The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Windows Home Server Adam Turner © |
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There was a time when servers only belonged in the office, but Adam Turner tells us the day of the home data centre is upon us with the rise of Microsoft's Windows Home Server edition. |
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With the explosion in user- generated data such as photos and video, home users are starting to realise that they need the kind of data protection, document sharing and remote access they enjoy at work. Windows Home Server edition is a customised version of Windows Server 2003 designed specifically for home prosumers and SOHO (Small Office/Home Office) users. The key feature of Windows Home Server for most people is that, every night, it can automatically back up the important files on all of your Windows XP and Vista computers. It also supports complete PC restore in the case of a hard drive crash or other issue with a PC in the house. You can buy the Windows Home Server operating system pre-installed on a new PC, or you can buy the software off the shelf and set it up on an existing PC. Windows Home Server is designed to run on a headless PC, in other words once you've got it installed you don't need to leave a keyboard, monitor and mouse connected because you can configure everything remotely from another Windows PC on your network. |
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This way you can hide it in your broom-closet-turned-server-room (obviously
keeping ventilation issues in mind). While this sounds great
in theory, common sense would suggest you let your new server live on your
workbench for a while until you get everything running smoothly. Keep in mind
that some PCs won't boot without a keyboard
unless you tweak the BIOS settings.
Microsoft's recommended specs for Windows Home Server include a Pentium 4 or AMD x64 processor,
512MB of RAM and two 300GB hard drives, plus
a DVD drive for installation. The bigger the hard drives the better, especially
if you're looking to back up several computers. Connected printers can also be
shared by all the computers on your network.
When most people think of data protection they think of RAID - Redundant Array
of Independent Disks - which can offer protection against hard drive failure by
storing your data on more than one hard drive. Microsoft advises against setting
up your WHS box with RAID, because the operating system uses its own version of
data mirroring.
All this happens behind
the scenes. You can even
hot-swap drives - adding
or replacing hard drives
without shutting down
the computer - and Windows Home Server will take care of
the rest. Drives can vary
in capacity and can be
internal or external.
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Be warned, when you
install Windows Home Server it will delete
all the data on every
hard drive in that PC.
It warns you about this several times, so make sure you pay attention. The next
issue you'll face when installing Windows Home Server
is providing drivers for your motherboard's storage controllers.
This shouldn't be a problem if your drives are connected to
the standard ATA or SATA ports on your motherboard, but many motherboards have
secondary ATA or SATA ports which offer the option of creating a RAID. These
ports often require specific drivers, even if you're not running RAID, and
you'll find the necessary drivers on your motherboard's installation CD or at
the manufacturer's website. What you'll see next is a stripped down version of a typical Microsoft OS install, including regional and keyboard settings plus configuring automatic updates. You also need to set a computer name and you're forced to choose a complicated password. Once the server is up and running, you need to install Windows Home Server Connector software on all the XP and Vista computers you want to use with your Windows Home Server box. |
You're now ready to fully configure your Windows Home Server, and next month we'll walk you through the process.
Note: Adam Turner© Permission to copy or quote extracts from this article may only be done with the
written permission of the author. Adam posts regularly at
http://www.hydrapinion.com/index.php/play
Reprinted from the August 2008 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
