Features

• Easily and automatically backup and protect the content on your home PCs and Macs.
• Access your media from anywhere you use the Internet – across your home or across the world. You can even give your family and friends access.
• Enjoy an exceptionally small footprint with large capacity. It’s only 5.5″ (w) x 9.8″ (h) x 9.2″(d), but it’s designed to grow with you. Built-in hard disk drive bays and expansion ports increase storage capacity.
• The HP MediaSmart Server easily fits in your network supporting both wired and wireless PCs (via a wireless router) and requires a wired connection with broadband Internet for remote access.

The MediaSmart servers use Windows Home Server (WHS) to handle backups, and WHS does backups really well. In its original form, WHS could only be used with Windows Machines; however, that was not good enough for HP, so they worked with Apple to make it compatible with Macs and Time Machine.

An alternate use for the Home Server is to store all your media in one place. Having your media in one place has many benefits, one of those is being able to access that media from anywhere, including the internet.

The MediaSmart servers are extremely small. With dimensions of 5.5″ W x 9.8″ H x 9.2″ D they are about half the size of a desktop computer. They are small enough that they can be kept right on a desk or hid away on a shelf, either way they are not going to take up a lot of space. Despite their small size they are extremely easy to expand. There are 4 internal drive bays, 4 USB ports, and an eSATA port. Using these ports the expansion possibilities are nearly unlimited.

The MediaSmart servers can connect to a network with either an Ethernet cable or Wireless connection. Having built-in wireless gives you the most flexibility when deciding where to place it, you literally only need a power plug and a wireless connection and you can store the actual machine anywhere. However, for performance and reliability I recommend you use a wired connection. In fact, when restoring a computer the Windows Home Server software recommends that all the computers be connected with Ethernet cables.

Design

I have written reviews of both the Windows Home Server software and the HP Media Smart server, you can read about them if you are new to this topic and you want to get up to speed. HP sent me the EX495 so in this review I will only be covering the stuff that is new or improved. If you find something that is missing from this review you might find it in one of the other two reviews.

One of the biggest changes to the MediaSmart Server EX495 is a hardware upgrade. Below are hardware specs for both the EX490 and EX495.

The software has also undergone an upgrade as well. With the upgraded hardware HP has been able to add several new features to the MediaSmart server. Some of the new features in this version (3.0) of the software include a brand new look, updated video conversion, media collection, and better OS X support.

The improvements to OS X support include Mac Media Collection, Server Administration via Mac, and faster Mac image level backup and recovery.

The most notable software change is with the MediaSmart Dashboard. The MediaSmart Dashboard is now organized into categories that offer quick access to many important features. At the top of the menu are a series of overview pages. These pages include Tour, System Status, and Mac Overview.

Overview

The most impressive of these pages is the System Status. This page shows a wide variety of information about the system. Starting at the top left of the page there is a notification area for home server issues, below that are boxes with information about add-ins, software updates, remote access, and power management. On the right side of the page there is a large box with storage information, and below that is another box with information about Network, Memory, and CPU usage.

System Status

The next group of options in under the title of Media. These options all relate to gathering, converting, and sharing all the media on your network. These options include In-Home and Web streaming, an iTunes server, Media Collector, Video Converter, Photo Publisher, and Media Server.

Media

There is also a change to the web interface. As you know from reading my past reviews Windows Home Server is capable of sharing your media online through its built-in web page. This is great for when you are on the road and you want to access your favorite TV recordings, music, or ripped DVDs. With the HP MediaSmart EX495 this is even easier than before.

Web interface

Performance

So with all the new hardware and software covered, it is time to see how well they work together. One of my biggest concerns is that the new functionality will bog down the server and it will become unresponsive. So I set out to test some of the new functionality to see how it performs.

Before I could do anything I had to setup the server and install the software on my computer. The process was quick and painless and once it was done I was ready to go.

Install 1

The first test is to see how well the media collection works. Setting up the media collector is fairly straight forward and easy. There are individual settings for each of the different media types, and each type allows you to choose which computers to search.  I setup the media collector to start gathering all the media on my network. In the screen shot below you can see how the settings page allows users to select which computers to search.

Media Collector Settings

Once the media collector got started it didn’t take long for it to start copying files, but it didn’t complete for several days. Below is a screen shot of the media collector as it was finding media on my network. As you can see it lists all the computers on the network, the status of each, all the media found, copied, and ignored. Clicking on either of the last three will open a new box that will show the exact files. Seeing the files is great if you want to diagnose a problem, or just see what has been copied so far.

Media Collector 1

Media Collector files

Media Collector files

Next I wanted to see how well the media converter worked. I have a whole bunch of ripped DVDs and I wanted to see if the server could handle converting them into a different format. So I copied about 10 DVDs onto the MediaSmart server, went through the setup screens, and then enabled it. The process of converting DVDs is time consuming, and luckily the MediaSmart server runs this process in the background. I noticed that converting my DVDs takes a couple hours per movie, this is probably because I wanted them converted to both a single file at the highest quality and a mobile version. Also, as the media collector collected movies from my computers, they were automatically added to the queue and converted.

Converter Settings 2

Converter Settings 1

Converting 2

Here is a screenshot of the system status screen while the media converter was running. As you can see, both CPUs were very busy.

System Status

The only problem I had was getting the converted files off the MediaSmart server. When the converter is done with a video it puts the files to a special folder that users don’t normally have access to. I suppose this is because HP wants you to access them through the streaming feature. This was not good enough for me and fortunately it didn’t take long to figure out how to give myself access to this folder. I also found that .dvr-ms and .wtv files created by Vista and Win 7 Media Center were not converted. I’m not sure why, but hopefully this is something that HP will fix in the future.

Since HP intended the converted movies to be streamed, that would be my next test. Movies, music, and photos can all be streamed through either a networked PC or via the built-in web page. If you are going through the web page I highly recommend that you have the media converter create a mobile version of your movies. A mobile version will be smaller and easier to stream over the web. Either way I tried it, I didn’t have any trouble viewing movies, pictures, or listening to music. The only negative that I experienced was that the audio on the movies was a bit quiet and I had to turn up my speakers. This was probably a side effect of the conversion and since there aren’t any audio conversion settings, I could not do anything on my own. This is clearly something that will have to be addressed by HP.

Media Streaming

As I mentioned earlier, the web interface also got a huge overhaul. As you can see, through the web a user has full access to all the features on the MediaSmart server. In my opinion, the most useful features are the media players, but if you need to make changes to the server or do just about anything else, it is all available.

Last but not least is the power usage. With the new hardware comes a higher power footprint. Since this server is meant to be kept on 24/7 it will have an impact on your power bill. As you can see, when the server is idle the power usage is about 363 watts. However, when the media collector and converter are running the power usage goes up to about 420. If your power rates are high you will need to take this into consideration.

Power Low

Power High

If the power usage is a concern then there is an option to have the server sleep during a block of time. This is great if nobody will be home for several hours every day. Unfortunately, there isn’t an option to sleep at different times on different days, so because I don’t work on the weekends I would have to remember to turn off the sleep option so it is available if I want to watch a movie or listen to music.

Power Management

Support and Warranty

The HP MediaSmart EX495 comes with a one-year limited warranty, with dedicated technical support from date of purchase via self-help, on-line documentation or phone. As far as I could tell the warranty cannot be upgraded. This is a rather short warranty and since it cannot be upgraded this is a big negative.

However, if something does go wrong with the software, there is a really big Windows Home Server community that is great for help. HP also included a software restore disk if the Home Server software fails. If however, it is the hardware that fails you will be required to do your own support to find out what is wrong and then replace it. Hopefully it is not the motherboard, because it is custom from HP and I doubt you could find a replacement.

Conclusion

The improvement that HP has made are substantial and worthwhile. Fortunately for those that have older MediaSmart Servers, HP has made the new software available to all. Unfortunately, on the older hardware the new functionality probably won’t be as smooth.

If you don’t already have a Windows Home Server, then the MediaSmart server is something you should seriously consider. It has a lot of functionality that really makes it attractive to computer users of all kinds. The retail price of $649 price ($631 at Amazon) might seem a bit steep if all you are doing is comparing it to a NAS, but when you consider everything else it does, the price is quite reasonable. Aside from the short warranty, the HP MediaSmart EX495 is the best implementation of Windows Home Server that I have seen.

New in Power Pack 3 Beta

Windows 7 Backup & Recovery

Windows Home Server performs a full image-based backup of Windows 7-based computers, allowing for a complete computer recovery in the case of a hard drive failure, or restoration of a single file or folder in the event of accidental deletion or loss.  After the Windows Home Server Connector software has been installed on a computer running Windows 7, Windows 7 Backup warnings will be suppressed and users will no longer receive a notification to back up their computer.  Windows Home Server can back up Windows XP SP2 or later, Windows Vista and Windows 7-based computers.

