server on my Ugreen nas but I don't know how?
you never said how to make a password for ssh
I'm not a Linux god but I'm judging you yeah...
Linux is better, but nobody explains it well enough, or what to do when things go wrong. There are also tons of steps which are totally unintuitive.
Prowlarr for example, download and install on windows - on Linux it's some whole long list of steps, installing repositories, adding permissions. Same for setting up a network share. Same for Jellyfin. The steps just aren't intuitive for me. I'd like to use Linux, but I've done what I wanted to in Windows 10 (Tiny 10) in a fraction of the time I haven't done it in Linux.
I don't want to touch the command line, or set up docker compose files, and be editing config files. I'd just like a step by step guide to install, click next, tick/untick boxes. Done.
Linux is less bloated and far smoother, and doesn't do stupid unnecessary updates like windows. But the learning curve has been too steep for me so far and unless you have grown up with linux, then I think many people will get a headache when things don't work.
The point with a NAS is: things should NOT go wrong. And if they do, solution should be intuitively. On that part: Storage Spaces is not the most performant, but tell me: who can saturate a 10G link in his home? Using storage spaces is basically a no brainer (even my wife understands what to do. Pull out disks. Put into any windows machine with at least Win10 and disks come up. If disk fails: replace disk (any size but at least as big as the faulty one). Couple of clicks and you are up and running.
I do know that there are more performant options such as unraid. But when anything fails there and you are not around to repair and your spouse has to do it.... goooooood luck with that
Step 1: Download Linux
I used unraid and truenas, and fu””Ing File system never cant get Mount a usb 3.2 HDD that case was made for raid ,I didnt sleep for 3 days trying To get work my video card also but … now Im here and Windows worked 100% as principal system with all my hardware and is faster.
Windows Server is not is your top 5... oh god :D
This as VIRUS and CrowdStrike NAS. Why do this to yourself?
I hoped this was a late April Fools joke. You should not be recommending people to use spyware on their NAS where they probably keep their important files. I know, I know. People can use what they want, I agree. But people see you as an authority and with your reach you have the power to influence people.
@@RupertBundem I believe you should not speak for everyone. Even if it's just a minority, there are people who care.
And you can't prove Windows isn't spyware. It's not open source after all : )
@@RupertBundem To me proprietary software is guilty until proven innocent. Better safe than sorry. If you know how to use Wireshark, compare outgoing packets from a modern Windows system to an older WIndows or any other OS like Linux based systems, Mac or one of the BSD's. There is a clear difference, and A LOT of packets are going straight to Microsoft servers even if you opt out of everything they let you.
@@RupertBundem If it doesn't affect you then why did you choose to engage in this conversation in the first place? If you don't care then just let me be paranoid in peace, lol.
@@RupertBundem You do you, if you like to waste time then do as you please.
dont install it on your server show how to do it i use arch btw linix is not that hard the commentr rathes to have bluescrins and forced updates
Cool vid but in all honesty i dont think a person that cant even google a synology or learn truenas/unraid/omv or even casa os shouldnt own a nas they should buy a das and end it.
First comment
Second actually
The horror ... the horror ...
I dont know how much actual time did it took for you to do all this, but I bet i can do all this under the time of this videos length in Linux. Networking in Windows is a headache, Microsoft themself use Linux Servers for their cloud services (basically a big a$$ NAS).
It was definitely a pain in the ass to learn and get all this working lol.
Ridiculous decision
Why make this video?! Let others post videos about this sh!t.
When I looked up this topic when the viewer asked the question there were no good videos. Now there is.
@@tharsis You dumb sh!t, I'm not a bot. Just a Linux user that encourages othes to use Linux instead of effin' around with windows. Shesh!
@@TechHut Meh. I like you, you're bright and fun to watch, but this is misguided effort.
There are steps to get people interested in Linux and actually keep them. If you have people just switch the desktop OS to Linux out of the gate most will switch back. If someone only familiar with Windows tries this, eventually they will want something better. For example, Docker Desktop isn't the best for this use. But if someone familiarizes themselves with it, and likes it, they eventually switch their containers to a Linux install.
@@TechHut Yeah, but you're being wishy-washy. Your title alone speaks volumes, "Here's a very bad idea AND I'll show you how to do it". I paraphrased but you get it.
Also, did you erase my reply to @tharsis where he called me a BOT?