Windows Home Server Project
Posted by: John The GeekAbout a year ago I saw an announcement that Microsoft was soon to launch an operating system called Windows Home Server. I was immediately intrigued because I’d been wanting a way to centralize my file storage so that I could keep all my data in one place and access it from any of my computers without having to have copies of everything on all the machines.
I discovered that WHS provided that and much more. Here’s a short list of its capabilities:
- Central shared file storage
- Automatic backup of all computers attached to it
- Remote access via the Internet
- Media streaming to compatible devices on the network
- Sharing of photos and videos with family and friends right from the server
I decided this was an ideal solution to my problem. My original plan was to purchase the software and convert my old desktop machine into a Home Server. This turned out to be a problem, however, when Windows Home Server was suddenly backordered and not available for quite a long time.
I eventually gave up and purchased an HP MediaSmart Server which comes with Windows Home Server. This was actually a better solution as the MediaSmart Server has four drive bays while my desktop machine only has two.
The HP box came with a 500GB hard drive already installed. Since my desktop machine has a total of 415GB of disk in it, I knew I’d need more disk capacity in the server. I purchased a 1TB internal hard drive to install in it. I already have three external USB 500GB drives which I can add to the server via its USB ports, if I choose to.
I set the server up last weekend and got it running. I installed the Windows Home Server client software on my desktop machine first in order to get the server configured and the software updated. This was very easy to do and went quite smoothly.
Next, I installed the Windows Home Server connector on my laptop. Now I can administer the server from either machine and transfer files to the server and access the files from both machines.
The only glitch I’ve encountered so far is that the desktop machine refuses to backup to the server. The C: drive in the desktop machine apparently has some errors on it and Windows Home Server won’t back up the disk with errors. I’m still working on getting the errors cleared up so the server can back up the desktop automatically. Stay tuned for further developments on that situation.
I still need to enable remote access, get the extra hard drives installed, and get the rest of my data files transferred to the server. Once all that’s done, I will get the desktop and laptop set up to backup automatically to the server every night. I’ll post more on those activities as they happen.
I’ve also found a blog dedicated to Windows Home Server users: http://www.wegotserved.co.uk
So far, I’m happy with my server setup. If you have a lot of data and several computers that all need to access it, you’ll want to seriously consider a solution like this.
One Response to “Windows Home Server Project”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Recommended!
May 22nd, 2009 at 2:48 pm
[...] As I mentioned about 8 months ago, I purchased an HP MediaSmart Server with the intention of making it the hub of my home network. It’s been a bit of an interesting ride, so I thought I’d bring you up to date on that project. [...]