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Windows 7 – Backup
Windows Home Server completes an automatic image-based backup of Windows-based computers every day.

Windows 7 Libraries

Power Pack 3 Beta will add Music, Photos and Videos shared folders on the home server to Windows 7 Libraries making the content available for applications such as Windows Explorer, Windows Media Center, Windows Media Player and other applications that use Windows 7 Libraries.  This allows users to quickly access all their content in one organized place that is always available, searchable and expandable.  Users can also search a specific library without having to know where the files are stored.

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Windows 7 – Libraries – Pictures
Windows Home Server content is automatically added to Windows 7 after installing the Windows Media Center Connector software.

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Windows 7 – Windows Explorer Jump List – Music Library
Users access the libraries through Jump Lists by simply selecting Music, Videos or Photos.  All content is accessible from one organized location.

Windows Search

Windows Search 4 has been included with Power Pack 3 Beta to improve query search times, indexing times and reliability. If users are searching across multiple computers, extended remote discovery increases the efficiency of searching across all document libraries.  Files encrypted with Encrypting File System (EFS) are now supported with search.

The screenshot below is an example of searching across a music library where files are located in multiple places:  the home computer Music folder, the home computer Public Music folder, and the home server Music shared folder.  Users can add other locations to Windows 7 Libraries.

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Windows 7 – Libraries – Music – Searching for Aerosmith music content on the home server
Searching for content in the library folder will not only search the home computer but also search the home server.

Power Pack 3 Beta makes Windows Home Server compatible with netbook computers that have small screen sizes and low resolution.  A home server makes a great storage and backup solution for ultra-portable computers.

Windows Media Center Enhancements

Last March, Power Pack 2 added functionality that allowed Windows Media Center and Media Center Extenders to easily access the content on a home server.  Power Pack 3 Beta builds on this functionality.  When the Windows Home Server Connector software is installed or updated on a Windows Media Center computer, the next time a user starts Windows Media Center they will be prompted to install the Windows Media Center Connector.   Users will notice a new Home Server selection in Windows Media Center menu.

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Windows Media Center view – Home Server

TV Archiving

The TV Archive tile in Windows Media Center will give users the option to move recorded TV content to the home server in a variety of resolutions.  The recorded TV shows are archived in the correct resolution for the type of device that will be used for playback.   TV Archive is optimized for Windows Media Center computers, Windows Mobile-based phones, and the Zune player, however, any device capable of playing WMV files can take advantage of this feature.

• TV – Original Resolution
• Windows Mobile – 320 x 240, 500 Kbps, .WMV
• Zune – 640 x 480, 1500 Kbps, .WMV

Users can select individual TV shows, a series of shows, or all TV recordings to automatically be moved to the home server.  Because Windows Home Server storage space can be easily expanded, users can keep all the TV shows that they want in their collection.

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Windows Media Center view – Home Server – TV Archive view

Console Quick View

Console Quick View allows users to see statistics about the home server through Windows Media Center and Windows Media Center Extenders.  This is a convenient way to view many aspects of the home server without needing to access the Windows Home Server Console.  This feature allows users to view and monitor a number of home server indicators:

• Storage – Pie chart listing the percentage allocation of the home server storage
• Drives – List, size and health of hard drives installed on the home server
• Backup – List of computers being backed up and their current backup status
• Shared Folders – List of Shared Folders by name with health status and duplication status
• Media Counters – Count of music, photos, videos and recorded TV files on the home server
• Health – Health of the entire home network
• Home Server – System information of the home server’s hardware and manufacturer info

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Windows Media Center view – Home Server – Console View

Features

• 4U rackmount design
• 20x hot-swappable SATA (I or II) / SAS drive bays, one 2.5″ drive bay
• Five internal SFF-8087 Mini SAS connectors support up to twenty 3.5″ SATA (I or II) or SAS hard drives;
• Hot-swappable HDD tray with special designed power-off and lock mechanism.
• 1 x slim CD-ROM bay,1 x FDD bay, 20 x 3.5 ” hot-swappable drive bays, 1 x 2.5″ drive bay.
• Six ball-bearing cooling fans for better ventilation
• Support EEB (12″x13″), CEB(12″x10.5″), ATX (12″x9.6″), Micro ATX (9.6″ x 9.6″) motherboard
• Screwless top cover
• Smooth border prevent lacerating your skin

Having lots of storage in a small space is really important. Norco has fit 20 hot-swappable hard drives into a 4U server chassis that is only 25.5″ long.

To connect all these drives Norco has chosen to use internal SFF-8087 Mini SAS connectors. SAS connectors are very well suited for this environment because up to 4 drives can be attached to a single SAS connection.

Each drive bay has a built-in lock and power-off mechanism. Each drive port saves power by turning its self off when it is empty. This is especially useful when you are running this case without all the drive bays filled up because it will cut down on overall power usage.

There is also space on top of the drive bays, inside the case, for a slim CD/DVD drive and a 2.5″ hard drive.

Did I mention that the case was big? Well it is, and it is big enough to support the 4 most popular motherboard form factors, which are EEB (12″x13″), CEB(12″x10.5″), ATX (12″x9.6″), and Micro ATX (9.6″ x 9.6″) .

If you ever had any concerns about not getting enough airflow through all those hard drives, then put those fears to rest. The RPC-4220 has a total of 6 80mm fans. There are 4 that are for pulling air over the hard drives and two more in the rear for pulling air out of the case.

Even though the top cover has 4 screws that hold it into place it does not need them. The top cover will stay in place with the locks that are built-in to the top cover. The screws can then be used to add extra security.

Norco has also attempted to roll or smooth the edges of the metal in the RPC-4220 case so that you do not cut yourself when installing parts. It’s not perfect, but it is appreciated.

Design

The first thing you are going to notice is that this is a really large and heavy case. With dimensions of 19″ x 25.5″ x 7.0″ you are going to need a large shelf or a big server rack to hold this. Add to the dimensions a weight of 39.7 lb, when empty, and you are going to need to make sure that shelf is really stable and strong.

Top

Inside

The front of the RPC-4220 case is the most interesting, and the most dominant part is the 20 hot-swappable drive bays.

Front

Each bay has its own drive tray with lights and a lock. There are two lights on each tray, the top light is blue and indicates power, the bottom is green and indicates activity. The lock is simply a handle that you pull to open and push to latch and secure.

Hard Drive Lights

Hard Drive Lights

Hard Drive Tray

Above the hard drive bays are a power button, reset button, lights, and a USB port. On either side of the buttons are two slots for either a slim DVD drive or a 2.5″ hard drive. On odd thing I discovered is that the USB plug is non standard. Normal internal USB plugs have two rows of pins, but the one on the Norco only has one. I don’t know if this means the plug is not powered or if it is not USB 2.0, so if anyone knows please tell me about it.

Buttons, Lights, and USB port

Standard USB cable

RPC-4220 USB cable

The back looks no different than any other computer.

Rear

The top is where the removable cover is. There are 4 screws on the side that need to be removed, and then two buttons on top that have to be pressed before the top can be removed.

The inside of the RPC-4220 has a very large space for the motherboard. This is great because it allows support for all the most common motherboard form factors.

Motherboard installed

Separating the motherboard space from the hard drive bays is a panel of fans. There are 4 fans in total and they are all 80mm. These particular 80mm fans are about twice as deep as a normal case fan. This allows the fan blades to be bigger and move more air, but it also makes the fans much louder. All 4 of these fans are plugged into a power strip that uses a single 4 pin power connector.

Hard Drive fans

The fan panel can be removed fairly easily by removing 4 screws from the top and another 4 from the bottom of the case. Once it is removed we get a good look at the back of the hard drive bays and the connectors that are used. The first thing I noticed is that each of the 5 rows of hard drives are powered by 2 4 pin power connectors. This will make it difficult to power since most power supplies are moving to SATA power connectors and getting rid of the 4 pin power connectors. Norco has a link on their website to a 7 way power splitter, but splitting one 4 pin connector to seven 4 pin connectors seems like it would overload the power supply. It would be nice if there was the option to use either the 4 pin or a SATA connector to power the drives.

Power Connectors

On the other side of the hard drive bays are the SAS (Serial Attached SCSI) connectors. If you work mostly with Desktop computers, like me, then you probably don’t know a lot about SAS. Needless to say, the Norco RPC-4220 uses 5 SFF-8087 Mini SAS connectors to interface with the 20 hard drives. I have not been able to find a single motherboard with 5 SFF-8087 SAS ports built-in, so you are going to need adapters. The most inexpensive adapter is a 4 to 1 cable that makes 4 SATA connectors into 1 SFF-8087 SAS connector. This is not ideal because it requires a motherboard, or motherboard and adapters, to have 20 SATA connectors, in addition there would be a giant mess of cables to deal with.

SAS ports

So how am I putting together my own system. I am using this case to built the “Ultimate” Windows Home Server. Since I already have a Windows Home Server that I built several years ago, I was hoping to reuse as much of the hardware as possible.

