HP Mediasmart EX495 and Windows Home Server Part 1 – Introduction
I have been a Microsoft Windows Home Server User for a little more than 2 years. In that time, the vast majority of my experience has been centered on the Mediasmart line of servers from HP. I started with EX470 – the lowest end system that HP ever offered, equipped with an AMD Sempron 1.8 GHz, 512 MB of RAM and a lowly 500 GB hard drive. I recently replaced that box with the highest end in the line, the EX495 which features a Pentium Dual Core 2.5 GHz processor, 2 GB of RAM and a 1.5 TB hard disk drive (to which I added two 2 TB drives).
The Home Server platform is quite possibly Microsoft’s most underrated consumer products with the possible exception of the Zune HD. As with the Zune, ask the average consumer if they’ve even heard of it. Chances are that they have not and even if you take the time to explain what it is, you are still likely to get a blank stare.
One of the reasons for this is that Microsoft’s basic Windows Home Server product is simply not all that compelling. It is built on a modified version of Small Business Server 2003 making its code base about seven years old – in fact, it is only two years newer than Windows XP, a product that Microsoft is desperate to convince you is obsolete. The basic home server really does two things well – first of all, it provides a centralized network attached hard disk that enables you to store all of your files in one place and access them from anywhere on your home network. While this may sound like nothing more than a glorified Network Attached Storage device, the Home Server does add one nice feature – it makes it very easy for the average user to make use of redundant storage. What do I mean by that? Well, put simply, Home Server can be configured so that the files on each of its network shares are actually stored on two different hard drives (assuming that you have more than one drive in your Home Server). This prevents you from losing your files in the event of a hard disk crash.
What makes the Home Server rather special is that this ability to “mirror” your files onto more than one hard drive requires almost no configuration on the part of the user. In the old days you would be messing with things like RAID arrays, drivers, etc. Not so with Home Server – you simply install more than one drive and then use the very user-friendly home server software to configure your network shares as either mirrored or not. The Home Server takes care of the rest of the work of finding space on a second drive for the mirror and writing a second copy of the files to it.
The second thing that the stock home server does very well is that it automatically backs up up to 10 computers (PC only) in your household. When you configure your Home Server, you have the option to install what is called a “connector” onto each of your computers. Any system with the connector installed can be configured for automatic backup. This can prove to be a big boon in the event that the hard drive on your local computer dies. You files would be safely on the Home Server and can be recovered at your leisure.
The basic problem that the Home Server faces though is that this stock behavior is simply not all that interesting. One can simply purchase an external hard drive to handle backup, and its easy enough to buy a hard drive that connects to the network if you want to centralize your storage (which you may or may not want to do). Sure, the Home Server is extensible with various applications that can be installed to expand the features, but by and large, many of these add-ins have been created by and for geeks and have little appeal to the broader segment of the population.
So, how to remedy this? Well, among the makers of the Windows Home Server products, HP has really gone to the front of the line in adding features and functionality that make the Home Server product far more interesting than what Microsoft’s stock offering affords. HP launched with one of the very first Home Server products (the aforementioned EX470) three years ago and has since refreshed the line twice – first with the 480 series and now with the 490. Each line has contained two different model numbers (EX470, EX475, EX480, EX485, etc.), with the difference being the size and number of hard drives offered. With the 490 series, HP has gone one step farther. Not only does the 495 contain a larger hard drive than the 490, it also replaces the 2.2 GHz Celeron with a Dual Core 2.5 GHz Pentium. Why a more powerful processor is a big deal will be something that I address in Part 2.
In addition to HP’s phenomenal packaging, they have spent a fair amount of time on the software bundle. A Windows Home Server from HP adds a number of enhancements not found on a stock Windows Home Server including a DLNA-compliant Media Server and Apple Mac Support featuring the ability for a Mac to see the Home Server as a Time Machine backup target. The HP Server also offers a “Media Collector” function in which it will automatically scan any computer that has the “connector” software installed (both PCs and Macs) and pull down Audio, Video, and Photo files for centralized storage and backup.
While Windows Home Server itself might not be particularly compelling, when it is offered with HP’s well-thought out package, it becomes a very interesting choice worthy of consideration as part of your home media solution.
In Part 2 of this post, I’ll get into some of the practical things that I’m doing with mine.
EX495, Home Server, MediaSmart, Windows Home Server