I'm looking for some insights on the best setup for an on-prem file server in 2025 for our business. We have about 700 users operating 24/7, primarily working in a Windows environment with almost all users on-site. We're planning to rebuild our file servers from scratch since we have some new hardware coming in. Currently, we have a single virtualized file server managing around 9TB of data, but I'm not sure how much of that data is actually useful. We aren't using DFS-R at the moment. Any recommendations?
5 Answers
I recommend going with NetApp CIFS servers for your SMB shares instead of Windows file servers. They offer benefits like not having to deal with Windows updates, plus they provide great replication with SnapMirror and SnapVault. Consider backing this setup with Veeam and cloud backups to ensure data safety.
Seems expensive to go that route. Worth it?
No matter which route you choose, consider using DFS-N from the beginning to simplify migration later on. Having a good namespace can save a lot of hassle down the line.
I was hoping to see this suggestion! Definitely do this upfront.
Agreed! Keeps everything organized and manageable.
A single virtual file server might work if your operation can allow for brief downtimes for updates. If downtime is a concern, I’d suggest a failover cluster with directly attached disks. This setup has worked well in our 24/7 Citrix environment, even with hundreds of concurrent users.
I can confirm, we have a similar setup in our medical office with a single virtual server. It really makes restores quick and easy!
For now, I just print everything and keep it in good old file cabinets!
Come at me, ransomware!
Bonus points if you're using a dot matrix printer for that!
If you're looking for a budget option, consider a bare metal Ubuntu machine with ZFS. We used this setup where I previously worked, and it handled around 110TB of mostly legal documents without any major issues.
That sounds solid! I’m curious, what benefits have you seen with NetApp over Windows?