Windows Home Server online 

After banging some rocks together I finally managed to put together a working Windows Home Server beta and I must say it really has beaten my expectations. Let's see what's in the box:

• File sharing: Instant sharing of data across all PC's, a local central store for your personal data.
• Backup and Restore in an integrated package, better than most "Big hard disks with some software to backup stuff".
• A web based secure interface that you can expose to the Internet to make your home data and PC's accessible. There is a hub for remote access to your home PC's.
• uPnP Media streaming to your XBOX 360 and other multimedia boxes you might have. I have a NOXON box but your Soundbridge or maybe even Phillips box should work as well.
• A Windows Server that can host any Internet (web)application you can imagine.

This last feature surprised me, I didn't think media streaming was part of the package. Compared to my "old" home server the FSG-3 Freecom Storage Gateway the full featured Backup and Restore is a plus. All in all it is an attractive package that should appeal to any true geek.

The bad side of the story remains the fact that you need to run Windows 2003 server to get it all up and running. This is the setup I am using:

• Biostar iDEQ-210M Socket 478 SFF Barebone
• 2.13 GHz Intel Celeron
• 1GB Corsair ValueRam
• 250 GB WD Caviar harddisk

It actually is a reasonably low-power setup, but you can see that the Windows Server needs that power. Still, it consumes 70-90 Watts of energy. If you compare this to the Linux based old FSG-3, using around 10-20 Watts, you can start to see the picture. If you have seen All Gore's movie, are you really the person to leave 2 regular light bulbs burning day and night? My regular PC easily burns 200 Watts, so the Home Server isn't doing that bad. I'm not sure that Windows Home server as a powerhouse can compete with Linux light-weight power in this area. If my router supported Wake-On-LAN I would probably start using that, of course you could go down to maybe NEC C7 processors and see if Windows Home Server can run on real low power boxes.

If you are the kind of person that leaves any amount of PC's running at home all day anyway, Windows Home Server will be very attractive. Otherwise I would still recommend the FSG-3 class devices.