What do you guys thinkn of the HP Mediasmart home server?

[Gumby]

I already have 5 external HDD's but was thinking of getting the HP
Mediasmart so I can cetralize all my backup files etc. for my three PC's.
Is it worth the $599.99 CAD price for the version that comes with one 500GB
HDD? Here's a review of it.

http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/whs_hp.asp

 

[Arno Wagner]

I already have 5 external HDD's but was thinking of getting the HP
Mediasmart so I can cetralize all my backup files etc. for my three PC's.
Is it worth the $599.99 CAD price for the version that comes with one 500GB
HDD? Here's a review of it.

http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/whs_hp.asp

Seems reasonable. Usual caveat: If you are going to to
operate a server, you should be competent enough to do
your own storage server with Linux, which will be cheaper
and better.

Arno

 

[Gumby]

Seems reasonable. Usual caveat: If you are going to to
operate a server, you should be competent enough to do
your own storage server with Linux, which will be cheaper
and better.

Arno

Yea, I was thinking of building my own and have even downloaded free server
software but I like the look and idea of this small box with Windows Home
Server software. I can go and buy it today and be up and running half an
hour later. If I build my own I have to source all the parts and go learn
how to set it all up. I can do that but I also like convenience and am
willing to pay for it if it is good. Why would Linux server software be
better for a home server? I had planned to only make the files available to
the internal network and not over the internet. The Microsft/HP software
also comes with a couple of progs for automated backup too.

 

[Arno Wagner]

Yea, I was thinking of building my own and have even downloaded free server
software but I like the look and idea of this small box with Windows Home
Server software. I can go and buy it today and be up and running half an
hour later. If I build my own I have to source all the parts and go learn
how to set it all up. I can do that but I also like convenience and am
willing to pay for it if it is good. Why would Linux server software be
better for a home server? I had planned to only make the files available to
the internal network and not over the internet. The Microsft/HP software
also comes with a couple of progs for automated backup too.

You do know that Windows Home Server is a pice of trash, that,
e.g., generates un-restorable backups and has other serious
problems?

Arno

 

[Gumby]

You do know that Windows Home Server is a pice of trash, that,
e.g., generates un-restorable backups and has other serious
problems?

Arno

Why would I know that if I have never used it? The review I pointed to says
HP have enhanced the software and said it is not bad at all. Anyway, went
and checked it out in the store and decided not to buy it for now as I
already have 5 USB external HDD's for backup so don't really need it. I
have a 1TB external HDD for just my mp3's.

 

[Gumby]

Ignore Arnie, the Penguin Cult has turning him into a raving loon.

I think you are probably right. I've read numerous reviews of the HP
MediaSmart server box and they have been all quite positive.

 

[Arno Wagner]

Why would I know that if I have never used it? The review I pointed
to says HP have enhanced the software and said it is not bad at
all. Anyway, went and checked it out in the store and decided not to
buy it for now as I already have 5 USB external HDD's for backup so
don't really need it. I have a 1TB external HDD for just my
mp3's.

1TB mp3's? Lets see, at 320kbit/sec, that is about 290 days (and
nights) of music. Should be enopugh for a while ;-)

Arno

 

[Gumby]

1TB mp3's? Lets see, at 320kbit/sec, that is about 290 days (and
nights) of music. Should be enopugh for a while ;-)

Arno

I rip at 256kb/s but I only have about 150GB of mp3's so far. And of course
a 1TB HDD is actually only about 920GB when formatted and you must leave
about 20% free if you ever want to be able to defrag it. Still, it is going
to take me quite a while to fill it up with mp3s.

 

[Arno Wagner]

I think you are probably right. I've read numerous reviews of the HP
MediaSmart server box and they have been all quite positive.

FYI: Eric Gisin is one of the resident trolls.

As to the subject matter, I maintain that you cannot reliably
operate such a server, unless you could also have built, installed
and configured it yourself. And when you can do that, MS hime
server is a poor choice. That was not a comment on the hardware.
In addition, many reviewers are not available of non-MS alternatives
and have a rather limited understanding of hwat such a server
could do in terms of reliability and versatility, a state
of affairs that MS tries keep intact.

Arno

 

[Rod Speed]

I rip at 256kb/s but I only have about 150GB of mp3's so far. And of
course a 1TB HDD is actually only about 920GB when formatted and
you must leave about 20% free if you ever want to be able to defrag it.
Still, it is going to take me quite a while to fill it up with mp3s.

