Windows home server

[modestninja]

I'm looking for something to handle backup up my computers, store/stream my music, video and pictures (I have an HTPC hooked up to my TV so it doesn't need to do the video processing) and a few other miscellaneous tasks like bittorent, print server and possibly allowing me remote access from work and/or use it as a proxy. It'll be sitting on my home wired gigabit network.

I'd like to have a small, quiet, reliable box that will hold at least 4 drives and not consume much power. I started looking at some of the NASes from QNAP, Synology and Netgear but to get those requirements you're looking $500+ dollars. I came across these WHS and they seem to do everything I need while being more powerful than the NASes I looked at. Here are the ones that have piqued my interest:

HP X310:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...D=3332167&SID=

+ Lower price than Acer below for the same processor.
+ Less power consumption than EX485
- Aimed at the business market for less media features.
- CPU can't be upgraded (at least not without a ton of work).


Acer Aspire Easystore AH342 (or AH341 or AH340 if the amount of processing power is irrelevant):
http://www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-ea...3837994&sr=8-1

+ More storage than X310 standard.
+ More media features than X310.
+ Less power consumption than EX485
- Higher price.
- CPU can't be upgraded (at least not without a ton of work).


HP EX490 MediaSmart:
http://www.amazon.com/EX490-Mediasmart-Home-Server-Black/dp/B002N8A0A2

+ Upgradable proc.
+ More powerful proc.
+ Plenty of media features
- More expensive than X310.
- More power consumption than atom based systems.


I also looked at building my own box, but I can't find any case that small that holds as many drives.

A few questions, anything I missed with the pros/cons above? Do I need more CPU power than a dual core atom for anything I'm doing? Can you buy a case like the HPs or Acers by itself? Do the missing media features from the X310 matter? If so, are there plugins for WHS that could get them for me anyway?

Thanks in advance!

 

[RebateMonger]

I own or manage about ten Windows Home Servers. None have more than 512 GB of memory and most run on Celerons or Atoms. All are used for home or small business computer backups. For what you are doing, I'd choose the $350 HP.

I've got several HP 475 boxes out there and they've been 100% trouble-free so far. The oldest is about two years old now.

You really can't build a "nice" Windows Home Server that holds four disks for less than that $350 price. The small cases available on the market don't hold four disks and the lowest-power Atom motherboards don't have four SATA connectors.

Let's say you look hard:
$50 for CPU and motherboard
$50 for case and power supply
$50 for hard drive
$50 for memory
$100 for WHS software

You are at $300 and you likely still don't have as nice a server.

 

[DivideBYZero]

I put 2Gb of RAM in my WHS. I'm not sure why, as it would run fine in 1Gb (checked mem usage and it's at 700Mb). I did buy a nice cheap dual core celeron to run it all on, though.

As for drives, it's not a big deal for me as I have 2Tb in 1Tb disks. Most of the storage is backups, then Music, then personal files/pics etc., so it doesn't use up much. Even after backing up three systems on a regular basis it's still got ~1.2Tb free.

 

[modestninja]

I own or manage about ten Windows Home Servers. None have more than 512 GB of memory and most run on Celerons or Atoms. All are used for home or small business computer backups. For what you are doing, I'd choose the $350 HP.

I've got several HP 475 boxes out there and they've been 100% trouble-free so far. The oldest is about two years old now.

You really can't build a "nice" Windows Home Server that holds four disks for less than that $350 price. The small cases available on the market don't hold four disks and the lowest-power Atom motherboards don't have four SATA connectors.

Let's say you look hard:
$50 for CPU and motherboard
$50 for case and power supply
$50 for hard drive
$50 for memory
$100 for WHS software

You are at $300 and you likely still don't have as nice a server.

Well, I do have some ddr2 memory sitting around so I wouldn't have that cost, but I'm not about to spend the time to custom make a case for this so it sounds like build my own is out unless I was willing to go to a bigger case (which I'm probably not).