So the first thing I did was take everything out of my old case. Since I did not need to remove the CPU, I was able to leave it and the heatsink attached and carefully moved the whole motherboard to the RPC-4220 case.

Next I moved the power supply over. At this point I realized that the motherboard and power supply were switched in this case so the CPU plug was a lot closer. Also the power for the hard drives is on the same side of the case as the power supply, this made it so I did not have to stretch power cords all over the case.

The last thing to do is plug in the SAS connectors. Since this motherboard does not have any SAS connectors I had to use adapters. The adapters that I used are cables that turn 4 SATA ports into 1 SAS port. I got two of these cables because I also used a 4 port PCI card to give myself a total of 8 SATA ports. For now this will only give me two rows, or 8 drives, but I only have 7 hard drives for now. As I look to expand I am going to need more power and SAS plugs.

SAS Cables

SAS Cables

Another thing I did was replace the fans that cool the hard drives. The fans that were pre-installed in the case are extremely loud and were too much for me to handle. So I got some fans that are much quieter and I put them in. The case is far from silent, but it is much quieter and I don’t get a headache every time I go in that room.

Performance

So now that it is all put together what kind of performance do we get from the case? Since I am not going to be pushing a ton of data I am not particularly interested in the throughput of the hard drives. I am more interested in how loud it is and how cool the hard drives stay when in use.

To test the performance of the hard drives I put a large, 4 GB, file on each drive and then started a copy process to my desktop. My desktop has two drives that are in a RAID-0 configuration so it should be able to keep up with 4 simultaneous copies. As you can see from the image below, the hard drives were all putting out a fair amount of data, but they stayed relatively cool.

Speed and Temp

As far as sound goes, here are two audio files. The first one is with all the default fans installed and going. As you can hear it is quite loud. I found that I had to yell to talk to anyone that came in the room. The next file is after I replaced the 4 fans that cool the hard drives with smaller fans. The case is still loud, but it is now possible to carry on a conversion without yelling.

What about power usage? I was convinced that a server running this many hard drives would suck down electricity. Fortunately, I was wrong. As you can see from these images the power usage increased as I added drives, but even with 7 drives in the case the overall power usage stayed fairly low.

4 Hard Drives

7 Hard Drives

Warranty

The RPC-4220 comes with a 1 year warranty which covers parts and labor.  This really bothered me at first, but then I thought what could possibly go wrong with a case? Either it is in good condition when you get it, or it’s not. I really don’t think anyone is going to have problems with this case. The major point of failure will be the drive bays. However, you should not be opening and closing the drive bays very often. Once a drive is installed it should stay until it dies.

To get support for the case, Norco provides only an E-mail address. This is not my favorite form of contact because you don’t know if the E-mail was received or how long you need to wait for a response.

Conclusion

Overall I am really impressed with what Norco was able to do for a relatively small price. You can get the RPC-4220 at Newegg for only $350, but be prepared to pay a lot more to get it working correctly. The rolled edges in the case are nice, but they don’t go far enough. Some of the edges are still quite sharp and I ended up with at least two cuts to prove it. If you are looking for a case so you can build a huge data storage server than the RPC-4220 is the case you are looking for.

When the new MediaSmart Servers were released in December they came with many new features. I did a review of the MediaSmart EX487 just last month, and I was very impressed with all the features. However, I made several suggestions, including the ability to stream video, and expanding the remote desktop functionality. I am happy to say that at least one of my suggestions will make a showing in this update.

The feature I am referring to is the ability to stream video over the internet. To help facilitate this the HP MediaSmart update also adds the ability to convert almost any video to a mobile format, MPEG4 (H.264), that is easier to stream. The formats that can be converted are AVI (DivX, Xvid, MJPEG), MOV (MJPEG), DVR-MS (MPEG-2), MP4 (MPEG4), WMV and unprotected DVD VOB. A high resolution version, also MPEG4 (H.264), of the file is also kept and will be used when streaming to the local network. The Video converter runs at the lowest priority on the CPU so that it will not interfere with the Home Servers other duties.

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HP MediaSmart Server_Media Streamer_Video Tab.jpg

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In addition HP has developed an iPhone app called iStream. This app give you full access to your media library. The iStream app will be available through the iTunes App Store.

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One of the new features that is included in the original EX485/487 software is the ability to backup an Apple machine. This update includes an enhancement to the Apple Time Machine configuration. The enhancement includes the ability to change the size of the Time Machine backup volume, and delete it if you want.

Unfortunately, for users of the older EX475/478 MediaSmart servers this update is not compatible. I was told this is because those servers do not have enough processing power or memory to handle the additional load that streaming and converting video will place on the server.

So what exactly can this new hardware do? According to HP they were able to get 5 simultaneous streams using a Gigabit network connection without maxing out the CPU. Since none of us are going to get speeds like that over our Internet connection we probably won’t get that many streams. If you are using the iPhone HP recommends that you get connected via 3G or WiFi so the video is not choppy.

The last new feature has to do with the photo sharing app in the Home Server. The update gives users the ability to create private albums so that only authorized users can see your photos.

I am very excited about these updates. I only wish I hadn’t returned the MediaSmart EX487 so I could try them out. For those of you that do have a new MediaSmart I woud be very interested in your feedback. Please leave comments and let us know how they workout.

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PALO ALTO, Calif., April 13, 2009 – HP today announced the release of a software update for the HP MediaSmart Server (EX485/EX487 models), providing remote video streaming and video conversion of unprotected content.(1)

The new software enables the HP MediaSmart Server to automatically convert videos (including unprotected DVDs) into two resolutions. The original, high-resolution file will stream to most devices on a home network including PCs, Macs and gaming systems.(2)

The mobile resolution version of the video can be downloaded and played on popular mobile devices including the iPod touch, iPhone and PlayStationPortable (PSP).
The video converter will transcode most popular video formats into both high and mobile quality MPEG-4 (H.264) versions.

“This new feature will help eliminate the frustration people experience when attempting to stream their videos to connected devices in the home or remotely to their mobile devices,” said Jason Zajac, vice president and general manager, Worldwide Attach Group, HP.

In addition, owners of an iPod touch and iPhone can download a new HP MediaSmart Server iStream application(3) at no charge from the iTunes App Store, enabling them to stay connected to their digital media stored on the MediaSmart Server. Users can easily access their pictures, listen to their music collection and watch their favorite videos – all streamed directly to their mobile devices from their HP MediaSmart Server.

Other software enhancements include an improved mobile streaming user experience, a more robust HP Media Collector, an improved Apple Time Machine configuration, and the ability to create public and private albums in the Photo Viewer.
The HP MediaSmart Server, designed for use with both Microsoft Windows®-based and Mac computers, automatically organizes files across PCs and streams media across a home network and the Internet.(4)

Based on the Microsoft Windows Home Server platform, the HP MediaSmart Server EX485/EX487 shipped to customers in January. Acting as the heart of the home network, the MediaSmart Server is a central repository for automatically backing up and accessing digital photos, music, videos and documents from multiple computers on a home network.(5)

Pricing and availability

The software update will be available at no charge later this month as an automatic download to the HP MediaSmart Server (EX485/EX487 models).

Manufacturer’s suggested retail price for the HP MediaSmart Server EX485 with 750 gigabytes of hard disk storage is $599; the HP MediaSmart Server EX487 with 1.5 terabytes is $749.(6)

More information is available at www.hp.com/go/mediasmartserver.

About HP

HP, the world’s largest technology company, simplifies the technology experience for consumers and businesses with a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com/.

Note to editors: More news from HP, including links to RSS feeds, is available at http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/.

(1) Copy-protected files may not play properly.
(2) For Mac OS X 10.5 or later. Windows PC is required on the home network for server setup and Windows Home Server.
(3) Pending approval by iTunes App store.
(4) Internet access is required and not included.
(5)Wired or wireless home network required.
(6) Estimated U.S. retail prices. Actual prices may vary.

Features

• Easily and automatically backup and protect the content on your home PCs and Macs.
• Access your media from anywhere you use the Internet – across your home or across the world. You can even give your family and friends access.
• Enjoy an exceptionally small footprint with large capacity. It’s only 5.5″ (w) x 9.8″ (h) x 9.2″(d), but it’s designed to grow with you. Built-in hard disk drive bays and expansion ports increase storage capacity.
• The HP MediaSmart Server easily fits in your network supporting both wired and wireless PCs (via a wireless router) and requires a wired connection with broadband Internet for remote access.

Windows Home Server is all about backups. That is its main purpose and that is why you would buy it. In its original form, it could only be used with Windows Machines. That was not good enough for HP, so they worked with Apple to make it compatible with Macs and Time Machine.

An alternate use for the Home Server is to store all your media in one place. Having your media in one place has many benefits, one of those is being able to access that media from anywhere, including the internet.

