I have been running a "server" for a number of years with both Scanner and DrivePool being an integral part of it all (I LOVE these products!!!). I think it's time to redesign my current virtualization environment, and I wanted to know what you guys think:
My current setup:
"Host" (running Win10 Pro w/Client Hyper-V):
- Scanner and DrivePool for media, backups, VMs, etc.
- CrashPlan for offsite backups (~10 incoming clients)
- Plex Media Server (doing occasional transcodes)
- Multiple VMs (Win7 for WMC recording, Win10 testing, VPN appliance, UTM appliance, etc.)
I feel like the current setup is getting a little too "top-heavy". My biggest pain points are the fact that I have to bring down the entire environment every time M$ deploys patches, and a lack of clean backups for the VMs that are getting more-and-more important. Being the budget is a big concern, I'm hoping to re-work my existing environment...
My proposed setup:
"Host" running Hyper-V Server, CrashPlan, Scanner and DrivePool
VM for Plex Media Server, targeting shares on host
VM for WMC TV recording, moving recordings to host share
Etc., etc...
I believe this design will allow the host to be more stable and help with uptime...what do you guys think of this? I know I can install and run CrashPlan, Scanner and DrivePool on Hyper-V server, but I've never done any long-term testing...
Also, can anyone recommend a good, free way to backup those VMs with Hyper-V Server? If I can get a backup of those VMs onto the DrivePool array and sent offsite via CrashPlan, that would be perfect 
-Quinn