Windows Home Server - A Great Backup Solution for Home Networks, and Much More
Written: Jan 04 '09 (Updated Nov 07 '09)
Product Rating:
Pros: Automated backups, multiple restore points, web access to shared folders, user add ins
Cons: Not inexpensive, 10 computers maximum, many ISP's limit remote access to home servers
The Bottom Line: Windows Home Server is among the best backup options for home users, offering multiple, easily executed restore points, remote internet access, configurable automated backups, local and remote media/file sharing.
nc10's Full Review: Microsoft Windows Home server Full Version OEM for...
In many ways, the Microsoft Windows Home Server (OEM) operating system is the ultimate backup utility for those of us who have networked Windows PC's in our homes. Based on Windows Server 2003, Windows Home Server (WHS) runs on standalone hardware (a PC w/o monitor, keyboard or mouse), typically connected via an ethernet cable to your router, and provides completely automated backup and restore services for up to 10 computers. The WHS operating system does much more though, handling file sharing, remote access, and media sharing duties quite well, and for the most part, intuitively. WHS shares multimedia files with Windows Media Extenders like the XBOX 360, and provides a secure web address for accessing files and folders from any internet connection (assuming your ISP allows access to a server in your home). Access to shared files or any of your backed up files and folders over your home network is also easy and intuitive. Windows Home Server isn't a product you hear a lot about, but among the products that Microsoft makes for home users, this is one of the most interesting. Hopefully Microsoft and 3rd party developers will continue to development add ons and improvements.
Installation and setup
A few vendors provide Windows Home Server complete hardware/software packages for home users, with the most prominent being the HP MediaSmart servers. However, the original packages from HP seemed a little underpowered to me (AMD Sempron CPU, 512MB ram). I decided to build my own server (in February 2008) using an Antec Sonata III case, a Gigabyte G33M DS2R motherboard, an Intel E2200 2.2 ghz dual core cpu, and (eventually) two Western Digital 750GB Caviar SATA hard drives. I also added in an old DVD drive that I already owned, and temporarily connected a keyboard, mouse, and monitor during the installation. If I was getting a Windows Home Server today, I'd likely buy a new HP model, as recently announced HP models will include more memory, a faster CPU, and importantly, a few add ons for better media sharing. The newest MediaSmart versions are also compatible with Mac's and iTunes. HP also provides support for their MediaSmart servers, while I'm basically on my own with my self built system.
Although Microsoft doesn't sell a "retail" version of Windows Home Server, they have made an OEM version widely available, and I picked my copy in early 2008 from Newegg for $159. Microsoft has since lowered the price, and you can get the software from Newegg today for $100. I chose the Gigabyte motherboard because it had onboard video, a gigabyte LAN port, and was very "expandable, with 6 SATA/eSATA ports, one IDE port, 4 rear panel USB ports, 4 motherboard USB connectors, and 2 firewire connectors. I figure I'll be able to add numerous drives to this as needed over the next few years to keep up with the ever expanding data stored on my desktops and laptops. The onboard video allowed me to connect a monitor during the installation process, without installing a video card and drivers
The SONATA III case is fairly "sound tight" and includes an efficient and fairly quiet Antec Earthwatts power supply, important factors for servers that run 24 hours a day. The Intel E2200 CPU doesn't require much power, but is much more powerful than the Sempron CPU's included with the original HP MediaSmart servers.
WHS OEM comes with a DVD, two CD"s, a very short manual, and not much else. The 3 discs included are:
1. The WHS installation DVD 2. Connector software - this software is installed on each PC you want to back up. It also installs a "console" program on each PC that runs in the system tray. You can access the Windows Home Server from this console, and control everything you normally need to get to from any of your PC's connected to the server. 3. A Restore CD. Although you can restore individual files and folders using the console software, if you've lost a hard drive, you'll use this CD to boot the PC requiring hard drive recovery, and then restore the missing data AND operating files from the Windows Home Server.
WHS installation wasn't any more difficult than installing Windows XP or Vista. I followed the "Microsoft Windows Home Server OEM Preinstallation Kit", not 100% applicable since it covered some topics only OEM's would care about. I also followed the walkthrough at We Got Served (http://www.wegotserved.co.uk/2007/02/14/installing-windows-home-server-beta-2/). Once I completed the installation, I set a password to access the server and then disconnected the mouse, keyboard, and monitor. I then moved the server into it's permanent location near my router. I plugged it in, connected an Ethernet cable, and pushed the button to turn it on.
I next went to one of the PC's on my home network, and installed the connector software from the second disk. After installation, the connector software found the server. I created an account on the server for that PC and its user, and then backed up everthing on that PC. I could have excluded folders or drives, but chose not to do that. I did find out that WHS likes for you to use the same password to access the server that you use to protect your PC.
Using Windows Home Server
Backups
I've backed up six PC's to my server, 3 laptops and 3 desktops. WHS will manage backups automatically using fairly complicated backup schemes. It can keep several backups (multiple restore points) for your system, allowing you to restore your system from various times in the past. I've told WHS to keep the first backup it has made for each of my systems permanently, then it follows the default management scheme for subsequent backups: - the first back up of each month is kept for 3 months - the first backup of each week is kept for 3 weeks - WHS tries to back up each system (incrementally) once a day, though that doesn't always happen if I turn the PC's off, or if they're not connected to the network (laptops, for example). I set the backups to occur between 12AM and 5 AM. WHS does warn you if backups are overdue, after about a week going without a backup.
