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Cp-Coder6-Dec-23 5:38

Cp-Coder

6-Dec-23 5:38

I keep my data on a separate drive which I backup separately, so the C: drive only has Windows and the applications. So my Macrium images take less than a minute to create. Since it hardly takes any time, I take an image every morning first thing and I can restore my machine to a previous state if I pick up anything nasty or unwelcome.

Ok, I have had my coffee, so you can all come out now!

jschell6-Dec-23 7:10

jschell

6-Dec-23 7:10

Cp-Coder wrote:
So my Macrium images take less than a minute to create

So if it slowed down by say 10% then that would be too slow?

dandy726-Dec-23 5:12

dandy72

6-Dec-23 5:12

Ultimately that's all that matters, doesn't it.

If you have a measurable difference in performance, stick with your current method.

jschell6-Dec-23 7:11

jschell

6-Dec-23 7:11

fgs1963 wrote:
Awesome! I'm sticking with jet fuel!!

Next test is with the lawn mower?

dandy726-Dec-23 5:10

dandy72

6-Dec-23 5:10

I would imagine there's some overhead in processing a ton of file pointers to determine where the next chunk of a badly fragmented file is, as opposed to having a file stored in one continuous chain. Would that account for the difference? I have no idea.

Still. I don't know about Macrium's internals, but in theory, if a backup program worked by copying entire disks/partitions, as opposed to reading file systems, then it wouldn't matter how fragmented (or not) a disk is, or whether the software even needs to understand what file system is being used.

Of course that means backing up a 1TB drive that's only 10% full will back up 1TB and not 100GB. I have a 2-disk USB enclosure that's like this. There's a button on the front that, if held when powering up, will blindly clone one drive to the other, regardless of file system (assuming the target is the same or larger capacity). And if the source drive has tons of fragmentation, the individual cloned files will be as badly fragmented.

Cp-Coder6-Dec-23 5:44

Cp-Coder

6-Dec-23 5:44

No. I have set up Macrium so that it only includes actual files in the image. So my images reflect the size of the used parts of the disk, not the entire disk. This works very well and I have restored my C: from such images dozens of times. Macrium also includes all partitions on the systems drive by default. It is really a fantastic utility for restoring your machine in case of some disaster.

Ok, I have had my coffee, so you can all come out now!

modified 6-Dec-23 11:56am.

Daniel Pfeffer6-Dec-23 9:26

Daniel Pfeffer

6-Dec-23 9:26

dandy72 wrote:
I would imagine there's some overhead in processing a ton of file pointers to determine where the next chunk of a badly fragmented file is, as opposed to having a file stored in one continuous chain. Would that account for the difference? I have no idea.

The actual read operation(s) might not take much longer, but the host turnaround time will certainly affect things.

Optimized disk:
single read operation of N blocks

Fragmented disk:
read operation of N1 blocks
(host turnaround time 1)
read operation of N2 blocks
(host turnaround time 2)
...
where N1 + N2 + ... = N

Note that if the hardware implements read gather/write scatter operations and the O/S supports them, this may mitigate much of the host overhead due to fragmentation. I know that eMMC has such operations, and I assume that most other current protocols do, too.

Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.
-- 6079 Smith W.

Gerry Schmitz6-Dec-23 8:03

Gerry Schmitz

6-Dec-23 8:03

No "pointer space" reclaimed apparently. Some sort of reorg based on size and or frequency of use?

"Before entering on an understanding, I have meditated for a long time, and have foreseen what might happen. It is not genius which reveals to me suddenly, secretly, what I have to say or to do in a circumstance unexpected by other people; it is reflection, it is meditation." - Napoleon I

Recommendations on what computer/server get

den2k886-Dec-23 22:55

den2k88

6-Dec-23 22:55

A long chunk of contiguous data will make the best use of the onboard precaching, allowing the disk to reach the reported speeds (e.g. 5500 mb/s reading) and it MAY be a significant improvement for the loading times of large games or large video files.

It will shorten the ssd lifespan especially on cheap ones (many will use MLC or TLC to increase the available space at teh cost of longevity), so if you really have this necessity of working on large video files or regularly play huge games with long loading times even on ssd (bad game design) I'd consider buying a high quality lower capacity one for these kind of works.

