Windows Home Server – Easy Enough For Anyone? [Tech Rest]
Based on my experience: YES!
For several months I have been beta testing Windows Home Server (WHS). It seemed to be a product with a lot of promise but I wondered if Microsoft would make it easy enough for the average person to install.
Well, thanks to great service from NewEgg, I got my copy of the OEM version on Friday. So, Saturday morning, I was ready to install it.
With Paul Thurott’s Screen Shots pulled up on my laptop for comfort, I got started.
How hard was it? Scout’s honor, the hardest part was putting in the product ID. With the package, you get one DVD for the server install, one CD for the clients installs, and one CD to restore a client image from backup. So, put the DVD in and turn your machine on. After that you enter a couple of things like language preference and geographic location, click next a few times, it starts to crank away. It ran for about an hour and fifteen minutes, copying files, configuring, and rebooting before showing the welcome screen (my server is a two year old machine with an Athlon processor and 512MB of RAM). I did not have to manually reboot even once! Wow. The server install worked without any problems.
I then put the CD in for the client install. The installation was quick and easy. I installed a total of 5 clients including 2 Vista Laptops and 3 XP Desktops.
How long did it take? As stated above the server install took about an hour and fifteen minutes. Each client install took between 5 and 10 minutes. Keep in mind though some of this was my own paranoia. I rebooted and turned off all non-essential software before installing the client. In addition, I moved some data from my old server, installed a printer and a scanner on the server, and set up each of the clients to access the network printer. All told: less than 3 hours start to finish.
Why was I so impressed? For one, I had to do absolutely no troubleshooting or tweaking to make it work. Also, I didn’t have to answer any “technical” questions. In fact, I hardly had to give any input during the install. WHS just detected my network settings and configured itself and my router as necessary. This is pretty amazing considering how complex networking can be.
Why would you want one? For now, it’s the best home backup solution available. If you want to rest easier at night knowing that all your machines are backed up, you can’t go wrong with WHS. Another big plus, is that if you have machines that use Windows XP Pro, Vista Business, or Vista Ultimate, you can access any of those machines remotely. In addition, anyone who has a login can login remotely and get to files that are on the server.
What does the future hold? I believe Microsoft intends for this box to become the single computing appliance for your home. Future plans include adding media sharing and streaming and home automation. What I would love to see is something that combined adds TIVO, AppleTV, and SlingBox capabilities to the current features. That would be really sweet.
Should you buy one now or wait? If you have multiple PCs and a Broadband connection, you may want to buy one now. That is, if you have a box to put it on (only the software is available for now so you have to dedicate a machine to be the server. On the other hand, you may want to wait to buy a box with Windows Home Server already installed. There should be several to choose from this holiday season.
How about you? Would you buy one? If you already have, what has been your experience?
Original post here: Craig Huggart
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