So for what I'm planning to do, the dual-core atom is enough CPU?

 

[Homerboy]

Well, I do have some ddr2 memory sitting around so I wouldn't have that cost, but I'm not about to spend the time to custom make a case for this so it sounds like build my own is out unless I was willing to go to a bigger case (which I'm probably not).

So for what I'm planning to do, the dual-core atom is enough CPU?

More than enough.
I had a WHS running for years on a AMD1700+ and then a 3000+ and 512MB (it is now on a Opteron 170 w/ 2GB)
The only reason I upgraded to the Opteron was due to the fact that I have my WHS running a fair amount of 3rd party programs (including XBMC... I can not figure out a working remote for this setup....ugh!), inconjunction with it's normal WHS duties.

Dual core Atom will do you just fine. Welcome to the wonderful world of WHS!

 

[boomhower]

I have an easystore H340 and absolutely freaking love the thing. I have mine populated with the stock drive, plus two 1.5Tb seagates, and a 2tb WD. Another big plus of the Acer over the others is the PCI X slot for add-on cards. Personally I can see adding more E-SATA slots but a video card is also an option if you would be so inclined, I find RDC more than sufficient.

 

[Davidh373]

Get the first one. It's the cheapest. I just build a 1.5TB server with a Sempron for $320. I don't think that will be much different. I'll give you the list for the fun of it anyway. I was planning to use freenas in place of WHS, which has the same features if you take the 10 min. to look up and watch tutorials.

Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-222-_-Product

PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-222-_-Product

CPU/ Mobo Combo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.500376

RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-240-_-Product

Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-175-_-Product

$328.42

 

[modestninja]

Just when I'd basically decided on the x310, you guys make me second guess.

I have an easystore H340 and absolutely freaking love the thing. I have mine populated with the stock drive, plus two 1.5Tb seagates, and a 2tb WD. Another big plus of the Acer over the others is the PCI X slot for add-on cards. Personally I can see adding more E-SATA slots but a video card is also an option if you would be so inclined, I find RDC more than sufficient.

What kind of card can you fit in there? Having seen pictures it's hard to imagine something fitting in that tiny case. Anyway, I hadn't seen that until you'd pointed it out, so thanks. I kind of like that if there's an issue with the server I can pop a PCI E video card in there to find out what's going on...

Get the first one. It's the cheapest. I just build a 1.5TB server with a Sempron for $320. I don't think that will be much different. I'll give you the list for the fun of it anyway. I was planning to use freenas in place of WHS, which has the same features if you take the 10 min. to look up and watch tutorials.

Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-222-_-Product

PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-222-_-Product

CPU/ Mobo Combo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.500376

RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-240-_-Product

Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-175-_-Product

$328.42

I like that case, but it might be too big for wife approval, although the nice aluminum look might appease her. Given that I already have memory, if I went FreeNAS I'd be under what I'd be paying for the x310 or H342 and if I didn't like it, I could always purchase WHS and not be too far off. I'll see what she says about the case. Thanks!

 

[Davidh373]

I'll see what she says about the case. Thanks!

It's not too much bigger than the HP if I'm not mistaken. It may have a larger base but it isn't as tall.

They have a nicer looking 3 drive version. It's the same size and it's more expensive (puts you over the cheapest HP). It's what I ordered, but I got close to building with the older 2 bay to save some cash.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811112279

 

[zerogear]

I have the EX495 w/ upgraded CPU (E8400). I measured it the wattage use vs my old H340 (which I loved, but needed more power, so I upgraded -- although H340 still transcodes 720p for me, just takes a few seconds longer) it H340 was about 56-64w on idle with 4 drives (WD Greens), and my EX495 with 4 drives is about 70w-75w, just FYI. So if you do need something more powerful, without taking much more power usage, you might want to opt for the EX4xx series.

