Windows Home Server opinion plz.............

[rob123]

i will be setting up a home server probably over the holidays. windows server seems the greatest thing since sliced bread ( if the hype is to be believed ). plus i believe there has been a recent price drop.

thought i would drop in here to see if anyone has had any experience with this product.

cheers and thx


rob123

[JD]

Are you building your own or buying a pre-built one?

The software itself runs on Windows Server 2003 so it's got a pretty solid base. The Home Server software is rather straight forward and simple though I only used it briefly.

I don't believe you get much (if any) access to Windows Server 2003 itself. Everything is done using the Home Server program.

[rob123]

i'll build my own.
i have an msi p965 motherboard with a e6300 core 2 duo and a couple of gigs of ram just sitting in a box. i'll throw in an 8800gt and a power supply and off i go.


about the software. maybe i am wrong about something. i thought the only thing i would need is Microsoft Home Server. why would i need access to server 2003?


cheers and thx

rob123

[sswilson]

Most of the reviews I've seen have been positive, but what functionality are you looking for? It could be there's a plug & play linux distro out there that will suit your needs.

[JD]

Originally Posted by rob123

i'll build my own.
i have an msi p965 motherboard with a e6300 core 2 duo and a couple of gigs of ram just sitting in a box. i'll throw in an 8800gt and a power supply and off i go.


about the software. maybe i am wrong about something. i thought the only thing i would need is Microsoft Home Server. why would i need access to server 2003?


cheers and thx

rob123

Well you probably wouldn't need access to Server 2003 but I just thought I'd give you some background on it.

And personally that's way overpowered. You definitely do not need a 8800GT in something where you basically will never have a monitor connected to it since the whole interface is web based or you could Remote Desktop into it I guess.

[rob123]

ii want a server to be able to hold all my files. i want anyone on the internal netwaork to be able to access them at any time from any of the other computers (6) in the house. i would also like it to be able to have a print server as well. it would also be nice for it to be relatively simple. all the ads have said that the microsoft system is just that.

about the video card. i do have an old ati 9800 pro 128 meg laying around. maybe i'll try that and save the 8800gt for another time.


SS Wilson, hows things?

cheers

rob123

[death_hawk]

Why oh why did they leave out WSUS?

[JD]

Originally Posted by rob123

ii want a server to be able to hold all my files. i want anyone on the internal netwaork to be able to access them at any time from any of the other computers (6) in the house. i would also like it to be able to have a print server as well. it would also be nice for it to be relatively simple. all the ads have said that the microsoft system is just that.

about the video card. i do have an old ati 9800 pro 128 meg laying around. maybe i'll try that and save the 8800gt for another time.


SS Wilson, hows things?

cheers

rob123

You could just use XP (assuming you own it already) and then it would be a no-cost solution. Up to you though.

[kingnubian]

Originally Posted by jdrom17

You could just use XP (assuming you own it already) and then it would be a no-cost solution. Up to you though.

Have to agree with this statement. Unless you are going to do much more with your Server than what you've described, XP will do fine.

As for the hardware itself, a home sever does not need to be a beast at all. I have always run my servers, Linux based, headless (No monitor conected.). In fact I usually don't have a GUI available on the server box anyways. For the longest time I was running a home server , using linux based SME Server , with a P2 300 256Mb based PC!

Here are the specs of my new home server that I should have finished by this week.

Intel D945GCLF2 (Atom 330) Motherboard
1gig 667Mhz Ram
2x Samsung F1 750gig Hard Drives
Ubuntu Server 8.10

Webmin will be used to remotely administer the server.

Tasks will include:

File server
FTP Server
Web Server (Jumla ect.)


& whatever else I can dream up.

[rob123]

i do own 5 copies of xp home. all are in use on the computers we have. to be legal, i will either have to buy a copy of xp home or home server. right now i believe the home server is cheaper or nearly so.

i hear it is easy to set up too.

cheers


rob123