The MediaSmart EX487 is extremely small. With dimensions of 5.5″ W x 9.8″ H x 9.2″ D it is about half the size of a desktop computer. It is small enough that you can keep it right on your desk or hide it away on a self, either way it is not going to take up a lot of space. Despite its small size it is extremely easy to expand. There are 4 internal drive bays, 4 USB ports, and an external SATA port. Using these the expansion possibilities are nearly unlimited.

The Mediasmart server can connect to your network with either an Ethernet or Wireless connection. Having built-in wireless gives you the most flexibility when deciding where to place it, you literally only need a power plug and a wireless connection and you can store the actual machine anywhere.

Design

As I mentioned above the MediaSmart EX487 is extremely small. It stands only 9.8″ tall, but it manages to get an entire computer with 4 hard drive bays packed in. The front has a single USB port, and if you open the door you see the 4 drive trays.

Front

Front Connector

Door open

The trays are easy to remove and it is easy to install a new hard drive. Everything is tool less and the trays snap right onto the hard drive and then slide nicely into the bay. The one thing you need to pay attention to is that each drive tray has a handle, and the handle is also a lock that makes it so the tray will not come out accidentally. To install the tray the handle needs to be in the up position when it is pushed into the drive bay, or else it will not go in all the way. Once it is pushed all the way in, the handle can be lowered to lock the tray into place. The handle must also be raised to remove the tray.

Drive tray out empty

Drive tray front

Drive tray out

Under the drive bays is a small grill that covers all the computer parts. There is a small lock at the top of the grill that, at first glance, seems like it locks the grill in place. It actually locks the bottom hard drive tray in place, but it doesn’t do a very good job because I was able to pull it out before I realized what it was for. The reason HP wants to lock in the bottom hard drive is because that is the system drive and should never be removed. There are two small screws on the right side of the grill that hold the grill in place. When the screws are removed the grill easily comes out so you can get to the parts that are inside.

Hardware

The rear of the MediaSmart EX487 server has 3 USB ports, an external SATA port, Ethernet port, power plug, and power button.

Back

Rear connectors

When turned on there are several lights that come on. Each one of the drive bays has its own light to indicate that a hard drive is installed. There are another 3 lights at the bottom that indicate power, network status, and network health.

Lights

Status lights

Performance

I already covered the Windows Home Server software in a different review, so I am going to skip all the basics and focus on the HP specific parts. If you want to know more about Windows Home Server basics I recommend that you read my other review.

The first part I was most interested in checking out was the Mac backups. I am not a big Mac user so having an easy setup process is very important to me and setting up and running the Mac backup software is simple. The same disk that installs the Windows connector also has the Mac software. The software that was installed consisted of the Control Center and the Time Machine interface. The unique thing about the Time Machine interface is that it allows the Home Server to be used as the backup Hard Drive. Previously, only a physically attached Hard Drive could be used with Time Machine. This meant that each computer needed its own drive. With the use of the HP MediaSmart EX487 Server every Mac on your network can use the same machine. During the setup process you can even specify how much space you want Time Machine to use up on the server, and each machine gets its own location to store its files. As Time Machine runs it will store all the backups at those locations and when they fill up it replaces the old backups with new ones. This is not quite as efficient with space as the Windows backups, but it is a huge improvement over the old way of doing Mac backups.

Mac Control Center

Mac Software Install 6

Mac Software Install 7

Now that we have covered the biggest feature lets check out the other upgrades that HP has added.

One of the new options is an off-site backup, which is powered by the Amazon S3 service. With this service you are able to back up the contents of the shared directories online. Even though Windows Home Server has built-in duplication it is still possible that something really bad could happen, like multiple drive failures, your house burns down, or the Home Server somehow gets launched out a 3rd story window. With off-site backup you are protected against data loss if anything happens. Because it costs money to have an Amazon S3 account I would probably only backup those things that could not be replaced, like photos. I would personally like to see HP partner up with a company like Carbonite, which also stores your files online, but unlike Amazon, Carbonite charges a flat fee, no matter how much data your store.

Server online backup

Server online backup – Account setup

Server online backup – Scheduling

HP also added a media collector. The media collector scans all the computers that are connected to the Server and copies all the media from each machine and stores them on the Server. This works great and is especially nice for sharing media among all computers. If you have the off-site backups setup then this helps to make sure that all your precious media files are backed up even if you forget to copy them to the server.

Media collector

Media collector general settings

Media collector music

TwonkyMedia is also an add-on that is included. With this software it is possible to stream music and pictures online so that you have access to them anywhere in the world. When  I asked HP about streaming videos they said the MediaSmart Server did not currently have that capability. However, there is a free Home Server add-on called WebGuide that will allow you to access and stream not only pictures and music, but also videos. It would be nice to see that add-on included rather than TwonkyMedia.

TwonkyMedia

Another HP add-on is the iTunes server. This allows iTunes to connect to the MediaSmart EX487 and play any of the media that is stored on it. This is another benefit to Mac owners because Windows Media Player already had this functionality built into Windows Home Server.

iTunes server

HP Photo Publisher is a quick and easy way to publish photos to one of many different online photo publishing services. If you like to share photos with friends and family this is a great and easy way to get those photos online for everyone to see.

HP photo publisher

The Remote Access feature is something that Windows Home Server already has built-in, but HP has added a new interface to it. Through this interface you can setup your server and routers so that you can access all the files on the server and also other computers that support remote desktop. I would like to see this expanded by either HP or Microsoft to support VNC or some other remote desktop software so that Macs and Linux machines can also benefit from the Remote Access functionality.

Remote access

The Server Summary screen is also an HP exclusive and it offers a quick look at many different parts of the server. This screen can quickly show you where there might be problems or anything that needs attention.

Server summary

Warranty and Support

The HP MediaSmart EX487 comes with a one-year limited warranty, with dedicated technical support from date of purchase via self-help, on-line documentation or phone. As far as I could tell the warranty cannot be upgraded.

Conclusion

I am really happy with what HP has built. It is really small, has great expandability and is not overly expensive. This is so much better than what I have built on my own and it has a lot more functionality. I would recommend this to anyone that is looking for a centralized backup and file sharing solution. I can easily give the HP MediaSmart EX487 Server my Editor’s choice award.

Even though I am giving the EX487 my editors choice award I recommend that you buy the EX485. The reason I recommend the EX485 is because you can save $150 and the only thing you are missing is one 750GB hard drive. Then you take that $150 and buy yourself a 1.5TB hard drive and you end up with twice as much space. The EX487 is available for $649.99 on either Newegg or Amazon, and the EX485 is about $499.99 at Newegg or Amazon.

PALO ALTO, Calif., Jan. 9, 2009 – HP today announced that the HP MediaSmart Server has been selected as a winner of Macworld’s annual “Best of Show” awards during the 2009 Macworld Conference and Expo in San Francisco.

The awards are given by Macworld editors to honor products that push the boundaries of innovation, quality and overall creativity.

Based on the Microsoft Windows® Home Server platform, the HP MediaSmart Server ex485/ex487 is a central repository for automatically backing up and accessing digital music, videos, photos and documents from multiple computers on a home network.(1)

The MediaSmart Server, designed for use with both Windows and Mac computers, automatically organizes files across all PCs, streams media across a home network and the Internet,(2) and publishes photos to popular social networking and photo sharing sites.

“This award acknowledges the need for a home server that supports both Mac and Windows computers,” said Allen Buckner, marketing manager, Home Server business, HP. “The HP MediaSmart Server combines features and innovations that are ideal in mixed environments, giving consumers a simple, flexible and protected way to enjoy and share their valuable personal data.”

Pricing and availability

Manufacturer’s suggested retail price for the HP MediaSmart Server ex485 with 750 gigabytes of hard disk storage is $599, while the HP MediaSmart Server ex487 with 1.5 terabytes is $749.(3)

The HP MediaSmart Server can be pre-ordered from Amazon.com, BestBuy.com, Buy.com, Frys.com, HPshopping.com and NewEgg.com; it is expected to ship in the U.S. in February.

More information is available at www.hp.com/go/mediasmartserver.

About HP

HP, the world’s largest technology company, simplifies the technology experience for consumers and businesses with a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com/.

HP MediaSmart Server centralizes digital media and files for backup, remote access, sharing and uploading to social media sites

PALO ALTO, Calif., Dec. 29, 2008 – HP today launched a home server designed for use with both Windows and Mac computers.

Based on the Microsoft Windows® Home Server platform, the HP MediaSmart Server ex485/ex487 is a central repository for automatically backing up and accessing digital music, videos, photos and documents from multiple computers on a home network.(1)

The MediaSmart Server automatically organizes files across all PCs, streams media across a home network and the Internet,(2) and publishes photos to popular social networking and photo sharing sites.

