I’ve got a new system setup now. From the title you’ve probably figured out what it is! I bought the Shuttle KPC barebones motherboard (only $99!!). I also got the 650GB SATA drive from Newegg. I already had 2GB of memory from my main desktop, and the processor was only another $40. It runs like a champ and I now have four machines backed up nightly (I’ve never been able to say that before!) and all of my network files on a server-class OS.
Installation was a snap. It’s obviously Windows Small Business Server 2003 under the hood so it benefits from all of that reliability and security. You can remote desktop (RDP) into it, but once you have the client connector installed on each machine the better way to administer it (for most purposes) is using the Windows Home Server Console. This is really a special remote desktop session (it can be active even if an RDP session is going on). It shows at-a-glance screens of machines, users, shares, and disks. Where Windows Home Server really shines though is its add-in architecture.
Like I said, the Console is great for most purposes. There are quite a few things that you can do to Windows Server that aren’t available here, but many of things will lead you into trouble if you aren’t a server expert. If there are other things that you need to do that aren’t available in the console you can download or create an add-in. The add-in API allows you to create snap-in apps that run alongside the other server screens. I’m currently using add-ins for extended disk information, WebGuide, and Firefly media server. The Disk Management add-in works well to see SMART status and more details than the simple color-based health in the standard screen. The WebGuide add-in is wonderful and it creates a better experience for browsing media on the server from inside or outside of the network. The Firefly media server is supposed to expose your music to iTunes, but it only recognizes 57 of my 3000 songs. Not terribly useful yet, but it’s still in beta.
If you need to get your home network in better shape I definitely recommend WHS. It takes a lot of things that are available in one form or another and makes a very nice package tying it all together. Once a few more add-ins are released I’ll be even happier, but maybe I’ll even end up writing a few of my own!
Let me know if you know of any good add-ins or tips and tricks that others would benefit from…