GCS/GE d--(d) s-/+ a C+++ U+++ P-- L+@ E-- W+++ N+ o+ K- w+++ O? M-- V? PS+ PE Y+ PGP t+ 5? X R+++ tv-- b+(+++) DI+++ D++ G e++ h--- r+++ y+++* Weapons extension: ma- k++ F+2 X

The shortest horror story: On Error Resume Next

Joan M6-Dec-23 1:16

6-Dec-23 1:16

Hello all,

INTRODUCTION
Given the new accounting laws in our country, every company will need an accounting software that sticks to those laws.
Even freelancers (as me) will have to adopt a software like that.
I don't trust the cloud + I don't want to pay a fee every month to be able to use my accounting data.
Now I own a NAS which is more than enough for my needs but is not capable to run the accounting programs I will be able to use in my country.
Most of the accounting programs I could use require SSD and Windows to run.

Getting a server would mean:
* Getting a server, some SSD and HDD disks.
* Getting an UPS.
* Getting a small rack.
* Getting a Windows server license.
* Using our current NAS as backup for that server and keep doing our NAS extra backups with external USB HDDs.

QUESTION
What server / option would you recommend for this kind of job?
Would it be better to get a tower server? or a rack server?
As soon as we have children the server, NAS, UPS... will have to be placed inside a rack anyway.
It would be nice to be able to have a mix of SSD and normal HDD, SSD for the OS and the accounting program and HDD to store everything else.
+/- 8TB of data space available would be nice.
+/- 32GB RAM available would be nice.
Would it be better to install the accountant program inside a virtual machine? just to make it easier to move it from one server to another one in the future (if needed).
Do you agree that it's better to get a server than a normal workstation for all this?

And as a bonus... what would you use that server for apart of all mentioned before? Any additional hint/idea?

Thank you all!

www.robotecnik.com[^] - robots, CNC and PLC programming

Maximilien6-Dec-23 2:13

Maximilien

6-Dec-23 2:13

Are there hardware requirements for the software ?

Are you the sole user of the data ? or your clients need access to the data ?

Whatever your do, make sure your backup work; plan regular tests of your backups.

I would use the server for a single purpose

CI/CD = Continuous Impediment/Continuous Despair

Jeremy Falcon6-Dec-23 4:28

Jeremy Falcon

6-Dec-23 4:28

Maximilien wrote:
I would use the server for a single purpose

That's a good idea. If he feels the need to overpay and get a beefy computer, then he can at least use something like VMWare Sever to split it up.

Jeremy Falcon

Joan M6-Dec-23 10:23

6-Dec-23 10:23

Yes, the requirements on their web site are:

Intel Xeon (*1) + 8 Gb RAM + 100 Gb SSD or SAS.

Given their crazy requirements I thought of getting something that could run that software and some of the things I have now in my NAS at the same time and make it a little future proof...

www.robotecnik.com[^] - robots, CNC and PLC programming

Daniel Pfeffer6-Dec-23 3:03

Daniel Pfeffer

6-Dec-23 3:03

As Maximilien says, one server per role. I would put all financial activities (accounting, billing, etc.) on the same server

Any decent financial package should allow copying the data from one machine to another - via backup and restore to the new machine, if nothing else. I would make sure that the seller has a documented method for transferring the software licence. Make sure of this before purchase!

Where financial data is concerned, backups are extremely important. Nothing is more important to the Government than money.

The specifications for the server depend very much on the requirements of the accounting etc. software. I would endure that the server is powerful enough to run all software simultaneously. You don't want to have to juggle between packages, especially if more than one person (e.g. you, your bookkeeper, and your accountant) are all using different programs simultaneously.

Mention of the accountant brings to mind another thing. If he/she is an external contractor, he/she will need access to your financial records over the Internet. Do you have appropriate security for the server?

Lastly, tax packages are typically validated for a given tax year, and are sold as subscriptions. Don't forget to budget for the subscription!

Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.
-- 6079 Smith W.

Joan M6-Dec-23 10:29

6-Dec-23 10:29

I will be the only one remotely connecting to the server, at least by now, through a VPN and through the firewall.

Backups must be done as nowadays:

Keep one HDD copy at a different physical place and rotate it every month.