And there is no point in worrying about fragmention with mp3s anyway.

 

[CJT]

@mid.individual.net:




I rip at 256kb/s but I only have about 150GB of mp3's so far. And of course
a 1TB HDD is actually only about 920GB when formatted and you must leave
about 20% free if you ever want to be able to defrag it. Still, it is going
to take me quite a while to fill it up with mp3s.

You wouldn't have to defrag if you were Linux based.

 

[CJT]

Fixed that for you. You're welcome.

You "fixed" it wrong, though. You _can_ defrag, but it isn't necessary.

 

[Arno Wagner]

Keywords:

I considered it, and decided against it. The 1st drive is difficult to
remove, and if it dies (even if you have a second mirror drive), you are
screwed because the primary drive is not completely mirrored. I think it
has configuration data on it that is unique to that drive. I queried HP
about what happens when Drive 1 fails, and you can't just pop in a new
one and expect it to work.

Urgh. I would call this a major design flaw and completely unacceptable
in a storage server. Also interesting that none of all the "good
reviews" out there seem to have picked up on thos. Shows the quality
level of these reviews.

I just bought a READYNAS Duo. Both drives are in removeable trays, and
the mirroring will protect you if EITHER drive fails. They can even be
hot swapped. The thermally controlled fan is very quiet, the software
seems to be solid, and it's cheaper. They have an active support forum,
and seem to be very responsive.

I can't speak for the media server stuff on it, I haven't had time to set
that up. It certainly seems flexible. It also avoids putting more money
in Microsoft's pocket.

Always good.

Arno

 

[Arno Wagner]

Being able to backup the system disk was announced as a feature of power
pack 1 but I guess they have problems with it and now say it won't be
included.

They have trouble implementing backup of the system disk????
That sounds incredibly incompetent to me and as it is the first
thing you would want to backup. A system that has this limitation
cannot in any sensible way call itself a "server system".

Arno

 

[Gumby]

And there is no point in worrying about fragmention with mp3s anyway.

True. That means I should be able to fill the HDD at least 95% full then.

 

[Arno Wagner]

You wouldn't be able to defrag if you were Linux based.

[/QUOTE]

Fixed that for you. You're welcome.

And that happens to be wrong. Nice job claiming things without
researching them first.

The ext2 defragger exits, it is just so obscure almost nobody knows
about it, since it is as good as never needed. XFS has a filesystem
optimizer that is run periodically to bring the fragmentation down a
bit. Typically if brings a below 1% fragmentation down to an even
lower value. Same for JFS.

Oh, and BTW, the regular automatic filesystem checks do show the
amount of fragmentation to the user, so people would know about any
relevant fragmentation.

Arno

 

[Gumby]

You wouldn't have to defrag if you were Linux based.

Yea, but if I was Linux based I couldn't use Foobar, MediaMonkey or WinAmp.
I've used Linux in the past and I don't like any of the media players much
that are available for it.

 

[Gumby]

Fixed that for you. You're welcome.

There is a 3rd party defragger availalbe for Linux but is command line only
and they say it isn't needed on Linux anyway.

 

[Gumby]

As to the subject matter, I maintain that you cannot reliably
operate such a server, unless you could also have built, installed
and configured it yourself. And when you can do that, MS hime
server is a poor choice. That was not a comment on the hardware.
In addition, many reviewers are not available of non-MS alternatives
and have a rather limited understanding of hwat such a server
could do in terms of reliability and versatility, a state
of affairs that MS tries keep intact.

Arno

As I already said. I did look into building my own and have a link to some
free server software but I have decided to stick wityh just my external USB
HDDs anyway and forget about setting up a server for now.

 

[Arno Wagner]

You "fixed" it wrong, though. You _can_ defrag, but it isn't necessary.

[/QUOTE]

Hehe, I remember when they said that about NTFS back before they figured
out how to do it for that file system. Maybe one day when Linux grows up
it will be popular enough for some company to figure out how to defrag its
file systems. Don't worry. You can dream.

You can, you get the fragmentation statistics deisplayed to you
on every filesystem check, and you just see that it is not
necessary for ext2. XFS and JFS recommend doing it from time to
time in the bachground, as they are both enterprise class
filesystems. For a standard desktop or small server you don't
need it there either.

Problem here is that just because MS is did not write a filesystem
that does not need defragmentation under normal operation, you seem to
assume everybody else has this issue. Wrong. This problem has been
solved a long time ago, MS just (again) choose to ignore (or did not
know) the state of the art.

Arno