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Which Server?

Question
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Which is the best server to go for at the moment? Are there any better ones coming out soon?
Right now I am looking at these:
- HP MediaSmart Server EX475
- Fujitsu Siemens SCALEO® Home Server
Thanks.Thursday, June 19, 2008 3:15 PM
Answers
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How long is a piece of string?
It depends what you want as there are pro's and con's for all of them, you need to figure out which ones will be of long term use in your particular setup. e.g. the Fujitsu has a hibernation feature, the HP has a 'better' multimedia feature.
Colin
Thursday, June 19, 2008 4:47 PM -
TechboyUK wrote: I'm not too bothered about hibernation, although I know the Fujitsu uses less power when running which is nice.
What better multimedia feature does the HP have?
The main features I am looking for is:
- Capacity for 4 HD's (I will stick with 2 at first)
- Mirrored file storage
- Good read/write speeds (over Gb LAN)
- Backup of 3 PC's primarily Vista and XP. Also Ubuntu would be nice but not essential
- Streaming of video and photos to my Xbox 360
Thanks.
The HP MediaSmart includes iTunes and some other features - take a look at the HP website for specific information.
As for your main features requirements:- Capacity for 4 HD's (I will stick with 2 at first) - the HP box will do that
- Mirrored file storage - you dont need this as WHS uses folder duplication when you switch it on regardless of the hardware
- Good read/write speeds (over Gb LAN) - again, both machines will be fine for this
- Backup of 3 PC's primarily Vista and XP. Also Ubuntu would be nice but not essential - WHS will backup Vista and XP but Ubuntu is not supported.
- Streaming of video and photos to my Xbox 360 - WHS does this regardless of which hardware you buy.
Andrew
Thursday, June 19, 2008 7:00 PMModerator
All replies
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How long is a piece of string?
It depends what you want as there are pro's and con's for all of them, you need to figure out which ones will be of long term use in your particular setup. e.g. the Fujitsu has a hibernation feature, the HP has a 'better' multimedia feature.
Colin
Thursday, June 19, 2008 4:47 PM -
I'm not too bothered about hibernation, although I know the Fujitsu uses less power when running which is nice.
What better multimedia feature does the HP have?
The main features I am looking for is:
- Capacity for 4 HD's (I will stick with 2 at first)
- Mirrored file storage
- Good read/write speeds (over Gb LAN)
- Backup of 3 PC's primarily Vista and XP. Also Ubuntu would be nice but not essential
- Streaming of video and photos to my Xbox 360
Thursday, June 19, 2008 6:46 PM -
TechboyUK wrote: I'm not too bothered about hibernation, although I know the Fujitsu uses less power when running which is nice.
What better multimedia feature does the HP have?
The main features I am looking for is:
- Capacity for 4 HD's (I will stick with 2 at first)
- Mirrored file storage
- Good read/write speeds (over Gb LAN)
- Backup of 3 PC's primarily Vista and XP. Also Ubuntu would be nice but not essential
- Streaming of video and photos to my Xbox 360
Thanks.
The HP MediaSmart includes iTunes and some other features - take a look at the HP website for specific information.
As for your main features requirements:- Capacity for 4 HD's (I will stick with 2 at first) - the HP box will do that
- Mirrored file storage - you dont need this as WHS uses folder duplication when you switch it on regardless of the hardware
- Good read/write speeds (over Gb LAN) - again, both machines will be fine for this
- Backup of 3 PC's primarily Vista and XP. Also Ubuntu would be nice but not essential - WHS will backup Vista and XP but Ubuntu is not supported.
- Streaming of video and photos to my Xbox 360 - WHS does this regardless of which hardware you buy.
Andrew
Thursday, June 19, 2008 7:00 PMModerator -
To give you some info, there are quite a few listed on this Hardware page of We Got Served.
You should find something to your taste there.
Colin
Thursday, June 19, 2008 7:17 PM -
Both servers contain iTunes server software.
The only real difference that I can see between them in terms of software is that the HP server has a photo sharing feature that allows people on the Internet to retrieve the original photograph (i.e. not the resized version viewable on the Internet) and the Fujitsu has better power saving software.
Is this observation correct?
Thanks.Friday, June 20, 2008 11:38 AM -
In general, yes.
Don't forget though, that you can utilise Add-Ins to expand the server facilities, whichever one you buy.
Colin
Friday, June 20, 2008 5:41 PM