“A growing number of digital-savvy households have both Windows and Mac computers, with hundreds and sometimes thousands of media files and documents scattered across these devices,” said Jason Zajac, vice president of strategy, Worldwide Attach Group, HP. “The HP MediaSmart Server protects, stores and organizes this content from anywhere on a network so consumers can access and share it any place they are connected.”

“HP continues to innovate on the Windows Home Server platform giving consumers even more options to enjoy and protect their precious memories and valuable data,” said Charlie Kindel, general manager, Windows Server Solutions, Microsoft. “We believe consumers will embrace the new MediaSmart Server as one of the most exciting computing products for the home.”

MediaSmart Server ex485/ex487 features include:

• HP Media Collector: conveniently schedules the MediaSmart Server to copy and centralize digital files and libraries from networked PCs
• Media Streaming: remotely streams photos and music to any Internet-connected PC or Mac
• Server for iTunes: centralizes iTunes music libraries on the server for playback to any networked Mac or PC running iTunes
• HP Photo Publisher: easily upload photos to Facebook®, PicasaTM Web Albums and Snapfish(3)
• HP Photo Viewer: allows easy sharing of photos with friends and family
• PC Hard Drive Backup: backs up networked PCs via the Windows Home Server backup feature
• Mac Hard Drive Backup: backs up Macs running Leopard using Apple Time Machine software
• Server Backup: duplicates designated shared folders to a separate hard disk drive
• Online Backup: duplicates designated folders to Amazon’s S3 online backup service for an additional layer of protection
• Smart Power Management: can schedule times for server to go to “sleep” and “wake up,” saving on energy costs
• Processor: Intel® Celeron®, 2.0 GHz 64-bit. Two gigabytes (GB) of 800-MHz DDR2 DRAM now standard on MediaSmart Server
• Expandability: additional drives can be added for up to 9 terabytes (TB)

“Customers are always looking for the right mix of features and ease-of-use when choosing digital home products,” said Danielle Levitas, group vice president, consumer, broadband and digital marketplace at IDC. “HP’s focus and investment in software allows it to deliver a home server with compelling features for Mac and PC users while offering a great customer experience that helps simplify the complexity of the connected home. This unique offering will help expand the home server market.”

Pricing and availability

Manufacturer’s suggested retail price for the HP MediaSmart Server ex485 with 750 GB of hard disk storage is $599 while the HP MediaSmart Server ex487 with 1.5 TB is $749.(4)

The HP MediaSmart Server can be pre-ordered beginning on Jan. 5, 2009, from Amazon.com, BestBuy.com, Buy.com, Frys.com and NewEgg.com; it is expected to ship in February.

The first 200 consumers who visit HP Home & Home Office (www.hpshopping.com) or call +1 888 271 2982 between Jan. 5 – 11, 2009, to reserve a MediaSmart Server and use coupon code “AC5674″ will receive a $50 savings off their purchase.(5)

More information is available at www.hp.com/go/mediasmartserver.

About HP

HP, the world’s largest technology company, simplifies the technology experience for consumers and businesses with a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com/.

Note to editors: More news from HP, including links to RSS feeds, is available at www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/.

(1) Wired or wireless home network required.

(2) Internet access required and sold separately.

(3) Services are subject to change without notice and some services may not be available at time of product purchase.

(4) Estimated U.S. retail prices. Actual prices may vary.

(5) Valid for HP Home & Home Office (www.hpshopping.com) Internet and call center purchases only. Coupon valid on first 200 redemptions, or while supplies last. Any unused portion will be forfeited. Each coupon code is limited to one usage per customer; one coupon code per checkout. Offer void where prohibited, taxed or restricted by law. Non-transferable. Not valid retroactively on previously purchased items. Not valid for any resale activity as defined by HP Home & Home Office Store. Coupons may not be used to purchase gift cards. Not valid on instant rebates or clearance sales. May not be permitted with certain bundle offers. Not valid on: Academic and Employee purchase programs, HP Employee purchase program, Refurbished products, Extended Service Plans, Compaq Presario and HP Pavilion desktops with Intel Celeron or AMD Sempron processors or Compaq Presario CQ50Z customizable notebooks. For complete coupon conditions, see “Coupon Information” in the “Customer Service” section at www.hpshopping.com.

Windows is a U.S. registered trademark of Microsoft Corp. Apple and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.

This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. If such risks or uncertainties materialize or such assumptions prove incorrect, the results of HP and its consolidated subsidiaries could differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and assumptions. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including but not limited to statements of the plans, strategies and objectives of management for future operations; any statements concerning expected development, performance or market share relating to products and services; anticipated operational and financial results; any statements of expectation or belief; and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions include the execution and performance of contracts by HP and its customers, suppliers and partners; the achievement of expected results; and other risks that are described in HP’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended July 31, 2008 and HP’s other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to HP’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2007. HP assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.

After downloading the software to my Home Server I started it up. Everything went smoothly without any problems.

complete.jpg

I got warnings that all the connectors needed to be updated. This is a pain because they all have to be done manually.

network_health.jpg

The Connector software can be downloaded directly from your server.

connector_setup.jpg

A new feature will allow the connector to update automatically. This is great because as my network grows I don’t want to do this manually.

connector_setup_3.jpg

Another new feature lets you choose to have your computer wake up when it is time to backup. This is a great feature because you can save power by letting your computer go to sleep and then have it wake up for backups.

connector_setup_4.jpg

The version numbers changed.

version_new.jpg

version_old.jpg

Some of my add-ins stopped working, specifically the disk management add-in needs to be upgraded and the tab manager stopped working. I have since uninstalled both.

I am looking forware to trying out some of the new features and I will add a new post as I do. Let me know which new feature you are the most excited about.

The team is pleased to announce that Windows Home Server Power Pack 1 has been released to manufacturing (RTM) and is now available on the Microsoft Download Center!

The English version is available now and German, Spanish and French versions will be available on the Download Center soon. Windows Home Server customers who don’t download it on their own will receive Power Pack 1 via Windows Update in August, and the new Chinese and Japanese versions will RTM in August, too.

As many know, Power Pack 1 provides a range of new enhancements, including support for home computers running Windows Vista x64 editions, backup of home server Shared Folders, improvements to remote access, more efficient power consumption and better performance. And, of course, it delivers a fix for the data corruption bug. Documentation for Power Pack 1 (Build #1800, to those who have been part of the beta testing) is available here.

Our OEM partners will be updating their systems with Power Pack 1 and HP will release a software update for the HP MediaSmart Server, delivering enhanced media streaming capabilities from PacketVideo, server-side anti-virus from McAfee and compatibility with 64-bit home PCs.

Windows Home Server can now be purchased in 50 countries worldwide and a growing ecosystem of third-party software developers has released approximately 60 Add-in programs extending Windows Home Server’s capabilities. To help fuel this development we have updated the Windows Home Server software development kit for Power Pack 1, including new support for the client PC side, i.e. notifications to/from home computers.

We continue to hear fantastic feedback from our customers about how Home Server is helping them protect and organize their digital media, access it away from home, and share it with friends and family. Thank you to our beta testers and partners for helping us ship Power Pack 1, and to the Home Server community as a whole, for its ongoing support and enthusiasm.

Thomas Watson, former IBM chairman once said ‘I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.’ Because computers have become so cheap and easy to use, many people are getting more than one. This opens up many possibilities, but can also cause some problems. I personally have five computers in my house.

The five computers in my home consist of three desktops and two laptops. I have quite a few media files on my computers and keeping all of these files synced and current on each computer has probably been my biggest headache. I also have a TV tuner card in one of my computers and I record a lot of TV shows that family members using other computers want to view. Currently, to solve these problems I share folders on all of the computers so I can copy files back and forth. This solution is far from ideal because it is a pain to manually copy files between computers. Backing up all these computers is also a concern for me. I don’t want to lose any of my files if a hard drive crashes.

Windows Home Server should help to resolve some of these concerns because it will backup all my computers and make it possible to share files with all my computers from one location. I recently reviewed the hardware required to run Windows Home Server, this time I am going to review the software.

Design

Windows Home Server is built on top of Windows Server 2003 which is a very stable, but complicated operating system to work with. Windows Home Server is setup to be really easy to use because it hides all the difficult stuff and gives you a simple connector that you can use from any computer to manage the server.

Because I put together the hardware myself I had to install the software myself. The install process was not complicated, but it did require a lot of interaction. The first 10 screens all needed some kind of input. It took about five minutes to get to a part where the install process could go on by itself. After that it took about 30 minutes for the rest to complete. If you have nothing better to do during the install the screens that are unattended display tips and facts about the operating system for your reading enjoyment. I have 25 screen shots showing the install process. If you are interested in seeing them all you can go to the image image gallery

After the install and during the first startup you are prompted for a couple other bits of information. You have to choose a password, update method, customer improvement program, and error reporting. When you are done Windows Home Server will start and you are done with the setup. In fact, you are done with interacting with this computer all together. You can detach the keyboard, mouse and monitor. From here on out you will need to use the connector software that gets installed on the client machines. In fact, if you try to use the server directly you are presented with a warning. However, if for some reason you need to interact directly with the operating system you can always access it with remote desktop.

