Windows Home Server gets Power Pack 2, Acer easyStore gets US release date
By Tim Stevens 
posted March 24th 2009 10:12AM
posted March 24th 2009 10:12AM
posted March 24th 2009 10:12AM
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I never really got these. Can't I buy a much cheaper and simpler NAS, share its folders, and then just point WMP or whatever my media program of choice's library folder to that shared folder? Seems much simpler.
Netgear's readynas you don't even need to do any of that with built in upnp service
Ahhh if that was the only thing WHS did.
yes, but Microsoft wants your money...jk
I'm trying to convince my company to use a NAS instead of a windows server, we have 3 office personnel including my self, and I'm the only heavy user. Besides, from what I hear, most are rock solid reliable with their minimalist OS. considering d-link, buffalo, or netgear...
Any recommendations?
@fieldcar
I have a Buffalo LinkStation 1TB and it has served me really well. I stream 8GB DVDs off of it without a hitch. However, I believe the jack is only 10/100, which sort of limits its future-proof...ness.
@AVG - As emiliano said, that's far from all WHS does. Regardless, yes, any respectable Engadget reader could build a Linux-based file server on an old box for less than $100. WHS is targeted to the other 99% of computer users who only know about Windows and think IE is "the Internet".
Everyone always says a simple NAS is cheaper but only the non expandable ones really are. Okay you can get a 1TB for $200 but that's it. You want one with room for growth? The price generally goes up pretty quickly. You can build a linux home server for that or WHS for a bit more (software cost) and have plenty of room to keep throwing dirt cheap HD onboard.
Also, I have to say the old Buffalo NAS I had was more trouble than it was worth (hey the config page is all in japanese suddenly!) and the LaCie was the biggest POS I've ever used. Have a linux setup at home but I have to say, I tried WHS in windows based studio on a whim and haven't thought about it since. If they ever came across with a Time Machine compatible setup it would be unstoppable.
"WHS is targeted to the other 99% of computer users who only know about Windows and think IE is "the Internet"."
Someone who can barely comprehend the internet is NOT going to be able to set up a goddamn Windows Home Media Server. They'd have an easier time following directions to share a NAS folder, I'd bet.
@Peter
I know more than just windows, I don't use IE, and I have a WHS at home. Why? Because it automagically backs up all of my machines at night, allows me to quickly re-image machines if they run into problems, share out files, and get to my files when I am not at home. I've setup linux boxes to do all of these things in the past, but what with a family, a baby on the way, wanting to spend my time doing things other than figuring out why my rsynch isn't working, installing putty to SSH whatever, or making sure my wife actually backs up her data at all, WHS makes it simple. Yeah, I could build a linux box for less than $100, but I've had my WHS (HP MediaSmart) since November 07, and haven't looked at it since (except, of course, to install the fix for the bug that shredded data)...it just does it's job and makes my life easier. Not harder (but, sure, more fun) than doing the same thing with Linux. I just don't have the time anymore.
This is sweet. One of the better look WHS boxes out there. US Price?
... but it's an Acer
More details about WHS here: http://www.wegotserved.co.uk/2009/03/24/windows-home-server-power-pack-2-delivers-first-shoots-of-media-center-integration/
Ok - yes most of us can have a NAS or a home computer turned NAS in minutes. We KNOW how to do it. One thing I was getting sick of, was being the 24/7 IT manager at home. So, enter WHS (HP MediaSmart specifically). The key is, easy setup and easy administration. 20 minute setup, and extremely low ongoing maintenance makes it a great choice. Throw in some
Honestly, once I got my FreeNAS machine set up, I've never had to do anything to maintain. Rock solid. It took more than 20 minutes (maybe 45) but I haven't had to deal with it since. Runs on a very low-power machine, too. YAY! Oh, and cheap (esp. since FreeNAS is... well... free.)
Anything is better than a SAMBA share
> @AVG - As emiliano said, that's far from all WHS does. Regardless, yes, any respectable Engadget reader could build a
> Linux-based file server on an old box for less than $100. WHS is targeted to the other 99% of computer users who only
> know about Windows and think IE is "the Internet".
