Announced at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in January this year, after a long period of secrecy that one may have thought Microsoft incapable of, Windows Home Server is to be released during the second half of this year. This article explores in-depth the capabilities, the features, the storage requirements and quotes about the product from the makers at Microsoft.

The new server is for homes with multiple PCs, Xboxs, and those who want storage available at all times. Backed with speculated Vista-only capabilities, the Home Server will feature a number of features – unheard of until now, but according to Microsoft ‘the future is finally here!’

The state of the art system, the first Home Server ever released, includes a 200+ GB hard drive, optional RAID 1, and a DVD burner, plus it will be sold by OEMs with Windows Server, Home Edition. Out-of-the-box without the foreshadowed features Microsoft has promised.

At the annual CES, Bill Gates announced for the first time:
“The Windows Home Server will be coming out the second half of this year [2007]. Features will include automated backup, connectivity to all PCs, Zune, Xbox, and remote connectivity, if you’re somewhere else, you can come in and get files in secure way. No complexity. If you want to grow capacity, just plug new storage in, lots of expandability, software automatically detects it. You can use terabytes of data on this device.”

Windows Server chief Bob Mulgia commented that “Much of the great storage, replication, and management technology would be great in a home, We have seen many people install Small Business Servers at home, which really works quite well.” But Windows Home Server is far more than an expanded version of the Small Business Server. With the capabilities of storing terabytes – 1.5 Terabytes, to be exact, and many of the features mentioned above in this article, this new innovation may have Apple even further behind in the bid against Microsoft. Essentially, all this server would require was 1 Gigahertz of CPU speed and 512 MB of RAM.

At least once a day, Windows Home Server will find all the computers connected to your home network, and back them up – files and all. It then gives you the ability to look for individual files, (once found, you can download them whenever you are, whether you’re at home or another computer. You can carry out an image-based restore if you want to put a computer back the way it was at any time. Backups are emulated across disks, so if you lose a drive in your server you won’t lose any files.

It will also support access to media from your Xbox 360, so you can stream pictures, music and video from the next-generation console to your Home Server.

As if that wasn’t enough, it enables you to get access to your files from anywhere on the Internet, which Microsoft claim will be 100% safe and secure – combining encryption, password protection and full customer support should anything go wrong.

So if you’re at another computer? You can still get your files. Did you lose your files in a freak accident involving a child, a virus or a crashed computer with Windows Home Server attached? You can still get your files.The future in backing up is finally here in Windows Home Server, coming to stores after June 2007!

[…] and design, and that was back in 2005; before Vista, and before Microsoft had a chance to unviel Home Server, and a range of other […]