Home Server First Start

Home Server First Start 2

Home Server First Start 3

Home Server First Start 4

Home Server First Start 5

Home Server Warning

Installing the connector software is really easy. When you first start the connector software it will connect to the server and then check for a newer version of the connector and try to install it if there is one. This process failed for me. So instead, the server downloaded the software and put it in the software shared folder. I had to go out to that folder and install it on my own. After this I had to type in my password so that the connector could connect to the server and setup the initial backup process.

Connector Setup 2

Connector Setup 3

Connector Setup 4

Connector Setup 5

Connector Setup 6

Connector Setup 7

Once the setup is complete you can finally use the connector to connect to the server and start setting up your system. There will be a taskbar icon that you can use to startup the connector. Double clicking the icon opens up the login window and right clicking it will display a few other options. Keep in mind also that you can only be using the connector from one computer at a time. If you try to use it from two computers, the first one will get kicked off.

Taskbar

Connector Login

Taskbar right click

Console Conflict

The first screen that you see when you log in is the computers screen. This screen shows all the computers that are connected to the sever and their status. You can connect up to 10 computers to the server by installing the connector software on each computer. A computer that has the software installed and is currently connected to the server will show up with a color icon and black text. A computer that is not connected will show up greyed out. This screen is also where you will setup and view backups for each computer. You can setup a backup by selecting a computer and then choosing configure backup. You will then be guided through several steps for setting up a backup. The wizard will detect all the hard drives on each computer and you can unselect each one that you do not want backed up. The wizard will then show you which types of files will not be backed up. After that you are shown a summary of what will be backed up and an estimate of how much space will be used. After that you are finished, and the backups will run every night during the backup time that you set in the settings screens.

Computers & Backup

Backup Configuration Wizard 1

Backup Configuration Wizard 3

Backup Configuration Wizard 4

Backup Configuration Wizard 5

The next tab over is the User tab. This is where, you can set up user accounts and give those accounts access to shared folders. The easiest way to set up an account is to use a username and password that is the same as the one you use on your client computers. If you do this then you will not have to log into the server when you use the shared folders. This is a bit of a time saver, and if you have multiple computers that have the same username on them, then you only have to set up one account for all of the computers. If you do set up an account with the same username, but you choose a different password, the connector will prompt you to either change the password on the computer or on the WHS account. If you choose to change the password there is a really easy to use wizard that will do it for you.

Add user

Add user 3

Add user 4

Passwords 2

Passwords 3

Passwords 4

Next is the Shared folders tab. This is where you can setup new shared folders and see which folders you have setup. You also setup which folders have duplication turned on. Duplication is the process that Windows Home Server uses to make sure your files are protected against hard drive failure. If you have more than one hard drive in the server and you have duplication turned on then WHS will make sure that there is a copy of the duplicated files on two different physical drives. This way if one of them fails, then the other one will still have your files. There are five folders that are created for you during the install. These are Music, Photos, Public, Software, and Videos. A folder is also created for each user account that you setup. By default duplication is turned on for all of them. In the screen below you can see that I turned off duplication for Videos and Software. Duplication does use up more space, so choose wisely which folders you want to duplicate. For example, if you have 100 GB of video and you want it duplicated your video folder will take up 200 GB of space. Another thing I discovered is that if your system fails and want to get at the data on the drives you can easily put one in another computer an access it like a normal disk. If the disks had been put in a stripped RAID this would not be possible.

Server Storage

Next is the Storage tab. Here you can see each of the disks that you have in the machine, and on the right you can see a pie chart and a list below it of how much space is used by the server. As you can see from the image below I have not run any backups, so there is no space used by them yet. You will also notice a small Windows symbol by one of the hard drives, this lets you know which one has the system partition on it.

The last tab is Network Health. This will open a new window that shows any alerts that may affect the network stability. The only reason you would ever have to click on this is if it is a color other than green. A yellow color indicates a warning or minor problem and a red color indicated an error or major problem. For example, if one of your machines has gone for several days without getting backed up then you will get a warning and the network health tab will turn yellow. When there are new updates for the computer you will see a red tab and it will be marked critical. In addition, if you have any Vista machines connected to the server this tab will display the health of those machines. Things like antivirus and firewall errors will be displayed here. You can also disable any of the errors. Clicking the check box next to the error will prevent it from notifying you or changing the color of the Network Health tab. The events will still be logged, but they will show up with a grey color that indicates they are disabled.

Network Health

Network Health 2

Network Health 3

Computer status

Then to the far right is the settings button. This opens a new window to all the settings that you have access to. Starting at the top you have the General, Backup, Passwords, Media Sharing, Remote Access, Add-ins, and Resource.

The General settings consists of date and time, update, customer experience, and error reporting. Updating Windows Home Server is done automatically, but if you click the button it will do a manual update which works just like the normal Windows update.

Settings General

Home Server Update

The Backup section is where you can set the backup time, how long backups are kept, and a button at the bottom where you can run the cleanup. By default, the length to keep is set to three for daily, weekly and monthly backups. If you want to keep your backups longer then you can change any of these numbers, but it will also take up more space. Also, since cleanup is only run on Sundays, the daily backups will always have a week of backups before they are cleaned up.

Settings Backup

In the Password section you can change the system password, and set the strength of passwords that accounts require.

Settings Password

Media sharing is where you get to choose if each folder is streamed to other computers. Streaming is useful if you want to use Windows Vista Media Player to access your music without navigating out to the folders. Streaming also overrides any permission settings you have setup for your folder. If a folder is streamed everyone has access to its contents.

Settings Media Sharing

Remote access is where you setup a website where you can access all your computers and shared folders. I will talk about this more later.

Settings Remote-access

Add-ins is where you get to install other programs that can be used to expand the usefulness of Windows Home Server.

Settings Add-ins

The last settings option is Resources. This shows the motherboard, processor, and memory that is installed. You can also see the version of the software you are using.

Settings Resources

Performance

Performance for a server comes down to whether it fulfills its tasks or not. With Windows Home Server extreme speed is not that important. Most of what it does is done at night, so even if it takes a long time, you will most likely not notice. I have been using Windows Home Server for about a month now and I have not had any trouble.

The backup process has worked just as I hoped it would. Every night it backs up all the computers that are connected to the network. I was curious about how much space backing up all my computers would take. I have four computers connected to WHS and you can see from the screen shots below the four computers together hold about 434.30 GB worth of information. You would naturally think that at least the first backup would take up almost the full amount of space on the server. When I saw the actual space that it used I was really surprised by how efficient WHS is with storage space. I took screen shots of the storage before and after a full backup of each computer. As you can see instead of taking up 434.30 GB of space it actually only took up 191 GB. I was also pleased that backups even worked when a computer is in sleep mode. The connector software wakes up the computer and when it is done it will go back to sleep. It would be nice if WHS could also boot up a computer that was off, run the backup, and then shut off the computer when it was done.

Computer Backup 1

Computer Backup 2

Computer Backup 3

Computer Backup 4

Server Storage

Server Storage after backup

I did a little more research on how Windows Home Server manages its backups and I found that instead of storing each computers files separately it skips files that are the same on more than one computer. For example, if you have more than one computer running Windows Vista, WHS will only backup one of the operating systems, this is also true for MP3s and any other types of files. There will be differences between the operating systems and these are also backed up on the cluster level. This means if you have two files that are only slightly different it does not have to backup all of both files it only backs up the differences. This explanation was taken off the Windows Forum, “Windows Home Server maintains ‘database’ of all of the unique clusters across the home PCs that are being backed up, and then keeps track of which PC had which cluster for a given date/time. It also keeps track of some other stuff to be able to do a full restore of a PC from this ‘database’. NTFS disks are required since the PC Backup technologies rely on Volume Shadow copy Services (VSS) for taking a ‘snapshot’ of each hard drive to enable the system to determine what clusters have changed from a previous point in time (the last backup).”

If you happen to be using your computer when a backup starts you have the option to postpone it. The backup process only backs up one computer at a time so if you choose that option Windows Home Server will move on to the next computer and come back to this one when it is done. If you let it go you will see a progress bar that lets you see how the backup is progressing. If backup is working on another computer you can log onto the connector and see a progress bar that shows the status of the other computers backup.

Local Backup postpone

Local Backup

Computer Backup Remote View

Restoring a backup is easy. You can either do a full restore, in which case you will need the restore CD, or a partial restore in which case you go on the Computers and Backup screen, and select any of the computers to view all the backups. As time progresses, backups will be cleaned up as they get old and are replaced with new ones. You can choose how long to keep backups in the settings screen we talked about above. This screen also shows you how much space each backup is using and how long the backup took to run. You can also lock a backup, which means it will never be deleted. You will notice that the first backup that ran will probably have taken longest to run and the rest will take quite a bit less time.