Although one thing of importance. EX48x series' eSATA port does _not_ support port multiplier, therefore you can only connect one extra drive. While the EX47x and EX49x supports port multipler. Not sure about the HP X310, but Acer H340 also supports port multiplier. Might be important if you're thinking of expanding beyond 4 drives.

 

[modestninja]

I have the EX495 w/ upgraded CPU (E8400). I measured it the wattage use vs my old H340 (which I loved, but needed more power, so I upgraded -- although H340 still transcodes 720p for me, just takes a few seconds longer) it H340 was about 56-64w on idle with 4 drives (WD Greens), and my EX495 with 4 drives is about 70w-75w, just FYI. So if you do need something more powerful, without taking much more power usage, you might want to opt for the EX4xx series.

Although one thing of importance. EX48x series' eSATA port does _not_ support port multiplier, therefore you can only connect one extra drive. While the EX47x and EX49x supports port multipler. Not sure about the HP X310, but Acer H340 also supports port multiplier. Might be important if you're thinking of expanding beyond 4 drives.

According to the reviews out there the X310's eSATA port is port multiplier aware. When I first posted, I had the EX485, but meant to link to the EX490. I just edited the OP to reflect that...

One question that I have, is since I have an HTPC in my living room with plenty of processing power, I should be able to map to the WHS and play a 720p or 1080p encoded file from there and the decoding would occur on the HTPC side, not the server. The WHS would just be serving the data for the file, right?

 

[rudder]

How much storage do you think you need? Is 2Tb not enough? If you really want small consider just two 3.5" drives and a 2.5" for the OS. I have three drives in this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811108189

Of course I went the cheap route on got the atom mobo with only two sata connections, but I added a sata card for the two 3.5" drives.

 

[Homerboy]

According to the reviews out there the X310's eSATA port is port multiplier aware. When I first posted, I had the EX485, but meant to link to the EX490. I just edited the OP to reflect that...

One question that I have, is since I have an HTPC in my living room with plenty of processing power, I should be able to map to the WHS and play a 720p or 1080p encoded file from there and the decoding would occur on the HTPC side, not the server. The WHS would just be serving the data for the file, right?

correct.
Works flawlessly.

 

[zerogear]

One question that I have, is since I have an HTPC in my living room with plenty of processing power, I should be able to map to the WHS and play a 720p or 1080p encoded file from there and the decoding would occur on the HTPC side, not the server. The WHS would just be serving the data for the file, right?

Assuming you have enough bandwidth on the Ethernet. Don't bother if you're trying to stream via 11g on HD videos. 11n might be enough for all but the really fast motion 1080ps.

 

[nerp]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-265-_-Product

Answer to your dreams.

6 drives easily (can put in even more with a 5.25 to 3.5 adapter). I use it with a dual core atom board from gigabyte. Runs WHS. Low power, fast, 6.5 TB storage. Can't say enough about WHS.

 

[modestninja]

Assuming you have enough bandwidth on the Ethernet. Don't bother if you're trying to stream via 11g on HD videos. 11n might be enough for all but the really fast motion 1080ps.

I've got/will have a wired gigabit network (I've only pulled wire and terminated it for a couple of rooms so far), so from everything I've read, there should be plenty of bandwidth for 1080p.

 

[modestninja]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-265-_-Product

Answer to your dreams.

6 drives easily (can put in even more with a 5.25 to 3.5 adapter). I use it with a dual core atom board from gigabyte. Runs WHS. Low power, fast, 6.5 TB storage. Can't say enough about WHS.

That looks nice (assuming you can kill that LED), although it might push me over budget. I like that a little better and it's a little smaller than the Lian Li's David linked earlier despite holding more drives and having bigger fans...

You guys are making it harder and harder to pull the trigger with all these nice options... Thanks for all the help.

 

[zerogear]

I personally love hotswappable HDD racks on the Acer and HP, and wouldn't trade them for anything. :]