6 Drive Server

[swatbat]

Paper and Practice.

Yea as I said I haven't played with WHS server so I can't really comment on practice. I ordered a trial disk to play around with it since I didn't get a free copy from MS. I can really see this being a nice system for home users.

 

[Trepidati0n]

Two more quick picks. One thing that a lot of people might not quite understand is the web interface for WHS which allows you to access your files any where in the tubes. After a simple login procedure from your pretty domain (dynamic DNS taken care of by live.com):

I apologize for the poor quality of the pictures..but it should give you an idea.

This is the main directory listing of your files...you just pic the folder you want to access (if the admin has given you access to that folder). Also note that the connection is HTTPS

Then you can drill down to whatever folder you want:

It is all very simple. WHS also supports drag and drop uploading if you enable it and you browser supports it. This makes it stupid easy to uploads numerous files with little effort. I almost have uTorrent up and running as a service which means only my SageTV server and the WHS box will be the only boxes that "need" to be on.

Also did a 100GB file write to a duplicated directory. Min transfer speed was 55 MByte/sec..typically sat around 60. Also, the folder duplication happens post transfer so it is pretty much done in the background. MS has done a nice job of optimizing these routines so that your usage of the server is as good as it can be.

 

[Ockie]

I haven't been following the web outside access that much, but that is a pretty neat function that comes free with the software.

 

[Trepidati0n]

Just did some final updates to the server

1. Pulled the 1TB drive out of the pool and dedicated for SageTV (still have 4x750's in the pool)
2. As per #1, installed SageTV and moved 2 of my PVR-150's to it. Sold off the other two. It works great. Plan on putting in HD homeruns instead.
3. Upgraded the PSU to a PCP&C 500W supply. Wanted something just a bit more reliable than my Antec that I pulled from an older machine
4. Installed uTorrent as a service and use web access. The guide on wegotserved explains it very well. Note: This is not the addin...the addin is not as good as this method. The only trick is that if you want to change settings that you need to a) stop the service. b) launch the program local and make the changes c) restart the service. Works very very well.

Here is the big one.

5. Just bought the Avast Professional Family pack on the 3 year plan. So for $150 I get the WHS license and TEN professional machine licenses. Also. The WHS portion of Avast monitors the other machines as well.

avast! antivirus technologies are now available in the competitively priced Professional Family Pack, comprising ten (10) desktop/laptop licenses for avast! Professional Edition and one avast! Windows Home Server Edition, for use in a home setting only, for either private or business purposes.

EDIT: Just measured the power from the wall, down to 95W instead of 110W with the new supply. That 80%+ efficiency will pay itself off in 2 years or less ($35 for the supply AR)

 

[nitrobass24]

Trepidation

Could you elaborate on SageTV a bit
I have noticed that several people seem to be using it lately...and while I dont currently Record TV to Server I could see it being a better option then me renting a cable box from the cable company.

How does it integrate with a Vista HTPC for like a client/Server enironment?
What does it provide that makes it worth using is what i really want to know.

 

[Trepidati0n]

Trepidation

Could you elaborate on SageTV a bit
I have noticed that several people seem to be using it lately...and while I dont currently Record TV to Server I could see it being a better option then me renting a cable box from the cable company.

How does it integrate with a Vista HTPC for like a client/Server enironment?
What does it provide that makes it worth using is what i really want to know.

Your question boggles me a bit. If you have experience with VMC, I would highly recommend heading over to sagetv.com and learn about the system and what it can do. There is no way anybody here or even the Sage staff could answer such a open ended question you posted in any reasonable length of writing.

However...to put scope on it, until cablecards become easily integrated into a home media enviroment...SageTV is the only solution out there to handle the complete home media enviroment of non DRM driven content.

 

[Adidas4275]

i use VMC for almost everything sagetv does and that includes ClearQam via my HDHR

but sagetv is nice for its softsled which MS needs to create for W7, hopefully....


i used Beyondtv prior to VMC and used a trial of SageTV.

I found that VMC has the highest WAF rating in my house...

I use WHS with my movies addin for my 250+ DVDs and store all recordings locally on the HTPC.....

i access content on the web and can stream (placeshift) TV, live or recorded with webguide...

all accessable from my WHS live domain.

its really slick..... i am sure sagetv has its benefits also (this is an age old debate)

 

[nitrobass24]

Your question boggles me a bit. If you have experience with VMC, I would highly recommend heading over to sagetv.com and learn about the system and what it can do. There is no way anybody here or even the Sage staff could answer such a open ended question you posted in any reasonable length of writing.

However...to put scope on it, until cablecards become easily integrated into a home media enviroment...SageTV is the only solution out there to handle the complete home media enviroment of non DRM driven content.

Yea I realize that it is a vague question

I have everything on the server and use MyMovies Server
I use Webguide like Addidas for Place shifting
I use Vista Ultimate on all my HTPC's
But if I were to add two tvTuners to my server would SageTV make things easier or are there better options for integrating recording TV into my current setup?


EDIT:Sorry for the Hijack I should prob start a new thread in HTPC's

 

[Adidas4275]

over at we got xerved there are 2 addins for recordedtv you should loook at


and also some guys got mce on whs, with tuner support allowing you to recordtv on the server

 

[Trepidati0n]

its really slick..... i am sure sagetv has its benefits also (this is an age old debate)

That was really a backhanded compliment. Maybe someday you will say something intelligent (see what I did there). Locking my own thread. *sigh*