CompTIA IT Pro Member Forum / CompTIA IT Pro Worldwide / Server Questions

4 servers one tape drive

PC Resurrector — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 09:13:23 GMT

is there a way to back-up 4 servers with one tape drive?

Off course without connecting and disconnectiong the tape drive.

I know it can be done with Back-up Exec, but that software is so expensive. Does any one know of a cheaper or free alternative?

Thanks!

Is anyone using Windows Home Server?

eric.ewing — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 07:59:47 GMT

I was curious if anyone out there was using Windows Home Server, and, if so, what you thought of it?

I've been using it myself for about a month, and so far it's been great! In our situation, we've got two computers (my wife and I each have a laptop which goes back and forth to work) and LOTS of information to share...mostly our music library, family photos, home videos, etc. Before building the Home Server machine, we would store files on each of our machines individually, within shared folders...which was fine, except that oftentimes one or the other machine (or both) would be off, meaning that those files were inaccessible.

Windows Home Server runs on relatively modest hardware -- Pentium III, 512MB RAM, 80GB hard drive, DVD drive (for installation only) -- so it's pretty easy to build a FrankenPC out of old/spare parts and get it to run. I ended up throwing the Home Server software onto a box I built out of new but cheap parts, Celeron 420 processor, ECS mainboard, etc. Initial setup was about as easy as it gets, as out-of-the-box WHS gives you shared folders for Music, Videos, Software, and Photos (plus a generic Public Folder); once you setup user accounts, it also provides you with folders for each of your users. Using an included piece of software called Connect which is run on the client machines, you can create shortcuts to all of your shared folders on the server in about 1 minute.

Since building the server, we've moved all of our media over to it and it's been fantastic...either one of us can access our media anytime we want to. I also discovered a really cool (free!) add-in called MediaGuide, which allows you to stream your music and video collections over the internet (WHS comes with a feature that allows you to access your files from any internet-connected computer) and view photos from anywhere. The same feature would allow you to remotely access your home PCs -- like LogMeIn or GoToMyPC does -- although I don't utilize that feature myself as we keep the laptops with us, and thus away from home, during the day.

At any rate, it's been a great solution for us so far and so I was curious what others thought of the software. My only real complaint thus far is the cost -- $169.99 from New Egg. As a TechNet subscriber I was hoping the software would be included, but it's not for whatever reason. Even so, it's money that we're glad we dropped. :-)

MRTG Server as Daemon

darkerosxx — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 16:52:32 GMT

Hi guys,

I'm setting up some MRTG servers. We're having them run in Daemon mode and I just thought I'd ask if anyone else has experience working with MRTG in Daemon mode.

I'm sure they will run more efficiently, but if anyone has any experience with any problems or success stories of running in Daemon mode, please share!

DarkEros

Web Server/Host Needed

larryhook — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 17:59:23 GMT

I'm almost finished designing a website for my first ecommerce business. I'm using a laptop computer to write the code for the site in XHTML. I need a webserver, or a host to host my website when it is finalized. Money is an issue. Does anybody know where I can find a server, or a host...cheap? I would say how cheap, but you would all probably laugh at me, so I'll just leave the price range to your own estimates of what "cheap" means.

Welcome - Server Questions Forum

jkeszeg — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 12:08:46 GMT

It's the forum for all things server. Welcome!

June Keszeg, IT Pro Membership Program Mgr.