Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Windows Home Server, 19 April 2008
Windows Home Server is aimed at anybody with 2 or more PCs in a home network. It basically allows you to do three things:
1. Backup all your PCs
2. Act as a central repository of files
3. Allow you to access your files remotely
With minor tweaking it can also act as a printer server and host websites - it is absurdly simply to set up websites with your photos on them using a freely available addin.
Over the years I've tried various strategies for backing up and trying to remotely access files - all with little success. My experience with a WD MyBook World Edition was disappointing to say the least as the system was cumbersome, unreliable and the hard drive packed it in 18 months after purchase.
However, I've been using Windows Home Server for 3 months or so and I've found it to be reliable and by far the most effective solution to the problem of regular back-ups and central storage.
There are two ways to approach this - by a server with WHS installed or build your own system with this OEM version.
My suggestion (and what I did) is get the evaluation version of WHS. This gives you 120 days to experiment. Get some old hardware (the specs are low so almost anything will do), put together a system and give it a try.
If it works for you, then perhaps get some more up to date hardware and the OEM version and give it a go.
There has been alot of discussion about the 'corruption' bug which can cause a loss of data. I haven't had a problem and my understanding is that this is only a problem with multi-drive systems. So, I've just gone with one 750GB drive for the moment. When the problem is hopefully fixed in a month or two, I'll add more storage then.
There is no doubt that this is early days for WHS and there are some issues around but I haven't found a simpler, more flexible and reliable solution yet.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Released too early, 12 April 2008
Prima facie this is a brilliant idea. You have a headless fire and forget box somewhere in your home that backs all your PCs up, and lets you stream media from it, and work off it (much as a server at work would do).
Sadly this was let into the wild before it was ready. There are several glitches. If you directly edit files from any of several programmes (including Outlook) your data on the server can be corrupted. There is no 64 bit support, so if you have Vista/XP 64 bit, this is a waste of time for you, it wont work. It is VERY slow in copying as it duplicates and balances things all over the place. I thought it was my network at first, but no. Oh, you can't back the server up either to DVD or whatever, so if your house floods you are back where you would have been anyway.
A sign of how beta this release is happens with the boot screen - it's Windows Server 2003. In short, its all a bit rushed and amateur looking. Rumour has it that Power Pack 1 (due out in the spring initially) would add 64 bit functionality, and server backup, as well as make some cosmetic changes (like the boot screen). MS put this on hold, and won't release it until the data corruption bug is fixed. That's a baffling decision as that bug can be worked around (don't work off the server) 64 bit functionality can't. It's more baffling, as MS asked if it should be released without the data corruption bug fix on the forums, to a resounding YES only to decide to wait until "June". "June" may be 1 June, may be 30th, or could even be June 2009. In short - for the moment avoid this. When PowerPack One is out (assuming it works) buy it then.
Oh, as with all MS stuff the manual is, er, missing. Get another book to help you out, like the Andrew Edney one (ISBN 978-1-59059-898-6).
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7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Home Server...Wait till the new version comes out!, 18 Feb 2008
This is a product that Microsoft have released too early. It is full of bugs (check the forums) and it is fundamentally flawed. I bought it thinking it would simplify my digital lifestyle needs and found it to be nothing but disappointing. The file transfer speeds are abysmal due to the new clustering technology, and that includes internal data transfers. The files do not like to be amended once they are in there. If you do alter them from certain programs you wcan end up with data corruption. Remote access didn't work correctly either though it may have eventually but after 3 weeks of messing around with corrupted files and slow data transfers I'd lost the will to take it any further. It's also worth noting that there is no way of backing the server itself up! That apparently comes with the Power Pack in spring.
I set up gigabit nics, gigabit switch, new 500gb 7200rpm drives and it was unbelievably slow. I have a good degree of computer knowledge at my disposal but it simply isn't enough to sort out what are essentailly Microsoft development issue. Given that this product is aimed at the home user I would suggest that there are massive problems out there for those with limited knowledge of networks and PC's.
There is a power pack available in spring 2008 but it'll have to be some update to sort out all the flaws in this piece of software.
In summary, nice theory, terrible execution. Mine has now duly been returned for a full refund on the basis that it simply doesn't do what it says on the tin.
Buy it at your own risk. You have been warned.
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