I’ve been reading early reports about Microsoft’s upcoming Windows Home Server with more than a passing interest. I won’t bore you with all the speeds and feeds, which you can get yourself from Microsoft’s WHS Web site. I think it’s a brilliant idea that will finally address the issue of the ever-growing amount of digital content stored on home PCs, and the need to back it up and share it, both locally (Home LAN) and remotely (across the Internet). HP is among one of the first PC makers to announce a product based on Windows Home Server, the HP MediaSmart Server. Indications are that products based on WHS will start shipping later this year. What remains to be seen is whether Microsoft will ship a shrink-wrapped, software-only version for DIY types like myself. I hope it does.

So it was with a geeky thrill that I learned about Microsoft making a public beta available of Windows Home Server RC1. I downloaded the ISO images, which consisted of a DVD image (WHS Install), plus two CDs (Connector Software CD and Home Computer Restore CD). I resurrected a semi-retired desktop of mine on which I had played around with various pre-release versions of Windows Vista. I burned the main installer DVD from the image, then started the process of installing it on the test PC (2.8GHz P4, 1gb DDR RAM, 160gb HDD, DVD-R/RW). The 15-page PDF Getting Started Guide was pretty basic, but included more than enough information to understand the install process. The guide said the install could take up to several hours to complete (!), but my install took just under an hour from first booting up from the install DVD to the final restart. What was most impressive during the install was how easy it was to enable the remote Web access functionality, which involved the setup utility configuring port forwarding on my router and choosing a hostname to work via its WHS Web site (hostname.livenode.com) Amazingly enough, it worked the first time.

Once my WHS box was up and running, I could immediately connect to it via UNC… but the full WHS experience required me to install the WHS connector software on my main PC. This could have been done from the connector software CD, but I chose to do it directly from the software share on the WHS box. The connector software allows for the WHS box to “see” your PC and include it on a backup schedule. It also installs some administrative tools, allowing you to fully manage it from any Windows PC on which you install the software. You can even power it off from the remote console.

Overall, I haven’t had enough time with the product to fully kick all four tires. I plan to give some of my friends accounts on it to test the remote sharing functionality. I’ve used a lot of NAS devices in the past couple of years, but I think Microsoft’s approach is a pretty cool one. I think Microsoft and its OEM partners, if it markets this properly, will have a great seller on its hands.

[tags]windows home server, whs[/tags]