A few questions from a potential new user

[platypus22]

I am currently a Windows Home Server user and am investigating my options for an upgrade. I don't have a huge amount of knowledge of Fedora (or Ahami), but am an experienced Linux user.

I currently have my server running headless acting as a media server. XBMC sits on it, and this is connected to my TV by HDMI from a graphics card, which carries both Audio/Video. My networking is controlled by some cisco hardware.

• Intel Quad Core Processor
• 4GB Ram
• ATI Radeon HD 5450

Therefore, for me to upgrade to anything other than WHSv2011 (which I am reluctant to do to be quite honest), I need those things above fullfilling, along with the JBOD and replication that Greyhole seems to fit just nicely.

Basically:

I do not want to use Ahamis built in DNLA media server features. I do not particularly (at first glance) want to use any of the Applications, though on further perusal I may well do. I do not want to use the VPN features.#

I do not want to use any of the networking features, but in the FAQ I note that: "Note that a few of the benefits of your HDA will not work if you disable DHCP on your server.". What implications does this have? I have my own routing/networking hardware.

I want to be able to store large quantities of data in a redundant and fast fashion. I want to be able to backup my network computers without a hitch, and on a regular, automated basis. I want to be able to run XBMC on my server without issue.

Ahami looks like being a great solution. I see that a Ubuntu version is coming, being an experienced Ubuntu user am I best waiting for that, or is the Fedora version fine? I am currently investigating ATI driver support in Fedora, as one thing I absolutely need is Audio and Video over HDMI.

I see that I need to get an installation code from Ahami in order to complete, this requires gateway and IP address info. Can anyone allay any security fears I have? I do not want to put my server on the internet, will this hamper my ability to use the system?

Why do I need a home domain, and can I get away with not using this?

Can anyone help allay some fears/concerns about the laborious task that upgrading a server can be?

[ciscoh]

i dont have any experince with xbmc on amahi but if your not using any of the apps you will likely not see any impact if you shut DHCP and DNS down on the server.

all in all i think Amahi will fit your requirements.

Check this out for xbmc questions

http://wiki.amahi.org/index.php/XBMC

[bigfoot65]

Hello,

For the most part, you should be able to continue business as usual. There are users who have installed XBMC on their HDA.

As for the networking, there are some tradeoffs when not using the HDA for DHCP/DNS serving. They can be found in the FAQ.

http://www.amahi.org/faq#is-dhcp-server-required

The DLNA features are not built into Amahi, it is a application that can be installed. The VPN is built in, however you do not have to use it. The same holds true for all the apps available. By default, Amahi does not have any apps installed.

The reason you need to register and provide the network info is for Amahi updates and the free dynamic DNS provided. We also have a Dropbox type service that uses it as well if you are a paid subscriber. If you choose not to use it, that is fine but still need to provide the info. Your network is not exposed to the internet unless you make it so via forwarding ports on your router. So there should be no security concerns as the info provided is used only by Amahi and you, not shared with anyone. There is more info on the web site.

As for the domain, this is to allow you to use your own domain should you have one. If not, you still must pick one for local use. If you don't care, go with the default home.com as one must be used.

The Ubuntu version is progressing, but will still be a while before its ready. The current Fedora 14 version is the stable officially supported release at the moment. We are updating to Fedora 16 hopefully this month or next as the official Amahi version. Recommend you try Fedora 14 if you are interested is using Amahi.

I hope this helps clarify some of your concerns. We would be glad if you chose Amahi, but understand if it does not quite fit your needs.

[platypus22]

Thanks for the replies, I shall continue to do some research.

I guess the biggest obstacle is purely the idea of change!

[ciscoh]

well, you wouldnt be here if the idea was that horrible...

[sgtfoo]

I would suggest running your first install as a VM within your current server. Install VirtualBox and do an install and bridge the network adapter so the fedora/Amahi VM gets its own IP. See how it plays with your current setup. It can all be done via VNC.

When you want to have the Fedora machine as your main one, do the bare install and then run your familiar Windows Server within a VM (essentially the opposite of above). Then you can retain some features while staying within the same box.

Why not setup XBMC within Fedora and then have DLNA as well, so you can stream to any DLNA capable device, such as a TV/ PS3/ XBox/ computer. Also, most of the things Ubuntu can do, can be done in Fedora, although sometimes with some hacking/reasearch involved.
I like using Amahi for simplifying my static IPs, network aliases, SAMBA config, and for the storage pooling. I seldom use the apps, but I couldn't ever live without DLNA, VNC, and Deluge on my home server.

#side-note opinion
I will be moving my current Amahi Box to a virtual instance some time soon or when Amahi moves to Fedora 16, just because I will be studying Windows Server 2008r2 and various other Linux distros, and it's cheaper to just run all of these from one hardware box with the magic of virtual machines.

[ciscoh]

i am running the free version of ESXi 5 at home. Amahi is a VM on that.

I like it because it takes VNC or other remote access off the server. i simply use the ViClient.

The only thing i dont really like is that i cant connect Amahi directly to a hard drive. So the drive actually has a VMFS file on it.

if i ever had an issue i would need a utilty to mount that "drive" outside of VMWare.

[sgtfoo]

Don't mean to side-track from the OP, but what shares storage system or heirarchy did you use for Amahi within a VM? is /var/hda/files just a virtual drive connected to the VM?

I've been booting Proxmox and ESXi5 side-by-side to see which I prefer for having Amahi as a VM.

i am running the free version of ESXi 5 at home. Amahi is a VM on that.

I like it because it takes VNC or other remote access off the server. i simply use the ViClient.

The only thing i dont really like is that i cant connect Amahi directly to a hard drive. So the drive actually has a VMFS file on it.

if i ever had an issue i would need a utilty to mount that "drive" outside of VMWare.

[ciscoh]

Don't mean to side-track from the OP, but what shares storage system or heirarchy did you use for Amahi within a VM? is /var/hda/files just a virtual drive connected to the VM?

I've been booting Proxmox and ESXi5 side-by-side to see which I prefer for having Amahi as a VM.

i am running the free version of ESXi 5 at home. Amahi is a VM on that.

I like it because it takes VNC or other remote access off the server. i simply use the ViClient.

The only thing i dont really like is that i cant connect Amahi directly to a hard drive. So the drive actually has a VMFS file on it.

if i ever had an issue i would need a utilty to mount that "drive" outside of VMWare.

I have 6 physical drives currently. They are each separate datastores in EXSi. I create a virtual drive in each and connect those to Amahi. So Amahi has 6 disks that are on 6 different physical disks in ESXi.

My boot, home, root, swap and landing zone are all on the first physical...