Win11 as a home server

Question

Hello,

I actually have a linux (Debian) server with ZFS (Raid Z2 4+2 HD) and I will probably change my server (I have stability issues but my server has more than 11 years old). I use a VM with Win11 but it is slow compared to a VM in Hyper-v.

I would like to use a storage spaces (4+2 or Mirror). Actually I have seen (november 2023) that there is no refs in storage spaces but it was possible to install a windows server (hyper-v) and pass through the drive and format with REFS.

Is it a "correct" possibility or nor recommended? Would a development drive be better? Or is there a way to allow refs for data drives now?

I use my server for file sharing, a few virtual machines such as nextcloud aio... (nearly all my containers work in wsl2).

In this forum I have seen a way to "cheat" the recycle bin in network drives. (it was a big problem 10 years ago).

Can I have 4 different users with a Win11 Pro?

I like the idea of adding some drives in storages spaces and optimize all.

Is it possible to use the offline dedup / compression or not in Win11 Pro? (Or in Win11 Pro for Workstation or is it necessary to have a Win11 Server (for a home user it is not really possible with the price (the pro for workstation too)? It it possible (like before to install the DLL from a Windows Server or not anymore)?

Or is it better to keep linux (even if the Win11 VM are slow)

Thank you very much

Marc

Answer 1

Hi Marc,

Thanks for your post. Please understand that one issue one case. For others issues, please create corresponding tickets. This ticket will focus on the REFS best practice. Generally speaking, Microsoft has developed NTFS specifically for general-purpose use with a wide range of configurations and workloads. For customers specially requiring the availability, resiliency, and/or scale that ReFS provides, Microsoft supports ReFS for use with the following configurations and scenarios:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/storage/refs/refs-overview#supported-deployments

Best Regards,

Ian Xue

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Answer 2

Hello,

Thank you for the answer.

From your links it is not a good idea at the moment so I will keep linux and ZFS..