Initial backups of my systems took 1-2 hours. The daily incremental backups take 15-20 minutes.
I can go into the WHS console on any PC at any time and see the backup status of any PC, and even recover individual files or folders from any backup.
File Sharing
By default, WHS starts with a set of folders that are for file sharing, Music, Photos, Public, Software, and Video, and you can add more shared folders. A folder for each user is also created. WHS allows you set access policies for each user to each shared folded (read only, full, or none. Once a user has logged into the server from any PC connected to your local network (even if it's a "guest" that lacks the WHS console software), you can access these folders like any other shared folder on your network.
You can also tell WHS to keep duplicate copies of each shared folded on separate drives, if you have more than one drive in your server. This can be a useful feature if you want provide additional safety for irreplaceable photographs, for example. If you turn on WHS Media Library Sharing, your network connected XBOX 360 will see and be able to play most media files. One type of file the 360 will not play is VOB files ripped from DVD's unfortunately.
Network Monitoring WHS monitors more than the backup status of the PC's on your network. It also monitors the security status of each PC running Vista, letting you know if Vista's Security Center has found a problem, for example, if the antivirus software is out of date or not running.
Remote Access WHS can be configured to allow access to the shared folders (photos, music, etc) from anywhere on the internet. During setup, you'll be asked to select a web address for your homeserver, using the format http://xxxxxxxxxx.homeserver.com/, where XXXXXXXXXX is something you choose, perhaps a family name. You'll also get a free SSL certificate, and be able to access the page at https://xxxxxxxxxx.homeserver.com/ (note the https).
Unfortunately, getting this to work can be somewhat challenging. WHS will need to configure your router to allow this. You'll need a UPnP router with UPnP enabled.My router is a DLINK DIR-655 and works fine with WHS. WHS uses port 80 for internet access to the http address http://xxxxxxxx.homeserver.com, and port 443 to access the https address (the secure version). Many (and by that I mean very many) ISP's block port 80, nominally for security reasons, but more likely to limit customers using excessive bandwidth running servers. My ISP is Cox, and they block port 80. So I'm only able to access my Homeserver shared folders using the secure web address https://xxxxxxxxxx.homeserver.com/. That's ok for me, but it makes it a little more difficult to tell my family members in other states how to view pictures on my Homeserver, or how to upload pictures to it. The fact that most ISP's block port 80, and that Microsoft hasn't developed a solid work around for casual users is really disappointing.
Add Ins Microsoft has designed WHS to allow users to provide additional features. I'm a little disappointed with the number of Add Ins available, there are some worth getting, and the number continues to grow. Some are free, some cost. The best list of Add Ins that I've found is here:
A lot of the available Add-Ins are utilities that add functionality to the Windows Home Server Console, or improve the media streaming features. One Add-In I've installed is called My Movies. This Add-In attaches information to each of the video files in my WHS shared folder, using data downloaded from Amazon. When I now Windows Media Center (on any of my PC's) to access movie files that I've copied from my DVD's to the Windows Home Server, I see pictures of DVD covers, descriptions, cast information, number of DVD's in DVD sets and access to each one, and more.
Restoring a Hard Drive
I've restored the hard drive on my laptop from the Windows Home Server Backup a couple of times, once just have a "clean install. A few months ago I restored the boot partition on my Dell Inspiron E1505 Windows XP laptop to try to eliminate some strange lockups I was seeing. To restore the drive I went through the following steps:
-Insert the WHS restore CD into the cd/dvd drive and boot the laptop from the cd. -Connect the laptop to your network with an Ethernet cable, and plug it into 110V power (don't want the battery to die during the restore). -Follow the onscreen prompts to start the restore software, including entering your WHS password. -Choose the backup you want to restore. WHS guesses you'll want to restore the latest back up, but you can choose from older backups, if you think they'll work better. I've kept the initial backups permanently, which I'm hoping will be an easier way to make clean reinstalls of Windows on my machines. -WHS Restore provides a disk management display that allows you to see if there is more than one partition on the drive you are restoring. In this case, Dell had put restore and diagnositic information in a separate, hidden partition. It was nice to see WHS recognize this hidden partition, and not do anything to change that partition during the restore process. -Finally, select restore. It took WHS less than an hour to restore about 60 gb of data and operating files to my laptop. Once restored, it booted up normally. WHS not only restores all your data, but the boot information needed to restore a complete drive.
Recently I bought a new laptop and am giving the Dell E1505 to another family member. I've restored it to its original state, and then went through all the Windows updates and installed some key software. I then installed the WHS connector software and backed up the fresh install to the server. I then restored the drive from the server to see if it would work correctly, using the procedure above. The restore again worked well, taking about 45 minutes to restore about 30Gb of data.
Conclusions
System restores have been easy and flawless for me, the most I can ask for from a backup solution. Backups are handled automatically, and maintenance has been minimal. The media sharing features and add ins will attract enthusiasts, and are actually pretty useful once you get the hang of using them. There are a couple of downsides to remember...
- You may still want to have an "offsite back" up for irreplaceable data, such as important photographs. Your "in home" backup won't provide much security from a fire or hurricane. - My server draws about 50 watts of power all the time. That means it costs me about $50 in electricity per year to run. - The newest HP MediaSmart HomeServer packages look attractive to me, and are reasonably priced. If I was doing this all over, I'd probably buy an HP mediasmart server instead of building my own Windows Home Server.
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