[mctw]

heyy guys

currently, we have 5 pcs and laptops linked to our wireless router, which has a Netgear NAS drive on it. NAS drive is crazily slow, can only use it for small files like word docs or small pics of the time it takes to copy! 'cos we share a lot of data between pcs, currently having to use external hard drives and lots of memory sticks. ive got a old pc lying around (1.8 P4, needs some ram a hdd or 2 if its going to be used tho), so im just wondering if a home server is a suitable opition.

ive never set anything vagualy like this up before, so i would just like some advice as to what to consider, and whether it is really a good idea or not!

things im thinking about are; will we still be able to connect via the wireless, because cables are hard in this house, will I be able to access the server remotely (eg from somewhere else with net access) and will the speed be reasonable for transfering large files. also, is this kind of thing secure, or should i be worried about hackers/virus's.

sorry, i know its a lot, but im a newbie at this kind of thing! and would like to know a bit more before i dive in headfirst!

cheers,
MCTW

[philthomas]

I keep meaning to have a go at setting up a Windows Home Server (WHS), but somehow never get around to it.

These two links might give you an idea of what's involved :



http://www.practicalpc.co.uk/computi...ome-server.htm

http://www.practicalpc.co.uk/computi...ome-server.htm


I'm sure there are more professional ways to go about it, but I believe WHS is quite Layman friendly.
I'll be interested to know what others think too.

[mctw]

cheers for those links, looking at those, it seems that WHS is no where near as scary as i expected to be! and as you said, it also looks reasonably simple to use.

would like to know what other people think though, mainly if there are any issues i might encounter!

MCTW

[philthomas]

OK .... your post promped me to have a go.

I had an old Athlon 2800+ box sitting idle and M$ Home Server 2007.

Installation took just over an hour and it rebooted loads of times, during installation.
Everything was straight forward and once installation had finished, it just worked.
I had the choice of setting up Users/passwords or enabling Guests, which allows everyone on the Network to access the shared folders/files.

The Server shows in Network (Vista) .... My Network Places (XP) and Clicking on the Server icon reverals all the shared folders/files. By default it sets up shared folders for- Music, Photos, Public, Software & Videos.

I'm still playing with it at the moment, but it seems dead easy to use and it has PC Backup schedules built in.

I had an NAS Drive, like you, which was painfully slow, but this is as fast as any otherPC on the Network .... much better.

Oh yeah, almost forgot .... if the PC you use has more than one HDD, it can back up the files on the Server, to protect against HDD failure and more drives can be added, when you need more space.

So far ... so good

[serverguy]

I haven't time to write a long post now but I am in support of WHS.

I think it is one of the best products MS has come up with for a long time.

Install it and see what you think. Doesn't need any particularly fancy hardware.

[philthomas]

M$ are offering a 120 Day Free Trial here

One point to consider though .... I have read that the free trial cannot be activated, if you decide to purchase it, so you have to uninstall it and reinstall your new purchased product. So dont expect to keep any data on the drive, as the installation formats the drive(s) completely, wiping everything.

[mbonwick]

Actually, you can keep your data when you reinstall WHS, although I wouldn't rely on it for obvious reasons.

No harm in having a backup.

[serverguy]

Originally Posted by mbonwick

Actually, you can keep your data when you reinstall WHS, although I wouldn't rely on it for obvious reasons.

No harm in having a backup.

Yeah, I was going to say that. I have done it a couple of times with no problems, but I did also take a backup. Sorry but I don't trust anything with Windows on it that much.

WHS FTW!

[mbonwick]

I actually don't have WHS yet, but the general idea is to get it some time relatively soon.

Get new main PC -> retire old XP 'box -> Add more HDD space and SATA -> Install WHS and bingo!

[mctw]

this might be a dumb question, but where do you buy a copy of WHS from? ive looked on ebay, and on misco.co.uk but it doesnt seen to me on either...

definitely looking at getting now, doesnt seem to have much negative about it!