Windows Home Server Info

First a little background on me, just to help define my credibility. Although I have been out of the computer industry for three years I still like to keep myself geekified. I really like my toys! I currently have three PC's in my office, my kids have one PC and a notebook and I have my own notebook. In addition I have two XBox 360's configured to all work with my Media Centre PC so I can stream TV, videos, music and photos to any PC or TV in the house.

I spent 15 years selling computer hardware ranging from mice to high end servers and network equipment to computer dealers and companies who resold these products. During this time I was quite technical and have built numerous PC's for myself and others from scratch, including installing OS's and various software components.

Currently I operate a business out of my home and between business files, thousands of hi-resolution digital photos, well over 200 CD's ripped to a hard drive, videos, forms and everything else in between, my files are important to me! I have been using an external USB hard drive for backup for quite a while, but it has been hit and miss. My reminders pop up and if I have time I backup and copy the appropriate files. If I don't have time, hopefully nothing crashes before I backup, I have been lucky so far!

It was high time I found a better solution and I just happened to be talking to another geek buddy who was talking about Windows Home Server. He was mostly excited about the storage capability and then being able to access everything remotely. While the remote access capabilities didn't excite me to much, the ability to have a separate storage facility for all my data did!

I like doing some research on products before I buy them, so my initial foray into learning about Microsoft Home Server began. Hey it's my money and I hope you do your homework too!

The more I researched, the more I liked it. So here are some of the highlights.

Automated daily backup of all of my PC's - Every night it creates a snapshot of all my PC's, You just need to install the Connect Software and it even updates you if there is a problem. You can even restore files that are accidentally deleted or the entire hard drive if there is a catastrophic drive failure.

Single storage center for all my data - videos, photos, accounting backups, contact info, recorded TV shows all available centrally. They are also available anywhere with internet connectivity via secure remote access! This can also be disabled if security is a concern.

Easy expansion - with the pre-configured systems from HP or Acer you can add drive bays until your system is full.

Data duplication - with multiple drives in your system Windows Home Server can configure itself to duplicate your data files. Now your data is backed up, duplicated on a separate hard drive and extra secure!

When I found out it also supported sharing across my XBox's to allow photo sharing and video streaming to all my TV's I was sold on the product. Now it was just a matter of finding the right solution for me.

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