That's who/what Macs and Time Machine were built for.
This Windows Server is no more accessable to "the other 99%" than a custom Linux server.
Wrong. WHS is very approachable, and incredibly easy to use. Even someone who doesn't have much experience with computers could set it up with little to no problems. A Linux server on the other hand? I'd love to see the everyday Joe Schmo set one of those up. WHS takes care of the administration work itself, from the client end, the user chooses which folders they want to back up, and what subdomain to access their server from over the internet. That's it, done.
It uses RAID-like storage with redundancy to backup user files, and share them over a LAN or internet. That's just the tip of the iceberg, it still can be used as a more advanced server for powerusers. Want to log into your server from anywhere on the web, upload a torrent file to it, and then have the server automatically connect, download the files in the torrent, and get it ready for you when you get home or access the file remotely? Yeah it can do that. Plus the remote desktop (to pro/business win only) is a great tool for connecting to your home PC's from the server over the internet.
That's just one of the many awesome things you can do with WHS. Can these things be accomplished on a Linux box? Absolutely, almost everything WHS does can be done on Linux, but with much more effort, a lot more maintenance, and constant phone calls from the family on how to use it.
Check the reviews on Newegg, buyers there are very critical, especially of Microsoft products, yet WHS has a near perfect score.
Nonsense. My dad set an HP one up and I have to remind him to right-click.
You've obviously never setup a WHS.
It's easy and it works. At least, it works if you know anything about windows-based computers.
Had mine setup in 15 minutes after install. Automatic backups, web portal based remote connections from anywhere with an internet connection, ability to download shared files from any internet browser, oh and sharing files over my home network. The Mac/Time Machine combo doesn't do half of those things.
Yeah, I love my WHS. One thing that is does way better than my old linux box (which held all my media and dished it out as needed) is it's data pool.
WHS takes all of your mis-matched drives and presents them to the rest of your network as one big mega drive. Throw anything at it, don't worry about having half you collection on the 750GB internal drive and the other half on the 1TB USB drive - instead you plug anything in anywhere and the storage pool grows.
All managed by WHS to make sure that everything's duplicated across multiple drives. NAS solutions, FreeNas boxes nor Linux Home Server (Amahi's version) don't come close.
This is one thing that Microsoft finally got right, IMO.
Atom !!?! You gotta be kidding me!
I'm excited about this minor release! mp4 is huge for me. I have a mac and have been going nuts getting WHS to stream to my Xbox using XBMC. I was having to encode in Xvid and that made me sad. :(
Does anyone have any guesses about if that streaming mp4 support includes x.264/AC3 in an m4v container? That would make my month.
If I could have a WHS be the only box I need to leave powered on and still stream media to my extenders, I'd buy one today. I'm not exactly sure why we can't get that type of functionality.
You can. One of my friends has one and he streams h.264 files to his AppleTV all the time.
From the article :
"...Power Pack 2 will include enhancements to make remote access easier, enabling sharing directly to Media Center PCs or to Media Center Extenders, and adding support for streaming MP4 content to the Xbox 360 and some other devices."
So I would say chances are it'll fill your needs, depending on what those 'other devices' are.
WHS is preeeeetty cool.
Hello Kitty.
Installed PP2 today and my file transfers are flying. Definite improvement in speed.
I just did a remote login, updated to PP2 and am on my way....
I agree with everyone saying this is so much more than a NAS. Here are my faves:
1) PC backups are not image based, meaning I can back up multiple XP machines without losing a ton of space on the server.
2) I can upload pictures from a digital camera (GBs worth) and friends and family instantly have access, no uploading to a remote server.
3) You can duplicate files on a directory by directory basis. I don't have to RAID multiple drives and duplicated everything. I also have WHS backup important pics and docs to Amazon S3 each night.
Could a dedicated Linux box do all of this? Sure. WHS just does most of it by default.