Home Server

cuppajoe

Need some home server advice.

Am gigabit networked w/ various laptops, pc's, media centre, and NAS'.

Found three 'home servers' that I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with them or can add any suggestions?

Thanks

1. Acer Aspire EasyStore
Atom 230 1.6 GHz (315 benchmark)
4 bays (6TB max)
2GB RAM
1 x eSATA
1 x LAN (10/100/1000)
5 x USB 2.0
OS: Windows Home Server

2.HP ProLiant MicroServer
Athlon II Neo N36L 1.3GHz (835 benchmark)
4 bays (?TB max)
1GB RAM (8GB max)
1 x eSATA
1 x LAN (10/100/1000)
6 x USB 2.0
OS: None
Optional: Remote Access card add'l £62
Feburary Promo £100 cashback

3. HP StorageWorks Data Vault X510
Intel Pentium E5200 2.5 GHz (1660 benchmark)
4 bays (?TB max)
2GB RAM
1 x eSATA
1 x LAN (10/100/1000)
4 x USB 2.0
OS: Windows Home Server
February Promo £95 cashback

Phillh_2

I use Windows Home Server myself and find it a good product.
I suggest you head over to a site called WeGotServed . com.
They have some good hands on reviews of the servers you've found and have a really active user forum.

BackOnTrack

Do you just want a 'cool' home network setup or do you actually need a server?

cuppajoe

BackOnTrack wrote: »

Do you just want a 'cool' home network setup or do you actually need a server?

Ideally, would like something that can take care of all back-ups, share files securely outside of network and remote access to network from overseas.

All of those tasks can be done independently, but feel a server can take care of all of them a lot easier.

Phillh_2

cuppajoe, Windows Home Server can do all of that and a bit more through the use of add in's. Those are the reasons I use it at home myself.
However, the current version of WHS is based around Windows Server 2003 so it is a bit long in the tooth but it is due to be replaced this year with Windows Home Server 2011 which is based on Server 2008.
The new version shows some promise with regards to web based media streaming but some of the best features from the original have been dropped, mainly the Drive Extender technology which meant that all drives showed up as one disk so folder shares needed practically no maintenance and folder duplication was built in. Now to achieve duplication you would need to use RAID.
Personally, for me, WHS is a brilliant product but be aware that HP has dropped the product so support will dwindle rapidly once they have sold through their stock.

jinx_uk_98

cuppajoe wrote: »

Ideally, would like something that can take care of all back-ups, share files securely outside of network and remote access to network from overseas.

All of those tasks can be done independently, but feel a server can take care of all of them a lot easier.

have you thought about using a service like dropbox? It's a small price to pay but a hell of a lot easier and does everything you need.

cuppajoe

jinx_uk_98 wrote: »

have you thought about using a service like dropbox? It's a small price to pay but a hell of a lot easier and does everything you need.

Yeah looked at all the cloud based storage services, but gets pricey for unlimited storage. (Photos already at 60GB) Plus upload throttling becomes an issue with a lot of these services.

CoolHotCold

Not thought about building your own?

Its what i'm doing, (combined Media/Home Server) to handle backups and a centralised distribution system. about £150 (sans HDD's)

jinx_uk_98

cuppajoe wrote: »

Ideally, would like something that can take care of all back-ups, share files securely outside of network and remote access to network from overseas.

All of those tasks can be done independently, but feel a server can take care of all of them a lot easier.

have you thought about using a service like dropbox? It's a small price to pay but a hell of a lot easier and does everything you need.

spud17

Do it yourself.

http://mylinuxramblings.wordpress.com/2010/08/13/freenas-network-attached-server-part-1-installation/

cuppajoe

spud17 wrote: »

Do it yourself.

http://mylinuxramblings.wordpress.com/2010/08/13/freenas-network-attached-server-part-1-installation/

Yeah, was looking at Ubuntu Server and think that it might be the path I'll go down.