Duplicating WHS folder/permissions setup in NAS

[alexg]

Please excuse n00b if this topic was covered already. I’m moving from WHS and would like to duplicate the setup.

In WHS,
Users: A, B, C
“public” folder that anyone read/write,
“documents” user A read/write; user B and C read only
“usera” – private folder
“userb” – private folder
“userc” – private folder

In NAS,
Group: family
Users: A,B,C – all part of Family group with “nologin” and “/nonexistent” directory

ZFS Pool “tank”:
dataset for “public” with owner “root”, group “family”, and rwxrwx---
dataset for “documents” with owner “A”, group “family”, and rwxr-x---

Do I setup each user’s private folder as separate dataset with its own permissions or setup one dataset “users” with directories for each user (manually from shell changing permissions)
/tank/users/a – owner “a”, group “family”, rwx-----
/tank/users/b – owner “b”, group “family”, rwx------
/tank/users/c – owner “c”, group “family”, rwx------

CIFS Shares:

“public”, “documents”, and “users”

 

[alexg]

I think I got this to work. CIFS Share "users" need it to be set to " inherit owner and permissions. Each user is now able to create their own files and it permissions are set properly.

 

[TAC]

alexg,

I'm looking at setting a home server and have been looking around at FreeNAS and recently WHS. What is your primary reason for moving away from WHS to FreeNAS?

Since I really only need something to hold photos and videos I'm pretty sure I don't need to spend the $$ on the minimum h/w requirements for FreeNAS. Plus I think FreeNAS might be a bunch more work to get/keep running over WHS.

As a user of WHS I was interested in your thoughts.

Thanks,

-TAC

p.s. I've been trying to get FreeNAS running on an old computer just to see what it's about but haven't had any luck (see my other post). :-(

 

[pirateghost]

Since I really only need something to hold photos and videos I'm pretty sure I don't need to spend the $$ on the minimum h/w requirements for FreeNAS.

And that exact same thought process is what has lead to many a lost data, as well as many a worthless post on the forum about how horrible freenas is....

Honestly if you think you are above the recommended or even minimum requirements, then freenas is not for you...

Sent from my Nexus 5

 

[cyberjock]

And that exact same thought process is what has lead to many a lost data, as well as many a worthless post on the forum about how horrible freenas is....

Honestly if you think you are above the recommended or even minimum requirements, then freenas is not for you...

Sent from my Nexus 5

I agree 10 bajillion percent. If you are going to sit here and think you are making a smart decision by going below the minimum requirements, you are about to be a statistic for lost data on this forum. Good luck to you. I do enjoy taking your money to fix your mistakes later. ;)

And to be honest, once I setup FreeNAS I never ever log into it. it tells me when something is wrong and I don't want to babysit it! I find it to be lower maintenance than WHS by a longshot!

 

[TAC]

My point wasn't at all going below the minimum requirements in trying to implement a FreeNAS system. My point was that maybe I should spend less $$ on a WHS setup which might be all I need.

I really don't mind spending money on a high performance system that will meet my needs (and future needs) for years to come. Also I don't mind dorking with a system to tweak it out, but I don't want to mess with it to keep it running.

Cyberjock, your statement that you 'never ever log into it' is reassuring.

 

[DJ9]

Something I'd like to point out is that WHS support is going away.. eol.
http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/search/default.aspx?sort=PN&alpha=Windows+Home+Server

 

[cyberjock]

Cyberjock, your statement that you 'never ever log into it' is reassuring.

I'm gonna clarify what I said earlier a little bit because I feel it is necessary.

So I lied, kind of.

I log into my server almost daily. But, I don't do it to manage my server. I do it to compare my settings to others with problems. For your situation, these reasons won't apply, so I excluded them. I also go into my server regularly because I testing things users want to use, writing guides, etc. Again, for your situation, these reasons won't apply. I don't consider that administrating my server because they aren't things I do for my benefit at all(aside from experience, knowledge, and seeing the result). Surely you won't play with your server like I do as the risks can be quite severe.

Now, if you compare WHS to FreeNAS, here's some easy things you can probably realize if you think about it:

1. WHS has regular monthly updates. FreeNAS also has updates, but they aren't quite monthly, and if you don't update FreeNAS for months/years(which many users do) you aren't likely to suffer any ill effects. For Windows though, that's a totally different story. Security updates are very crucial for the Windows world. You can also expect to have to keep your applications in WHS(antivirus, firewall, etc.) up to date. With FreeNAS, you just upgrade the whole FreeNAS installation. So FreeNAS is far easier to manage with updates. Plus, you aren't being forced to buy and use additional software with FreeNAS. So FreeNAS 9.2.1 is a piece of crap. It got to release with some nasty bugs. This happens with every OS. So if you install one of those dud versions you might have to do a rollback of your FreeNAS version or install the bug fix update when it comes out. Personally, I've seen only 2 versions that I'd consider to be seriously flawed. 8.3.1-p0/p1 and 9.2.1. That's it. Pretty good track record, and if you aren't installing an update the second it hits RELEASE status, someone else is likely to find the problems before you do.
2. FreeNAS takes advantage of emailing... heavily. More so than WHS. If something goes wrong, FreeNAS will send you a "help me" email and you can log in at that point. WHS doesn't offer things like SMART testing and SMART monitoring to the same extent as WHS does. So you are getting something from FreeNAS you can't get from WHS.
3. WHS does allow you to RAID disks that are dissimilar sizes, but you will be locked into WHS forever. And as DJ9 pointed out, WHS is going bye-bye. Microsoft hates it, so they are killing it off. I prefer not to be stuck with an OS that is EOL'd.

 

[mirdragon]

I've used both WHS 2011 and Windows Server 2012 Essentials - Yes WSE 2012 is vast improvement over WHS but on both you are constantly having to ensure the Windows Updates are performed, have AV installed. Both are good for backing up clients. Downside is that's very resource hungry, updates can trash the system (like it did for me)

I've moved back to Freenas (not used since the early days, so back to being a noob) as it is lot less resource hungry, you never have to constantly keep updating it and installing service packs. Web browser interface for ease of use and perfect for just holding media and as a backup location for pc's. Downside, reconfiguring drives as not recommended to use NTFS. Bit of learning curve to add certain plugins, etc.

Overall out of the different Operating Systems, for ease of use. maintenance and resource then go for Freenas