Anyone know anywhere I can get a copy of Windows Home Server for less than $95?

I find it odd that Microsoft practically gives away Server 2008 but there are no obvious price deals on Home Server.

3/1/2010 1:37:09 AM

No but there are a plethora of options to buy a Windows Home Server, that comes with Windows Home Server for <$200. You're better off buying a server on the cheap from HP and using the license from that, than trying to buy a retail license. Sell the HP machine on ebay and profit

3/1/2010 2:46:30 AM

Wouldn't that technically be against the terms of the OEM EULA?

3/1/2010 2:47:48 AM

How did they practically give away Server 2008? That doesn't seem very Microsoft-like.

Are you dead-set on building your own server (or using a pre-existing server)? Are you dead set on Windows Home Server?

3/1/2010 9:27:07 AM

^ I've considered a variety of linux-based options. I decided on WHS because I have only windows machines, I like the near-zero configuration, I liked the redundant self-managing pooled storage, and the automated incremental backups.

I can get Server 2008 via MSDNAA (via my IEEE membership) and Microsoft DreamSpark for free.

3/1/2010 10:44:43 AM

Yeah I have a couple server 2008s and 2003s but no luck on Home Server. There isn't even a decent warez copy out, which considering it's built on 2003 is a bit strange.

My coworker has an old HP server, let me ask him if he's willing to part with the license.

3/1/2010 11:13:17 AM

newegg has a bunch of cheap home server systems.

3/1/2010 11:25:39 AM

Quote :

"I decided on WHS because I have only windows machines, I like the near-zero configuration, I liked the redundant self-managing pooled storage, and the automated incremental backups."

what you described has been a feature set available since win2k. if you're using a windows machine right now, open up ntbackup. ntbackup and software raid (not available in xp) are fairly straight forward to configure in a few minutes, minutes that might be worth the cost of the upgrade to whs.

3/1/2010 11:35:05 AM

You can do software RAID5 in XP with some Windows modifications, however if you want to move it to anything newer than XP, your only option is 2008 and 2008 really isn't soemthing you want running your home media server.

3/1/2010 11:38:12 AM

^, ^^ WHS manages it's storage more akin to a Drobo appliance than traditional RAID.
http://download.microsoft.com/download/2/f/c/2fc09c20-587f-4f16-aa33-c6c4c75fb3dd/Windows%20Home%20Server%20Technical%20Brief%20-%20Drive%20Extender.docx

[Edited on March 1, 2010 at 12:50 PM. Reason : spelling FTL]

3/1/2010 12:50:31 PM

I'd like to expand this topic a little. To me the biggest selling point of WHS is the pooled storage. OpenSolaris uses ZFS to achieve a similar pooled storage behavior, but expansion isn't as simple as just adding an additional drive like you can with WHS. Anyone know of a different product that can handle storage like WHS?

3/2/2010 1:41:59 AM

openfiler lets you grow volumes

3/2/2010 8:42:53 AM

WHS is great and the pooled storage is totally worth it.

My only complaint is that In the theoretical case where I add it to a domain and violate the EULA the machine wants to prevent that unless you go turn off certain services. That and configuring for domain users doesn't sync perfectly with the way WHS wants to handle user rights, though its no great effort to do, just not automatic.

3/2/2010 4:25:34 PM

^ Microsoft is supposedly handling that sort of stuff in the upcoming Small Business Server Update.

3/2/2010 5:58:44 PM

I'd really like it if WHS supported RAID5. Then I could upgrade to it, rather than being stuck with XP.

The pooled storage is nice, but I'm terrified of drives dying and it seems like the only way to get redundancy is if I share everything (not really an issue), but that would just be a mirrored backup, which while nice, isn't exactly what I'm looking for.

3/2/2010 6:03:40 PM

^ If you have multiple drives WHS manages redundancy for you.

3/2/2010 6:08:18 PM

I can't ignore it any longer--sorry.

...than $95.

Thank you, that is all.

3/2/2010 6:22:29 PM

Don't apologize. I'll be the first to acknowledge that my typing accuracy is less than 100%; particularly at 1:37 in the morning.

3/2/2010 6:28:15 PM

Quote :

"^ If you have multiple drives WHS manages redundancy for you."

If a drive dies, will you be able to replace and rebuild it? From what little I've read that doesn't seem to be the case except if the data is mirrored, which uses more space than I'd like.

3/2/2010 6:38:21 PM

^ With WHS, you replace the dead drive with a new one and keep on moving. All parity rebuilding is automated.

It works more like ZFS's RAID-Z than traditional RAID configurations. WHS manages all the setting so the user doesn't have to. It's set up so you can add and replace drives without having to do any volume management yourself.

3/2/2010 6:43:30 PM

Quote :

"With WHS, you replace the dead drive with a new one and keep on moving. All parity rebuilding is automated. It works more like ZFS's RAID-Z than traditional RAID configurations. WHS manages all the setting so the user doesn't have to. It's set up so you can add and replace drives without having to do any volume management yourself."

See, what confuses me is ( http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/windowshomeserver/faq.mspx ):

Quote :

"Windows Home Server offers the benefits of RAID, without the complexity. New hard drives of any size, either internal or external, can be added to Windows Home Server and the amount of available storage grows based on the size of the hard disk. On a system with two or more hard drives, Windows Home Server users can enable "duplication" on a shared folder basis and files are copied or "mirrored" on two separate hard drives. If a single hard drive fails, then a user will not lose any files in any folder that has "duplication" enabled. External hard drives can be added via USB, Firewire, or eSATA provided the Windows Home Server has the appropriate hardware inputs. "

Duplication sounds closer to RAID1, while I'm looking for something closer to RAID5. If I have 4 1TB hard drives in the system, I want to be able to have 3GB of space, not 2GB. Maybe I'm reading it wrong or I skipped over something in the FAQs though. I'm not sure.

3/2/2010 7:37:29 PM

It's not RAID. It's file duplication. Which makes it faster, more flexible and much more reliable over time.

You essentially get quasi-raid5 functionality with WHS. Because it's handled at the file level, you only replicate the things you NEED to, and in the schedule that matters. Unlike raid, you can use add storage as you wish, in any arbitrary size.

Great article here about it: http://www.fearthecowboy.com/post/Windows-Home-Servers-Drive-Extender-vs-RAID.aspx

3/2/2010 8:26:32 PM

^ That's not a very good article. It makes its point, but it's poorly organized and lacks coherence.

3/3/2010 2:02:08 AM