XTR2Turbo Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 I have seen adverts for these home servers. What are the main advantages over a simple NAS box? Is it just remote internet access? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatman Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 Not really. You can get remote access to any computer that is set up for it. The N40L server we discuss here is basically a PC, but in a squae box with bays for 4 hard drives. It'll run whatever operating system you put on it, and unless you want to play games or do high end video editing, you couldn't tell it apart from any other computer... well, more or less... All in one NAS boxes like Buffalo Linkstations or Netgear ReadyNAS devices have operating systems built in and are aimed at the "home" user. "Proper" servers (I use the term a little losely) usually have no operating system so you can use whatever you want. I use Linux because it's free and provides full server functionality. It did require quite a lot of time spent setting it up though, which is where Buffalo's and ReadyNAS's win. They're plug 'n' play... I'm going to stick my neck out here and say that those of us with N40L's are at the geek end of the scale. We either already had the skills to set up a server, or wanted to learn. I wanted to learn... If you're after storage and/or backup and aren't edgeing towards geekiness then the ready made NAS devices are proabably your best bet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XTR2Turbo Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 Thanks But, other than the geek element, what would be the advantage of a server at home? Aren't most server functions (email, print server, file permissions and sharing etc) only really of use if lots of clients? Or am I missing something here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dibby Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 Home servers aren't like servers in the workplace. Everyone uses them slightly differently. I have a Shuttle XPC cube packed full of hard drives to store films in HD and play them on the TV, it shares the printer across the PCs/ laptops in the house, it stores music which is dished up to squeezeboxes in the conservatory and the kitchen and the hi-fi in the lounge, it uses the phone as a remote control, it's on 24/7 and downloads/ seeds torrents on an amateur DJ, legal music share site, it's a backup device for photos, it's got a satellite card in it to use the previous house owner's Sky dish as a Freesat PVR recorder and should I want to catch the F1, it can be set up to card-share. That's the joy of a home server/ home theatre PC, with the range of hardware and software out there it's as individual as the user ... much like a Westfield! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dommo Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 I refurbed an old pc I had lying around with Windows Home Server. Essentially it's a version of Windows Server 2003 (The later version of Windows Home Server is based on Windows Server 2008). Now, I'm not going to pretend I researched too much into the options out there - I've got an MSDN license and just saw it as an opportunity to 'have a play' with some development. I initially wanted the machine to store music, photos and dvds on and stream them around the house. It's quite good at this, but ripping BluRays to it has shown there's some improvements required. I haven't quite got the bandwidth to stream them. After perhaps 12-18 successful months, I kind of lost interest in it. I didn't fully exploit it in the end, and with the advent of lovefilm/netflix/anytime+ etc it's no so unique. I don't think I've turned it on in the last 6 months now. I still rip dvds and blurays I have but am keeping them on the Home Theatre PC I use instead of transferring them across. I had quite grand ideas for it to be honest. I was going to have it sat in the garage backing up all my pcs, streaming music/video and some home automation stuff. Maybe once the Westfield is build I'll revist it. For now though, my interest in computers seems to be at an all time low. Stupid cars! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dibby Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 Sounds like a fun project, and a man has to have his projects. You have to have a fast network to get HD streaming well. Currently running plain old Windows 7 here, wife works for a uni and she qualifies for the £30 student deal for Windows Professional. I tried Linux Ubuntu desktop, Mythbuntu and XBMC live but ran into trouble getting the drivers for the Sky card working and getting full DTS-HD MA sound through the HDMI cable into the amp when playing blu-rays. Windows just does it out of the box, not worth the hassle setting up Linux for the benefit IMO. Netflix and these internet services look like a great idea but no way could I get the quality through the internet and don't want to watch a film in less than SD quality with tinny sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnson Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 As Blatters says I suppose it is a bit geeky. I enjoy messing with pc's so this was a natural progression I suppose. The N40L is quite impressive for what it is. I only have 2 x 2tb drives in mine plus the supplied 250Gb due to the cost of hard drives at the moment. Has the capacity to add another 3 drives still. I am not going to explain what the program's I use do but will name them if anyone wants to look them up Sabnzbd Couch potato Sickbeard As I mentioned previously I also use air video which streams video to my iPhone,iPad and a friends iPhone via wifi or 3G when out and about. I haven't yet but will add my iTunes to the box. The box also serves music,video and pictures to an AC Ryan HD 1 (living room) and a HD 2 Mini (bedroom) Thoroughly recommend the N40 as they use such little power. Learning curve can be quite steep if you choose the Linux route, I did try Windows home server but didn't like it even though both my pc's use Win 7. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatman Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 Oohh.. streaming... I use a PS3. Any machine I want to stream music or videos from has PS3 Media Server installed with the appropriate files shared from within that programme. It's a breeze, and the software is free... well, they take donations. I've donated. I have a Gigabit LAN so I get full quality but Fastethernet will do it ok as long as there isn't too much else going on across the LAN. I have had decent success with streaming Blu-Ray across the wireless with PS3 Media Server... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 Guys can you help a numpty on this please. I have a Logitech Squeezbox Touch connected to my hifi which I can either stream my music wirelessly to from my PC or feed directly from an external hard drive via USB cable. I have chosen to do the latter because I don't want to keep the PC on all the time. I didn't know these NAS drives etc. existed - what do you reckon would be the best (and most cost effective) arrangement for streaming to my Squeezbox? Note that everything is backed up to another HDD so don't need back up facility. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dibby Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 If it were me, I'd leave the PC on 24/7, it shuts off hard drives and components when they're not in use so it's not as power hungry as people think to leave one on all day. If you go down the NAS route you can install Logitech Media Server onto the NAS box but check the compatibility first. Also, spending hundreds on new hardware - you'd have to save hell of a lot of electric to pay it back Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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