Thecus Windows Storage Server 2012 R2

Thecus just create a new product line, Thecus WSS, to support Windows Storage Server. Here are some information I just collect.

2015/3/29 Update after testing a Thecus W5000.

Product Line

Thecus WSS comes with Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials for SMB / home and Standard for large business. Both are x64 and supports more than 4GB RAM. Feel free to upgrade your W2000, W4000, and W5000 to 4GB RAM.

Below is a clear explanation about Windows Storage Server  from Thecus W5000 with Mac OSX File Transfer Performance Report:

Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials is a x64 Windows based on Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2. In specification tab of Thecus W5000, you will see a comparison table of Workgroup, Standard, and Essentials. Essentials doesn’t support Hyper-V but is capable of being a Domain Controller of Active Directory.

Although WSS 2012 R2 Essentials is a x64 Windows, it is limited to 4GB of RAM on Intel Atom Processor D2550 models. Memory Limits for Windows and Windows Server Releases on Microsoft provides a clear explanation.

 

W2000 and W4000 comes with Kingston SSD 60GB while W5000 is Seagate Laptop SSHD 500GB. Yes, you may use the spare space on SSHD for storage.

System Management

For Windows 7 and 8, you may use Launchpad which will be install automatically during first-time connect. Browse below web address to launch Server Wizard.

http://<Thecus WSS Server IP>/connect

Mac user need to download Windows Server Essentials Connector for Windows Server 2012 R2 from Microsoft Download Center and install MacConnector.dmg manually. If you follow Connect NAS to your Mac Directly with Ethernet, MacConnector won’t connect to your Thecus Windows Storage Server device even with IP address.

It also provides Remote Desktop Protocol aka RDP for remote access.

There is a My Server mobile app in windows Store to help you manage from windows tablet. I use Dashboard to manage accounts and Server Manager for File and Storage Services. If you want to use Storage Spaces, use Server Manager. Or you may use [Disk Management] in Computer Management to create RAID. How To Manage Storage Spaces and Storage Pools in Windows Server 2012 on MCP Magazine is a step-by-step guide which I found it very useful.

Active Directory

Active Directory support is build-in. It is capable of being a Domain Controller of Active Directory according to [SPECIFICATION] tab in W5000. You will need to enable [Active Directory Domain Services] in Server Manager and use [Active Directory Administrative Center] under [Tools] for administration.

File Sharing

It supports Server Message Block aka smb 1.0, 2.0, 2.1, 3.0, 3.1 and Network File System aka NFS v2, v3, v4.

While most NAS use ext4 as file system for hard drive, Thecus WSS is NTFS or ReFS. You may use FAT and Encrypting File System, an encrypoted NTFS, as well.

Below is a clear explanation on invalid characters on NTFS and ReFS from Invalid Characters in File Names:

According to Illegal Characters on Various Operating Systems and Semantic Differences Between Server for NFS and UNIX-Based NFS Servers on Microsoft TechNet, : ” \ / * ? < > | and any character type with [Ctrl] key are invalid characters in file names.

Wiki Filename provides more information when used as extension and in POSIX.

After testing ReFS on Thecus W5000, : ” \ / * ? < > |  is still not supported.

Use Server Manager to configure File and Storage Services. You also need to configure [Security] property of the shared folder to match your permission policy.

There is no official mobile client apps like Dropbox for general users. You need to get a third-party apps.

Backup

For Windows, it has build-in Shadow Copy to work with Thecus WSS.

For OSX users, you need to create a shared folder on Thecus WSS and connect to it from OS X. Then enable Time Machine in OSX. An Easier Way to Set Up Time Machine to Back Up to a Networked Windows Computer on Lifehacker will guide you step-by-step.

There is no desktop file sync tools build-in. I recommend FreeFileSync which is free and supports Linux, OSX, and Windows.

More

Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 and Windows Storage Server 2012 on Microsoft TechNet provides some useful resource for existing user. Basic concept should be similar to Windows Server 2012 R2. Make sure it is supported on Thecus WSS.

If you have Thecus WSS across WAN, BranchCache might help you to save traffic. You will found this option when using [New Share Wizard] in Server Manager. It must be enabled in [Server Roles] first. Or you may manually enable this in [Sharing] Tab → [Advanced Sharing] → [Caching] → [enable BranchCache] of the property dialog of the shared folder. Enable BranchCache on a file share on TechNet has a clear explanation.

Reference

1. Acronis: 39790: Illegal Characters on Various Operating Systems
2. Apple: OS X
3. Connect NAS to your Mac Directly with Ethernet
4. Dropbox
5. FreeFileSync0
6. Intel Atom Processor D2550
7. Invalid Characters in File Names
8. Kingston
9. Lifehacker: An Easier Way to Set Up Time Machine to Back Up to a Networked Windows Computer
10. Linux.org
11. MCPMAG: How To Manage Storage Spaces and Storage Pools in Windows Server 2012
12. Microsoft: Download Center: Windows Server Essentials Connector for Windows Server 2012 R2
13. Microsoft: MSDN: Resilient file system
14. Microsoft: TechNet: BranchCache
15. Microsoft: TechNet: Domain Controller Roles
16. Microsoft: TechNet: Enable BranchCache on a file share
17. Microsoft: TechNet: File and Storage Services Overview
18. Microsoft: TechNet: Get Connected in Windows Server Essentials
19. Microsoft: TechNet: Hyper-V
20. Microsoft: TechNet: Overview of the Dashboard in Windows Server Essentials
21. Microsoft: TechNet: Overview of the Launchpad in Windows Server Essentials
22. Microsoft: TechNet: Semantic Differences Between Server for NFS and UNIX-Based NFS Servers
23. Microsoft: TechNet: Storage Spaces Overview
24. Microsoft: TechNet: Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 and Windows Storage Server 2012
25. Microsoft: Windows
26. Microsoft: Windows Server 2012 R2
27. Microsoft: Windows Store: My Server
28. Microsoft: Windows: Memory Limits for Windows and Windows Server Releases
29. Samba.org: [Samba] Question marks, asterisks, colons in filenames
30. Seagate: Seagate Laptop SSHD
31. Thecus
32. Thecus W5000 with Mac OSX File Transfer Performance Report
33. Thecus: W2000
34. Thecus: W4000
35. Thecus: W5000
36. Thecus: Windows Storage Server
37. Thecus: Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials
38. Thecus: Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Standard
39. Wiki: Active Directory
40. Wiki: ext4
41. Wiki: Bring your own device
42. Wiki: Domain controller
43. Wiki: Encrypting File System
44. Wiki: File Allocation Table
45. Wiki: File system
46. Wiki: IP address
47. Wiki: Network File System
48. Wiki: NTFS
49. Wiki: POSIX
50. Wiki: Remote Desktop Protocol
51. Wiki: Server Message Block
52. Wiki: Shadow Copy
53. Wiki: Solid-state drive
54. Wiki: Standard RAID levels
55. Wiki: Time Machine (OS X)
56. Wiki: Wide area network
57. Wiki: x86-64
58. Wiki: x86-64: 6.6 Windows