I will have to ask all them about migrating the license...

The requirements on their web site are:

Intel Xeon (*1) + 8 Gb RAM + 100 Gb SSD or SAS.

Given their crazy requirements I thought of getting something that could run that software and some of the things I have now in my NAS at the same time and make it a little future proof...

www.robotecnik.com[^] - robots, CNC and PLC programming

Gary Stachelski 20216-Dec-23 4:51

Gary Stachelski 2021

6-Dec-23 4:51

For financial data, you should also have a set of backups that are rotated off-site to a secure location on a regular basis. Assume the site with your server burns to the ground, how do you recover?
(how long to acquire replacement hardware, software, data. This will give you an idea of how long you will be down. How old is the offsite data? What data can be reentered into the system to bring an off-site backup to current status. That is part of what makes cloud services attractive is that they can replicate your data to other geographically separate data centers and allow rapid recovery from disasters. But it all comes at a cost.)

Joan M6-Dec-23 10:31

6-Dec-23 10:31

Currently we rotate every month the physical HDD where we make the backup and store it in a different physical place.

This should not change after getting a server (if we do it at all).

www.robotecnik.com[^] - robots, CNC and PLC programming

Jeremy Falcon6-Dec-23 4:27

Jeremy Falcon

6-Dec-23 4:27

Joan M wrote:
Even freelancers (as me) will have to adopt a software like that.

Dude seriously, if you're just a single person a Raspberry Pi will solve your needs if it runs on Linux (Windows ARM is still sluggish on Pis). If you need Windows you can get a tiny single board computer to run it for like $500 tops... probably less.

It's a single user for accounting data. You don't need much.

Jeremy Falcon

dandy726-Dec-23 4:38

dandy72

6-Dec-23 4:38

Personally for such a small/specific task, I'd get a Beelink-type mini PC (I've come to love these little boxes). The backup concern is something else. Offline drives? Off-site drives? Even a handful of USB sticks would do it. Encrypt as needed. Don't overthink this. End of story.

Joan M6-Dec-23 10:22

6-Dec-23 10:22

By now I am using a software in a pentium 3 computer with Windows XP which works perfectly well but that don't cope with the new legal requirements, been trying another one in my NAS PHP+MySQL based that works perfectly (performance wise) and almost well (accountant wise), but the ones I am seeing require to be able to execute Microsoft SQL Server and therefore they ask for:

Intel Xeon (*1) + 8 Gb RAM + 100 Gb SSD or SAS.

Given their crazy requirements I thought of getting something that could run that software and some of the things I have now in my NAS at the same time and make it a little future proof... so go figure...

www.robotecnik.com[^] - robots, CNC and PLC programming

milo-xml7-Dec-23 1:58

milo-xml

7-Dec-23 1:58

Can you post what software you're looking at? The specs just seem out of line. I'm not sure what your accounting software is saving, but unless it's a lot of videos, MS SQL Express would probably exceed what you need. Here's the info: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=101064
You can have up to 10GB of storage.

Joan M7-Dec-23 2:24

7-Dec-23 2:24

I know, in fact our NAS with MySQL should be more than capable to move any amount of data we can require, but... those guys seem to point to very big companies unless you want to store everything in the cloud, then there are plenty of options.

The software is SAGE 200, don't think this will be available out of Spain.

I am looking at ODOO, let's see if those guys allow me to install their software into our NAS.

www.robotecnik.com[^] - robots, CNC and PLC programming

Alister Morton8-Dec-23 2:56

Alister Morton

8-Dec-23 2:56

Sage 200 is widely used in the UK, too.

Is that the only option your government requirements allow, or is it just a recommendation?

Joan M8-Dec-23 11:26

8-Dec-23 11:26

Nope, the government issued a set of requisites for programs to follow and a few manufacturers will.

Searching for an accounting program that can do this without being cloud based is becoming more complicated than expected.

I've seen Sage 200, Vortex, A3ERP, SAP One, and a few others, maybe Odoo will be installable in the NAS we already have as it is based in PHP and Postgres and there are docker packages for that one.

Let's hope this Monday the two Odoo partners I contacted will tell me their software follow the new regulations and that I can use it with the hardware I already own.

www.robotecnik.com[^] - robots, CNC and PLC programming