There’s a lot to be excited about when you consider the features Windows Home Server offers out of the box—primarily, automated backup of all your desktop and mobile machines and media streaming to every room in your house. HP builds on this goodness with a second-generation WHS product that boasts both improved hardware and a supercharged features list.
When we reviewed HP’s first foray into the world of Windows Home Server last year, we were optimistic about the future of the platform but a bit underwhelmed by the performance of the little box. Since then, the Home Server software has gone through some teething pains, including a horrific bug that corrupted users’ files (since corrected with the first Service Pack for the Home Server software).
To the base that Windows Home Server provides, HP has added a ton of powerful new features, including a much-improved media streamer; an iTunes streaming server; the ability to back up OS X–based machines using Time Machine; online backup for crucial files; integration with photo- sharing services, including Picasa, Flickr, and Facebook; and the HP Media Collector, which scans your client computers and automatically copies new photos, music, or videos to the Home Server. Typically, we’re not fans of the heavily customized shovelware that comes with OEM hardware, but in this instance, HP has added genuine value to the Home Server platform with these software enhancements. The Media Collector is especially valuable because it pulls photos from our client machines to the server automatically—a huge benefit, and one that’s not built into the core Windows Home Server functionality.
On the hardware front, the EX487 features a beefier configuration than the first-gen MediaSmart. Instead of an AMD Turion processor, 512MB of RAM, and a pair of 500GB drives, the new hardware boasts a 2GHz single-core Intel Celeron paired with 2GB of RAM and a pair of 750GB drives. There are two bays in the EX487 free for expansion, in addition to an eSATA port and four USB ports. Despite the beefier hardware, the machine remains very quiet. It was inaudible in a typical living room environment.
While this isn’t enough of an advance to consider it a sophomore effort, it’s definitely spring semester of freshman year, and things are looking pretty good for Home Server.
Better hardware, corruption issues are fixed, and the HP add-ons are kick ass.
We’d like a multicore edition to empower video-streaming apps like TVersity.
| MediaSmart EX487 | MediaSmart EX475 | |
|---|---|---|
| Upload Transfer Rate (MB/s) | 47.4 | 43.0 |
| Download Transfer Rate (MB/s) | 65.6 | 40.5 |
Best scores are bolded. To measure home server transfer speeds, we copy a 1,705MB H.264-encoded video file from a desktop machine hard-wired to the server and back using the Windows browser.
max.reader
October 23, 2010 at 11:36am
The EX487 has been deactivated on the NewEgg web site. With a note "This item is currently out of stock and it may or may not be restocked." Take a look at the HP MediaSmart EX495 as an alternative.
neural0
May 11, 2010 at 9:18am
Can we get another recommendation for a media server? This one is not available anymore and its been over a year since this was reviewed... Don't make me add this to my signature also :)
I hate the Linksys WRT600N so much I put it in my signature.
vnsrock
March 28, 2009 at 9:45am
Why are the benchmarks different in the two models? Different hardware or raid?
I thought the only difference was one vs. two hd's installed...
ColdDeck
March 27, 2009 at 10:05pm
After testing the first public beta of WHS I was hooked. I agree that the HP box could be a little confining so I bought the OEM version and picked up a Gateway 960 rack server at a county auction to install it on. I found some Acer SATA cages on eBay that allowed me to convert it from SCSI to SATA, using the original drive sleds no less! I added a PCI-X133 8-port Supermicro SATA2 controller and an adaptec DuoConnect card and some more RAM to bring the total to 2GB. It's got dual 2.2GHz Xeons in it right now and I plan on maxing the board out with 3GHz chips whenever I have some spare cash. Right now there are six hard drives in the box totalling just under 2GB and there is another 1GB drive somewhere between NewEgg and here.
In addition to all of the basic WHS functions I have two tuner cards and Beyond TV installed. It also runs a UT server from time to time.
The sky's the limit with the OEM version.
Ayrton
March 26, 2009 at 2:29pm
I agree that "gutting the fish" would be more attractive.
Perhaps building your Windows Home Server might make a nice article... (ala triple dream machine year)
horzo
March 24, 2009 at 1:34pm
Love the hardware, but I'd only buy it if they sold it without an OS. "Windows" and "Server" are two words that should never be used together.
nekollx
March 24, 2009 at 10:02am
all the HP Enhacments do sound nice but im not to happy with a medial/backup server only have 1.5TB of space. How feesable would it be to gut this fish, put it in a HAF or 1200 and pug in a few more HDDs/SSDs
jlh304
March 24, 2009 at 11:19am
You still have two open hard drive slots in the unit. So you could go and buy two 1.5tb drives and add an additional 3tb to the 1.5tb it shipped with. You can also add one extrenal sata drive and you can also add external usb harddrives.
The old ex servers could add up to 4 external sata drives, but the new server only lets you do one. Hardware downgrade.
jlh304
March 24, 2009 at 12:30pm
Don't forget about external add ons. I have 16tb running on my server dishing out video goodness. 4 inside hard drives, 4 esata, and 8 usb hard drives.
mls067
March 24, 2009 at 9:41am
I really want one of these. I beta tested this with power pack1 on a home built server and I absolutly loved it. I was actually sad when the license expired. After reading a few reviews of HP's server, I am sold. Now I just need to find that coffee can I buried with the money in it.
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