Windows Home Server: What’s inside?

[dbarrow]

http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=190

...Here's what Weinberg is reporting about Windows Home Server:

* Home Server streams to the Xbox 360 and other Media Center Extenders

* It backs up to internal and external hard drives the entire contents of every PC daily — and not once, but twice, letting you restore files or entire PCs immediately. It also stores multiple versions of files

* Home Server will be sold in two forms, just like Windows XP Media Center used to be: As a full hardware/software package by manufacturers, and as a software package to system builders

* Beta 2 of Home Server will arrive in just two weeks, on January 22. Pre-Beta 1 was reached last July. They are also projecting Release Candidate status by May 15 and the final Release To Manufacturing on June 22

Weinberg has tons of additional details. So go read his full post. ...

[Tortanick]

Nothing new on that server, well excpet Xbox compatiblity but a plug and play server is new, I wonder how long before the idea catches on.

If you find any benchmarks compairing it to Linux/UNIX servers I'd be glad to read them.

[Pi rules]

Windows Home Server looks like it will be very useful. I always thought it would be nice to configure an old PC as a server (with a new hard drive) to share some files across the network and backup the PCs in my house (except for the ancient Apple II GS ;))

It would also be nice to configure an old PC (or use VMWare Server) with SmoothWall and Snort. I seriously doubt I'd need that type of protection, but it would be nice to learn how to use some of those tools.

[Tortanick]

Pi, I've done that myself, useing debian etch I created a fileserver, every member of my famaly has a nice 20 gig to store stuff. Its really easy although I can't remember exactly how I did it.

As for Snort and Smoothwall, you'll probobly be happier with the smoothwall spinoff IPcop, I never actually plugged it in but I played around with it and it was really easy. Not that snort can only detect intrusions, not prevent them.

Personally I'm intrested in learning how to build a proper OpenBSD or Debian firewall. I think Debian is easier to work with and OpenBSD more secure, but I really know how they compair.