Windows Home Server

[Moatmonster]

G'day All,

I have an old box running a AMD processor with 2 gigs of mem, I'm thinking of using it
as a server using Windows Home Server software.It will mainly be used for central storage and backing up photos, music and other general crap.

My questions are, has anybody had any experience with Win Home Server and if you have, your thoughts on the program .
My other question is, could i run a copy of BF2 off it running a co-op server??-I have had a pretty good look around this forum and others but can't find any info in regards to running games with WHS.

Thanks in advance

[Midknyte]

It is not meant to be a game server. It was designed for file storage, media sharing, and backups, NOT to replace a full blown server. You'd normally run it headless from a remote console.

http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/whs_preview.asp

[Moatmonster]

Thanks for the quick reply Midkynte, yeah, i read that review previously, that's what got me thinking about converting the old box to a server. From all indications it actually sounds like a fairly simple and good server option.

[ThreeOnTheTree]

WHS is pretty nice, as I've tried the Release candidate. Basically, it's as Midknyte says, it's more for backups and file storage, which it does extremely well. System requirements are minimal, as I ran it on a P3 1.0ghz with just 512mb of RAM. Install took a while, but once it was up and running, it ran great and was typically limited by your LAN speed.

[Burnt Powder]

One thing that amazes me is WHS has SIS (single instance storage) enabled for the backup feature.

SIS in the big world for file servers cannot be had unless you buy a server from an OEM with Windows Storage Server on it. WSS is built on top of 2003/2003 x64 and you cannot just buy it from MS.......OEM only.

I am working on implementing DFSR on WSS in our 30,000 user environment and we have major problems with users having files, copies of those files, and copies of those files all over the place. With SIS only version is stored.

[Steve R Jones]

As stated above.....

Windows Home Server Is Coming Soon

In late 2007, you will be able to buy a device powered by Windows Home Server from a variety of retailers, in local stores, or online outlets. You can even purchase a custom Windows Home Server device from a PC builder.

Windows Home Server will be available as a tightly integrated hardware and software solution, designed and produced in different configurations by a variety of manufacturers.

Check back soon for more details on how and where to buy, and for the opportunity to pre-order a Windows Home Server for your home.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/windowshomeserver/buy.mspx

I think it's pretty cool. Been running RC1 for a couple of months..Maybe it'll get released someday as a Retail product....

[ThreeOnTheTree]

I hear it has, and it retails for $190 a copy. A bit steep for the functionality, but I'm sure some will enjoy it.

[Tuttle]

It's out just about everywhere except the US as far as I can tell. :) Been available here for a month or two now.

In terms of what you can run on WHS, you get a 20 GB C: drive (fixed size), so there's not a lot of room to install stuff. The rest of the storage you have managed by the WHS Disk Extender all appears as D:, and playing with that through Explorer (or in fact anything other than the WHS-exposed shares) is a Bad Idea.

I think you can add an additional formatted drive after installing WHS and have it turn up with its own letter; you could probably install stuff on that. It won't be accessible to clients through the WHS-managed shares though. I haven't actually tried that so don't rely on it, but I reckon it could be done.

In terms of what software you can run, it's a fairly un-neutered copy of Windows Server 2003 for Small Business Server. You can't go joining it to a domain or making it a domain controller without breaking things badly, but game servers etc should run fine.

[Steve R Jones]

The stand alone RC1 I installed required at least an 80 gig drive.

(some of us will be able to purchase a copy through MS for $35.00 USD)