All Backups

Backup details

Backup details 2

Open Backup

Backup files

Doing a full restore requires the use of the Restore CD. If your hard drive has crashed, Windows has become corrupt, or you just want to revert back to an older version, all you need to do is boot to the Restore CD and follow the instructions. I have included a few screen shots of the process, and you can see more by going to the gallery. A couple of screens that I want to point out are the detect hardware, disk management and error recovery. On the detect hardware screen it lists the network and storage devices it has found. If it does not list anything under network, then you will have to install some drivers — otherwise it will not be able to connect to the Windows Home Server to get your backup. It did not see my wireless connection, but it did find my ethernet connection, so I did not have to load any drivers. The storage devices are the same. If you are using a RAID or something that requires special drivers you will have to load them here before continuing. The Disk management screen will give you some simple options when it comes to managing your disks before you restore the backup. Last is the error recovery screen, I got this after completing the restore. I thought it was a bit odd, but after selecting a normal boot everything was just fine.

Full restore 4

Full restore 7

Full restore 8

Full restore 10

Full restore 11

Full restore 16

Some of you may ask how is this different than an online backup or other backup utility. First, because it is not off-site it is much quicker, it provides a history of backups so you can go back to when you first setup your computer and retrieve files, and third if your hard drive crashes or gets formatted you just need to put in the restore disk and you can restore the entire system right from the server. Most other backup systems require you to manually install the operating system and then you can get at the backed up files. One thing an off-site backup provides is extra protection against hardware failure. If your house burns down you will lose everything, but if it is stored at another location you will be secure knowing that your files are safe. Because of this I recommend you use both WHS and an off-site backup. There are many available online and some that will work directly with Windows Home Sever to keep your files safe. Carbonite is an online backup program that gives you unlimited space for only $49.99 a year. This is an exceptional deal especially considering how much space you are going to use up with Home Server and all the backups.

Sharing media also worked well, as long as I used a program that accepts streams from the Microsoft media connect technology. Windows Media player is one of those programs, but only on Vista. I had no trouble choosing to have Windows Media player search the network for media servers. Once it found a server it allowed me to play all the media that is shared. I noticed that it was a little slow when using a wired connection, and even more slow when using a wireless connection. The fact that this only works with Media player when it is on Vista is a bit disappointing. In addition, media sharing does not work at all with Media Center, even though Microsoft is pushing it as the media hub for each computer. I could not even get it to see my shared folders to watch recorded TV that is stored on the WHS. Even if Microsoft did not support this from the beginning, I would think that if they are really trying to push this platform, they would make it possible for any of their operating systems, and even other operating systems to be able to access the servers content in the most convenient way possible. I can only hope that Media center and Media player will be upgraded to support this functionality. Otherwise it just looks like a lame way to promote upgrading to Vista.

Media sharing 1

Media sharing 2

Media sharing 3

Beyond sharing media you can also setup shared folders and then give special permissions to any of the users on your network. In addition to sharing with local computers you can also setup a website where you can share your files online. The website is only accessible to users on the server, so if you want to share files with friends you can set up an account for them. Keep in mind that you are only allowed 10 accounts, so use them wisely. Another part of the website is being able to access remote desktop for any of the computers that are connected to the server, including the Home Server itself. Each computer needs to have an operating system that supports remote access. For example, as you can see in the screen shot below I have a laptop and a desktop that are running Vista Home Premium and those operating systems do not allow inbound remote desktop connections. This is very disappointing because it is one of the main features Microsoft is advertising. It would be nice if when you installed the connector software it would enable this functionality. Connecting to the Server itself gives you full access to the connector interface which will allow you to fully manage your server while you are away from home. I also ran into a couple of problems when trying to use the remote access ability from the web. The most glaring problem is the reduced functionality that non-IE users get. Non-IE users only have access to the Shared folders.

Settings Remote-access

Router configure

Set up domain name 2

Set up domain name 3

Website 1

Website computers

Website computers remote

Website shared 1

Website shared 2

Website Server 1

Website Server 3

Website Firefox

Add-ins are great. They are a really good way to get added functionality and tailor Windows Home Server to meet your exact needs. Most of the add-ins are free and you can find them all over the Internet. I chose a couple that I thought would be interesting to try. If they are programmed correctly they can be installed and managed directly from the connector. Some, however, need to be installed from the operating system. To do this you would have to remote desktop into the server. As you can see when I installed the add-ins they added two new tabs across the top. This gives you access to each add-ins functionality.

Settings Add-ins

Settings Add-ins 2

Settings add-ins install

add-in_tabs

After having the Home server for a while you may discover that you have used up all your storage space. Fortunately, adding additional storage is really easy. As you can see from the screen shots below I added a 250 GB external drive and it only took about 5 minutes. Immediately after plugging in the drive it showed up as a Non Storage Hard Drive. When I clicked on it I got the option to add it to the storage pool. After following the short wizard it was added and you can see that my storage space was increased. To remove the drive you again click on it and choose remove. The wizard is brief, but the process of removing it takes a bit longer depending on how much data you have on the drive. This is the drive I had just added, so it did not have much, if any, data on it, but it still took about 15 minutes to remove the drive. I could only imagine it would take hours if you had a large drive all filled up. The reason it takes so long is WHS has to copy all the data to other drives. If you don’t have enough space you will probably get an error and it may not let you remove the drive before you add in another one first. I was not able to test this because I don’t have that much data on my server.

Add storage 1

Add storage 2

Add storage 7

Remove storage 1

Remove storage 4

Remove storage 5

One problem that I ran into while using WHS was with running out of memory on my Vista machines. You may ask how does Windows Home Server affect Vista’s memory usage, but this is a known issue and it happens when you copy lots of files on Vista. Apparently Vista has a limit of 16,383 copies and then it needs a reboot. Windows Home Server causes this because it copies so many files during a backup. The backup can easily exceed 16,383 copies in a night, especially your first backup. To fix this I would just reboot my Vista machine each morning and it would be good for the rest of the day. According to this forum other programs can also cause this behavior. However, an out of memory error is not enough to keep me from using WHS. I will wait for a fix from Microsoft.

Warranty and Support

Because this is an OEM product you are not going to get any support if you build your own server. If you buy one from a reseller you will have to go back to them for support. So far I have had no reason to need support, except for an occasional question which I can easily get answered by going to one of the many forums that are dedicated to Window Home Server.

Conclusion

I am really happy with this new operating system. It has become an integral part of my home network. Even if it just did backups I would be happy. Backups are something that we all need done, but we never take the time to do it. Windows Home Server makes this really easy, by doing it automatically. The media sharing leaves a lot to be desired, I really want to be able to stream media to my Media Center PC and to my XP machines. Also, if Microsoft would enable inbound remote desktop connections for all computers that have the connector software installed that would make this program complete. Many people I know already have a lot of this functionality by using a NAS, file server and online email or document programs, but because they have several devices and several programs they use, it requires a lot more time to manage. Home server wraps up all of this into a nice and very easy to manage package that I think is excellent. As of the writing of this review you can preorder Windows Home Servers on the Amazon website for as little as $569 and I strongly recommend that you do.

Many of you may not know it, but about a month ago Microsoft released a new operating system. The name of the operating system is Windows Home Server (WHS) and it is built on the back of Windows Server 2003. The resaon you may not have heard about it is because it is an OEM only operating system. Currently you cannot buy it unless it is installed on a computer. Because there are no computers currently being sold with this operating system installed, am forced to build my own. In this article I will be going over the hardware required to successfully run Windows Home Server.

The hardware requirements for Windows Home server are really basic, so it is really easy to find parts and put together a machine without spending a lot of money. The Microsoft website indicates the minimum hardware requirements for Windows Home Server are a 1GHz Pentium III with 512MB of RAM. The recommended hardware is exactly the same except they recommend a Pentium 4, AMD x64 or newer CPU.

Probably more important than CPU or memory is going to be storage space. The minimum recommended is 70 GB, but you are going to want more if you plan on backing up multiple computers or sharing lots of media files. If you are really strapped for money you can start out small and add more hard drives as your needs and budget grow.

For my system I went slightly above the minimum and recommended specs. I did this because I know a new version will come out eventually and it will probably have higher requirements. I want to reuse this hardware when that happens, so I tried to anticipate what a newer version would require.

For my CPU I chose a 2.0GHz Intel Celeron 440. This processor runs both 32 and 64 bit code. This will be useful as the industry transitions into a 64 bit world. It is also a very low power processor so I don’t have to worry about my electricity bill going through the roof.

CPU

For RAM I installed 1 GB of Kingston ValueRAM, this doubles the recommended amount so it should be good for an upgrade or two.

