this post was submitted on 16 Nov 2023
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Why is Windows (desktop versions) frowned upon as a home NAS/server OS? (alien.top)
submitted 11 months ago by ozaz1@alien.top to c/homelab@selfhosted.forum
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I currently have a 10-year old off-the-shelf NAS (Synology) that needs replacing soon. I haven't done much with it other than the simple things I mention later, so I still consider myself a novice when it comes to NAS, servers, and networking in general, but I've been reading a bit lately (which lead my to this sub). For a replacement I'm wondering whether to get another Synology, use an open source NAS/server OS, or just use a Windows PC. Windows is by far the OS I'm most comfortable with so I'm drawn to the final option. However, I regularly see articles and forum posts which frown upon the use Windows for NAS/server purposes even for simple home-use needs, although I can't remember reading a good explanation of why. I'd be grateful for some explanations as to why Windows (desktop version) is a poor choice as an OS for a simple home NAS/server.

Some observations from me (please critique if any issues in my thinking):

  • I initially assumed it was because Windows likely causes a high idle power consumption as its a large OS. But I recently measured the idle power consumption of a celeron-based mini PC running Windows and found it to be only 5W, which is lower than my Synology NAS when idle. It seems to me that any further power consumption savings that might be achieved by a smaller OS, or a more modern Synology, would be pretty negligible in terms of running costs.
  • I can see a significant downside of Windows for DIY builds is the cost of Windows license. I wonder is this accounts for most of the critique of Windows? If I went the Windows route I wouldn't do a DIY build. I would start with a PC which had a Windows OEM licence.
  • My needs are very simple (although I think probably represent a majority of home user needs). I need device which is accessible 24/7 on my home network and 1) can provide SMB files shares, 2) act as a target for backing up other devices on home network, 3) run cloud backup software (to back itself up to an off-site backup location) and, 4) run a media server (such as Plex), 5) provide 1-drive redundancy via RAID or a RAID-like solution (such as Windows Storage Spaces). It seems to me Windows is fine for this and people who frown upon Windows for NAS/server usage probably have more advanced needs.
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[–] Sinister_Crayon@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

This has been a great discussion here... let me add a few things from my perspective of 30-odd years in the IT space;

  • I like to use stuff that's fit for purpose. Windows 10, Windows 11 and such are desktop operating systems that are fit for their purpose and are very good at it. But they're less optimal for server-type workloads. Microsoft themselves provide a different operating system for that purpose but it has a different cost model that is a lot higher.
  • Access to the GUI is necessary to run Windows. NAS devices and such have the ability to run "headless"; that is no keyboard, monitor or mouse. NAS devices also have a "network first" mentality where everything must be accessible on the network even in the event of a system failure. Recovery cannot require a monitor if you can't plug one in! Windows (even server) requires physical access.
  • Server-focused platforms like NAS provide a lot of capabilities that Windows does not because of the nature of their platforms. For example Synology allows growing your storage easily while Windows requires a lot more technical knowledge to accomplish that.
  • Going back to fit-for-purpose; NAS devices provide security that isn't necessarily there with Windows. Windows has a lot of "moving parts"... in addition to the operating system there are a bunch of ancillary libraries, tools and software that may or may not be used when using Windows as a server. All of these additional tools and libraries provide another potential vector for security breaches especially if not individually maintained thus increasing the maintenance requirements of the system. NAS devices give you the basics of what they need to operate and no more... well that's until you start adding service packages to a Synology. But even then they will all be managed through the stock package manager and thus updated and maintained, and will still only be as much as you need to get the job done.

As far as my most recent experience with desktop Windows that I find irritating, there are a couple of reasons I still wouldn't use it as a server platform ;

  • Microsoft has a tendency to randomly update your settings, overriding your own settings with what they think are better. A good example that hit me recently is that some recent update overrode my power management settings on a PC I have set up as a headless desktop I then connect to using NX. I had it set to never sleep... suddenly it started sleeping. I had to reset it in order to get back to where I wanted it. This is not the first time this has happened, and I've had other issues along these lines. 24x7 isn't possible when your PC goes to sleep...
  • Windows lacks a really solid local filesystem. NTFS is OK and is pretty performant but it lacks a lot of the more advanced features of filesystems from NAS vendors or *NIX systems; ZFS and others have checksumming and scrubbing, most NAS vendors allow scheduled data integrity checks and the like... things like that.
  • Software RAID in Windows is acceptable, but is not great. It's hard to understand when things aren't working properly and thus plan to replace failed hardware.

Hope that helps :)