Home Server

[Rusty]

Right then guys and gals, a question for those with the know.

I think I am going to take the plunge and go for a small home server.

I don't really know what I need hardware or software wise but have read some good reviews about the HP ProLiant Turion II N40L MicroServer running Windows Home Server 2011.  I only really need something to centrally store pics, films, music etc but we also have an accounts package which needs a running PC to be accessible remotely. 

What would you all recommend?  As usual the price needs to be sensible.

Thanks in advance for any constructive help (you all know what I mean  )

[jaynana]

i use an Xtreamer Sidewinder, after much consideration incl recommendations from a few ppl here.

streams full HD to your tv, connects through fibre optics to your sound amp. can play from internal SATA hard disk or from USB. connects wifi to local devices to copy files. it also runs a NAS, FTP and a web server as well.

mine's the smallest of the range cos i wanted to try it out (bought second hand on ebay). i quiet like this actually and am thinking of upgrading. depending on your needs you can go for bigger devices with multiple hard disks plus even RAID etc i guess..

[X5Sport]

Fully living up to my 'Geek' heritage I have two servers running WHS2011....one factory built (Tranquil - not recommended I'm afraid to say) and one self built.

They're high end systems with i7 processors and 8GB RAM in order to convert Blu-ray etc in real time.  All the PCs are backed up and can be recovered to the last backup in under an hour.

They also stream Full HD over the network and hold copies of all our discs.  There are utilities that allow conversion of standard movies to iPad/iPhone/Andoid etc etc for putting on tablets.  Great for travelling etc.

Remote use works, but needs Windows 7 to work fully.  Not certain if Vista is usable for remote access.  You will need to change firewall settings etc and may need to set up a domain name as well (it's available as a utility inside WHS2011 when setting up).  Up to 10 user accounts can be created.  If your ISP gives you a fixed IP address then there are ways around needing a domain name.

If streaming over the web remember you need a decent outbound link speed from home or it takes forever!  ADSL2 (512kb) is too slow to stream video sensibly.  It also eats data limits quickly.....especially HD video!

Richard

[Rusty]

Thank you guys.

Even more to think about.

Doesn't PVR dabble in this kind of thing?


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[snipez999]

I was contemplating going home server when our new place is built later this year.  Off to the States in the Summer so was thinking I would go Apple and buy a couple of Macbooks and a server over there to save a few bob.  Will have Cat 7 cable throughout so doubtless could do some HD streaming etc(?)  But is Apple the way to go?

[X5Sport]

CAT7 more than adequate, but why to you need 100GB/s?  That's data centre infrastructure type speed.  CAT6 is all you need for home use and most PCs etc only run on 1GB/s anyway.

Apple is fine if you want to work behind a 'walled garden'.  There is more out there for Home Servers based on Windows OS (its based on Server 2008R2), or even Linux than on MAC Server.  Very much personal preference though....and deep pockets.

......and yes pvr does dabble a bit.

Richard

[snipez999]

Yeah yeah yeah typo

[Rusty]

[quote="X5Sport"]

......and yes pvr does dabble a bit.

Richard
[/quote]

Now, are you sure you meant dabble or dribble?


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[535dboy]

[quote="X5Sport"]



......and yes pvr does dabble a bit.

Richard
[/quote]

Yeah but have you seen his house and cars, he won't come cheap!

[keith333]

How about a simple 1TB NAS drive?  I have a Buffalo which is connected to my router by cable and streams HD TV to my media centre wirelessly.  Acts as a backup for all other PCs in the house.

The media centre powers my TV and I can RDP (Remote desktop protocol) to it from inside the house or from anywhere with an internet connection.  So my personal PC is separate from my work laptop.