RAM

Because I have several computers that I will backup, and I want to be able to share media and pictures with other computers, I wanted to get a large capacity hard drive. Since 1 TB drives are really expensive I went with two 500 GB drives. They will be a good starting point for this server and I can always add more later. The Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3500630AS is what I chose because it is fast and provides lots of storage.

Hard Drives

Design

Besides how powerful and fast this server will be, I was also concerned with how big and hot this server was going to be, and how much power it would use. This server is going to have to sit in my office and take up space, so I wanted it to be as small as possible. I went with a Micro-ATX platform because it offers a smaller design, but is not really expensive. I could have gone even smaller and chosen a Mini-ITX design, but the parts are often more expensive and the small size of the cases prevents future expandability.

The case I purchased is the Cooler Master Centurion 541. This case is smaller than a mid-tower, but still offers space for two hard drives, two 5.25″ drives and two 3.5″ drives. There is also support for a single 120mm fan in the front and two 80mm fans in the back, but as I will show later you may not need any case fans.

Case

Case Side

Case Rear

Because I didn’t use a very powerful processor and WHS doesn’t need a graphics or a sound card, a big power supply is not required. I chose a 330 watt power supply because I wanted to keep this computer as low on power usage as possible. The Seasonic S12 330 watt power supply is 80% efficient and it provides more than enough power for my needs.

Power Supply

A DVD drive will be needed, but only because the software comes on a DVD. If you buy a pre-built Windows Home Server machine it will most likely not come with a DVD drive. After the software is installed the DVD drive would not be required and it could be removed. I chose a very basic DVD drive. LITE-ON LH-20A1S has writing capabilities, but they won’t be needed. You could save about $15 if you bought a DVD player without writing capabilities.

DVD

The motherboard is a very basic one. It obviously had to fit the Micro-ATX case, but I also wanted it to have several other features. I chose the Gigabyte GA-945GCMX-S2 because it fits all my requirements. This motherboard has four 3Gb/s Serial ATA ports, one ATA100 port, four USB 2.0 ports, onboard Gigabit LAN, onboard 8 channel audio, and an Integrated Intel Graphic Media Accelerator 950. You will never use the onboard audio, and after the initial install you will never use the video controller again. With the four Serial ATA ports and the ATA100 port you can have up to six hard drives. This provides for a lot of expandability.

Motherboard

Motherboard

Putting it all together

Putting together a computer has become a lot easier recently. As I will demonstrate it is simply a matter of putting all the pieces together.

When putting a computer together you want to start with the case. Remove everything from the case that may get in the way, we can put it all back later. In my case the only thing I removed is the hard drive cage.

Case Empty

Remove drive bay

The next step is to put the motherboard in the case. Before you do this you need to check out the kind of heatsink you have. If it requires you to attach stuff to the back of the motherboard you will need to do that first. Luckily for me I used the stock heatsink and it does not require extra attachments on the back. Attaching the motherboard to the case is really easy to do. You just set it in the case, line up the holes on the motherboard with the holes in the case and put in the screws. When you are lining it up make sure your motherboard connectors all fit in the cases back panel. Mine did not, so I had to replace the back panel with the one that came with the motherboard.

Install Motherboard

Next, I attached the processor. This is probably the easiest step and is very difficult to mess up. With Intel chips you no longer have to worry about bending pins or putting it in the wrong way. First, there are no pins on the chip, and there are tabs on the processor and on the CPU slot on the motherboard that make it so the CPU won’t fit unless they are aligned correctly. This motherboard has an easy to use lever with a lid that holds the CPU in place. To open the lid you simply and carefully lift the lever and then lift the lid. There is a small plastic cover that needs to be removed from the lid and then the CPU is put in place. You then lower the lid and push down the lever. The lever will be a little more difficult to lower because the CPU is in the slot, but it should not be difficult. If you find that the lever is difficult to lower then you may want to recheck your CPU and make sure it is firmly in place.

CPU socket

CPU socket lid open

CPU secured

After the CPU is installed you will need to install the heatsink and fan. The processor I bought came with a heatsink. This heatsink is very simple to install and it already had thermal wax applied to the bottom. I choose to remove the wax and apply a high quality thermal grease. This is really easy to do, you simply take a razor blade and carefully remove the wax. Then clean the heatsink and processor with some high-purity isopropyl alcohol and a lint free cloth. For a lint free cloth I use coffee filters because they are really cheap. After they are clean you only need to apply a small amount of grease to the top of the CPU. There is no need to spread the grease around because the pressure of the heatsink will do that for you. To install the heatsink that came with the processor you simply place it on top of the CPU and press down on each of the posts. You will hear them click as you do and this means they are securing to the motherboard. After you have pressed down all four posts you should give the heatsink a little turn, just a couple of degrees each direction. This will help eliminate any air bubbles in the grease and test the heatsinks connection to the motherboard. It should not be loose at all and should be hard to move.

Thermal grease applied

Heatsink installed

The case cables are the next thing to be installed. These cables are for the front panel lights, power and reset buttons and the USB and audio ports on the front. Again, because you will never use the audio you can choose to not install these. Attaching the lights, power and reset buttons can be tricky because the connectors are so small. You just need to be patient and make sure you refer to the manual to make sure you are connecting the correct plugs to the correct pins.

Case cables installed

The next thing I installed is the Power Supply. This is also really easy to do. You simply need to fit it into place in the top back of the case and line up the holes from the case and the power supply. At this point I did not attach the power to anything yet. I did this because the cables can get in the way for the next steps.

PSU installed

I put in the DVD drive next. The case makes installing drives very easy with the toolless design. To make things easier on you I recommend that you attach the power and Serial ATA connectors to the DVD drive before you put it in the case. Then you simply need to slide the drive into the front of the case, line up the holes in the drive with the tabs in the drive bay, and then slide the plastic fastener to the left and push the lock down to secure it in place. I then attached the serial ATA cable to the motherboard.

DVD installed

DVD connected

Putting the hard drives in is the next step. If you didn’t remove the hard drive bay in the first step then you should remove it now. Installing the hard drives is simply a matter of attaching the rails and then sliding them into the bay. One thing that surprised me is that the drives do not go into the bay the same direction. One drive goes in facing up and the other faces down. This makes it so the plugs for each drive are on opposite sides and they do not get in each others way. After I put in both drives I put the bay back in place and then attached the power cables and Serial ATA cables.

Hard drive rails

Hard Drives in bay

Hard Drives Installed

We’re almost done now. The last two things to do are put in the memory and then attach the power cables. Each of these are equally easy to do. The memory will only go in one direction. There is a small tab in the memory module that will line up with a tab in the memory connector. Then you press down. You have to make sure you press down hard and equally apply pressure on the memory. You will know it is secure when the locks on each side click into place. Now there are just two power cables that need to be attached to the motherboard. The big one on the left is for overall motherboard power and the small one at the bottom is for the CPU power.

After this you will want to plug it in and test it before you put the side back on. The only problem I encountered was that I put the hard drive light plug in upside down, this made the light stay on all the time.

Performance

At this point there are not a lot of performance tests we can run, but I wanted to point out how cool the CPU is running. This CPU is running at 23°C. As a reference, my main computer that I just installed a water cooler on runs at about 50°C. This CPU runs so cool in this computer that the heatsink fan does not even turn on. The BIOS screen shows the fan running at 559 RPM, but when I look at the fan it just sits there and twitches.

CPU temp

Because the computer is running so cool I probably don’t need any fans. I put in a single 80mm fan on the back of the case, but could easily remove it and not suffer any consequences.

One other test I wanted to perform is to see how much power the computer uses. I attached a Kill A Watt EZ. This simple device reports the real time power usage of anything that is plugged into it. As you can see from the picture the computer is using about 55 watts when sitting at the BIOS screen. I consider this to be good because my main computer uses about 100 watts.

Power usage low

I don’t have a sound meter, but I can tell you that I have a hard time hearing this computer. It is extremely quiet, and the only two fans turning are the Power Supplie’s 120mm fan and 80mm rear case fan.

Warranty and Support

The warranty is non-existent, except where each part has a warranty. It is up to you the builder to make sure you buy parts that have manufacturer warranties.

Conclusion

I am really happy with what I have built because it is completely silent and running so cool it does not need any fans. As always, you can easily search around for parts for your own computer, but for you convenience I will provide links to shops that sell the parts I bought. The entire system I put together only cost me $596.07 and that includes shipping. Here is a list of all the parts I bought:

Hard Drive:

2 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3500630AS $239.98

Case:

COOLER MASTER Centurion 541 RC-541-SKN1 $49.99

Motherboard:

GIGABYTE GA-945GCMX-S2 $56.99

Power Supply:

SeaSonic S12 II SS-330GB $59.99

DVD:

LITE-ON LH-20A1S $31.99

Fan:

2 x Antec 75008 80mm Case Fan $23.98

RAM:

Kingston ValueRAM 1GB KVR667D2N5K2/1G $35.99

CPU:

Intel Celeron 440 BX80557440 $65.99