Microsoft is stepping away from the traditional home server like those being offered by Infrant/NetGear, IOMega, Buffalo, and others. The pack is attempting to offer the SOHO environment a smaller version of the enterprise servers we're used to having at the office, but never quite getting there. Heck, I've had conversations with other editors on how Microsoft should have put in kiddie/parental controls, email filtering, and a wash list of advanced features. What I'm suggesting is that you take a step back and look at this from a different point of view:
“With Windows Home Server, Microsoft and its partners are launching a new category
of consumer products that will make it much easier for people to connect to their
digital content and share experiences with friends and family, no matter where they are.”
-Bill Gates
Key to just how well this product will play is how the Home Server team ran a programming contest as the beta program drew to a close. A wide assortment of entrants leveraged the Home Server API set with the top dog producing a plug-in that will accept a .ZIP file of digital photos and once received will unpack, create thumbnails and automagically post to the user's home server web site. Here are a couple useful links to read about the other entrants, and what other users are doing with their Home Server.
Hey folks, if you're looking for a home version of Windows Server 2008, take a deep breath and shake it off. This isn't Server2008 Home Edition, and if you even try to squint at it sideways to make it look like Server 2kxxx it's just going to make you mad. This is grandma's server to backup her and dad's workstations, post the latest pictures of the grandkids, and let granny get access to her scrapbooking stuff from Edna's place. Not to mention that the turnkey versions from HP and a herd of others all tend towards sipping at the power meter.
Another key feature is getting away from expensive pieces like RAID by having you click on important folders which are then duplicated on another disk. This way the hardware stays simpler, lowering cost of purchase and cost of repairs.
*NOTE: Pictures from Windows Home Server presentation by Todd Headrick and Joel Burt of Microsoft
My favorite feature is the backup and restore (bare metal no less):
*NOTE: Pictures from Windows Home Server presentation by Todd Headrick and Joel Burt of Microsoft
Notice that the system will monitor the health of key folders with a green orb... status at a glance through color changes.
*NOTE: Pictures from Windows Home Server presentation by Todd Headrick and Joel Burt of Microsoft
Again, this isn't Windows Server 2008!!! Notice things revolve around content. Heck, you don't even need drive letters anymore.
So get it from folks like HP or roll your own with the Enthusiasts version that will install on almost any modern desktop computer. You can even download a 120day evaluation version that will bootup and setup one of your old desktops. So while activation keys upgrades aren't available (aka you can't just drop in an activation key like in Vista or Win2kX), you can drop in a full licensed copy over the eval and tell it to leave the data drives alone. So not quite seamless, but not bad.
Posted by Brian Chee on December 12, 2007 07:40 PM
