Help choosing an OS for a Microserver refresh

[Sir Caramel]

Hello,
I'm just about to reconfigure an old HP ProLiant G7 N54L MicroServer and was wondering if anyone could advise me about the best OS to install, for, essentially a newbie.

Hardware/software/network basics:

• HP ProLiant G7 N54L MicroServer with 16GB RAM and a Radeon 5450 GPU
• Win 10 Pro
• Serving a lan network of 4 Win 10 PCs and a few IOS devices

Primary Uses:

• I've been using the server to act as network storage and a media hub for the Windows PC's, as well as a centre for backups. (Things seemed to go a bit hit or miss after MS's Homegroup feature was pulled, with some Win 10 updates completely messing up the share feature, meaning lots of troubleshooting recently).
• The family used 'Serve to Me/Stream to Me' to stream audio, films and photos to their IOS devices. (However with an OS reinstall last year, 'Serve to Me' no longer installs on Win 10 64-bit).
• The Microserver is also connected to the family TV, so my lot use it to connect to Netflix, etc.

So, I need an OS that will run on the MicroServer, allow me to access it from a lan-connected Win 10 PC, share with the rest of the PC network and create backups of them and also allow IOS devices to stream from it. Something that is not too difficult to install and maintain. (edit/ addition - I don't use RAID).

I've not worked with Linux, Ubuntu, etc and would prefer not to have to delve too much under the hood, but would do so if it was basic stuff.
I'd obviously prefer something free, but am happy to pay for an OS if it has advantages. I don't really like paying subscriptions and am happier with a one-off payment.

I've been looking at Serviio Pro and Amahi Home Server through my searches, but am unsure how well they are supported and where they are in their development cycle (ie, I don't want to install something that's end-of-life or doesn't really update). I'm open to anything that is suitable.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

Any thoughts?

 

[RTM]

I've never heard of those solutions you mention, so I would probably not go that route.

But I believe TrueNAS core or Open Media Vault, could probably do what you need and both should have a webinterface that should make them relatively easy to manage.

I haven't really used windows filesharing recently, so I am not an authority on this, but I assume both solutions can do that without problems using Samba.

 

[gea]

A G7 can be a nice ZFS filer.
Most common is TrueNAS (FreeBSD or Linux). Most efficient regarding RAM and CPU need are Solaris based systems (where ZFS comes from) with the easy to setup ZFS/kernelbased SMB server that offers Windows ntfs alike permission settings like OmniOS for which you can use my napp-it web-gui (free version available).

OmniOS Community Edition

illumos based server OS with ZFS, DTrace, Crossbow, SMF, Bhyve, KVM and Linux zone support

omnios.org

napp-it // webbased ZFS NAS/SAN appliance for OmniOS, OpenIndiana and Solaris : Manual

napp-it.org - ZFS NAS SAN Server with user editable web-gui // All In One server = virtualized ready to run ZFS-Server

www.napp-it.org

 

[Peter Blanchard]

I tried Amahi. Didn't get on with it.

It didn't like some of my hardware.
Default not coping with multiple NICs an issue.
Not an out of the box experience for me.
Requirement to sign up for license key despite being free stuck me as odd.
Some of plug-ins no longer work.

Amahi is based on Greyhole. Greyhole duplicates files across multiple disks based on configured rules. Bit like DUP in ZFS. Be aware that Greyhole performance sucks with writing lots of small files and files that change a lot.

Have a project on the go to build very low end box running Debian Server and Greyhole. Meant for tertiary backup of certain files as well as temp storage during storage reorganisations.

Before problems, how was performance?

What HDDs do you have in the box?

I take it that you still want to use machine as media PC plugged into TV? If you'd be happy with a different box doing those duties, removing the Radeon might give you more options re storage controllers.

 

[Sir Caramel]

Thank you RTM and Gea for your input and suggestions. I'm going to look over TrueNAs and OmniOS and see if either of those can work for me!

Peter Blanchard, thank you for your reply. I didn't install Amahi yet - I just checked features and install concerns as I wanted to make sure of any new OS before I uninstall the Win 10 OS I already have set up.
At the moment I have a 240GB Samsung SSD for my OS, two WD 8TB drives and another two around 2 - 4TB. I think we need the thing plugged into the TV, unfortunately!

 

[zer0sum]

Unleash Your Hardware

Unraid is an operating system that brings enterprise-class features for personal and small business applications. Configure your computer systems to maximize performance and capacity using any combination of OS, storage devices, and hardware.

unraid.net

Give the free trial a go, and then it's just a one time fee for life.

In my opinion, it is easily the most flexible and feature rich home server solution

 

[oneplane]

Linux, BSD or Unix would be a good fit.

 

[Peter Blanchard]

You probably need to think about your streaming services. Not all OSes have a native client and you'll have to do web browser stuff which can add a level of complexity your users may not want. My soon to be 80 year old dad does better with a set-top box with simple interface over plumbing TV into Windows box.

I have a Roku soundbar streaming device. It's got a lot of native support for streaming services. You can also cast to it from various devices. I've cast some audio/video to it from laptop. There's a Plex client iirc. Netflix, etc.

If your users are mostly iOS based, you should investigate last gen AppleTV boxes.