Windows Home Server

What is Windows Home Server?
Windows Home Server is software that enables families with multiple PCs to easily connect their digital experiences, providing a reliable and familiar way to protect, organize and share treasured digital images, music, video, and documents.

Who is building hardware for Windows Home Server?
Later this year, a variety of manufacturers, including Fujitsu-Siemens, Gateway, HP, Iomega, LaCie, Medion and others will be offering products powered by Windows Home Server, providing a complete hardware and software solution.

How does Windows Home Server differ from other products in the marketplace?
Windows Home Server is a unique, integrated solution that provides backup and restore of home computers, centralized expandable storage, and access from anywhere to your digital photos, music, videos, documents and home PCs. It is a lot more than extra storage. Unlike other home storage, backup, or remote access tools currently available, Windows Home Server offers unprecedented simplicity and ease of use. In addition, as a development platform, Windows Home Server offers Microsoft partners great opportunities to create solutions for the digital home, such as home automation, home security features, media sharing, and more.

Is it hard to set up?
No . Windows Home Server is easy to set up and configure from any PC in the house, using the Windows Home Server Console. You will need to simply plug in the power and connect your Windows Home Server to the broadband router, and then install the Windows Home Server Connector software from a CD onto each PC you wish to automatically backup every night.

How can I access my files when I’m not at home or share them with friends and family?
You can access Windows Home Server and your home PCs through a personalized Windows Live Internet address that you choose. That means with a simple log in to your family Web site, you can access your photos, music files, and videos from anywhere. Windows Home Server not only enables you to upload and download files stored on your home server but also allows you to connect remotely and use your home computers as if you were sitting in front of them.

Is it easy to control who has access to specific files and folders?
Yes. Using the Windows Home Server Console, you can define users and easily set permissions for the shared folders stored on the home server. You can also define which users can access the server remotely.

When will this product be available for purchase? How can I buy it? Windows Home Server will be available through the retail channel within a wide range of new hardware products. The first products are targeted for availability in the second half of 2007. It will be available in English, German, French, and Spanish.

How much will Windows Home Server cost?
OEMs will set the final pricing for their products, depending on the storage capacity and additional capabilities. The HP MediaSmart Server, for example, will be offered in a 500-gigabyte version for a suggested price of $599 and 1-terabyte model for $749.

If I already have a router and a home network, why would I also need a home server?
Windows Home Server unleashes the power of your existing home network—it allows you to protect, connect, and organize your photos, movies, music, and more. It lets you remotely access your information and your home computers anytime, anywhere, while easily and securely sharing files with friends and family.

How is Windows Home Server better than home Network Attached Storage (NAS) products?
Windows Home Server provides unprecedented simplicity for home users and it was designed to solve problems for households with multiple PCs.

More than just storage, Windows Home Server uniquely provides a single pool of storage for your content and pre-defined shared folders, such as “Music” or “Photos,” making it easier to organize and find your files. Windows Home Server also makes it easy to add more storage, provides built-in search capabilities, monitors the health of your home computers and allows you to stream content to other devices in the home, such as Xbox 360.

In addition, as a development platform, Windows Home Server offers partners great opportunities to create solutions for the digital home. This means that a wide range of applications and tools that integrate with and take advantage of Windows Home Server will be available.

How is Windows Home Server better than existing backup solutions?
Windows Home Server provides automated “no touch” backup for all of the PCs in the home. It will automatically backup your home computers, including the operating system, applications and data, and allow you to easily restore the entire computer or an individual file or folder to a previous point in time. The Windows Home Server Backup solution uses an innovative system to backup only the data that has not already been backed up before. Even if you have several copies of the same data on different computers, the data is backed up only once and Windows Home Server keeps track of what data was stored on each home computer on each day. This makes it very efficient in terms of the time it takes for backups and the amount of space that is used on Windows Home Server.

How is Windows Home Server different from Windows XP Media Center Edition or Windows Vista Home Premium?
Windows Home Server works with the Windows XP or Vista PCs in your home. Windows XP Media Center Edition and Windows Vista Home Premium are designed to run on personal computers and provide acquisition and management of media, such as TV programs, music, and photos. Windows Home Server is designed to make managing a home network, with Windows XP PCs and Windows Vista PCs, easier and more automatic. It does this by acting as a centralized place for storage, enabling remote access and providing automated backup for all PCs in house.

How can independent software vendors (ISVs) work with Windows Home Server?
As a software platform, Windows Home Server will offer software partners tremendous opportunities to build innovative products that meet the needs of the digital home. We expect that a wide range of third-party applications will emerge, such as virus and malware protection, media sharing, and home security and automation.

Will Windows Home Server work with a Mac?
Mac users have the ability to save to and remotely access Windows Home Server. The Windows Home Server Console and pre-configured PC automatic backups works on Windows Vista and Windows XP.

Why aren’t you releasing the software standalone to consumers?
We want to help ensure customers have a simplified, quality experience with Windows Home Server. The best way to do this is to deliver Windows Home Server on integrated hardware/software solutions through OEMs and system builders that are tested and meet system requirements.

Does Windows Home Server ship with any anti-virus software?
We are working with leading anti-virus providers to help them develop solutions specific to Windows Home Server.

Why would consumers use Windows Home Server with Xbox 360? How does it work?
Xbox is quickly becoming an important living room entertainment hub, in addition to the leading next-generation video game platform. As such, customers can use Xbox 360 and other devices to access and enjoy photos, music and videos located on Windows Home Server and experience them on the TV. This functionality can be achieved through Windows Media Connect technology.

Globe Windows Home Server FAQ

Windows Home Server features at a glance

  • Organize your most important information in one central place
  • Automatic daily backups of your home PCs
  • Restore lost files or an entire PC
  • Access all your stuff on your Windows Home Server from your networked PCs
  • Share photos and home videos through a personalized web address
  • Easy and quick setup
  • Expandable storage space for future use
  • Innovative third-party applications

Protect
Windows Home Server provides automatic daily backup for your home PCs, so your files and PCs can be easily restored. Plus, PC health monitoring lets you see the exact condition of Windows Vista–enabled PCs in your home.

Connect
Every member of the family can access what they need on the home server from your networked PCs. You can even share information with faraway friends and family, or access your own data when you’re away from home.*

Organize
Your family photos, videos, music, and other important documents stay together in one central place. Folders by subject or topic keep the whole family organized and up-to-date.

Grow
As your storage needs increase, you can simply connect a new hard drive to Windows Home Server. And with developers working on innovative add-ins for home automation, home web cameras, and security feature solutions, Windows Home Server will be part of the family today—and tomorrow.

Windows Home Server is simple to set up, easy to use, and provides a reliable, familiar way for families to stay connected, whether they’re in the next room or across the country

Globe Handy Links

  • Team Blog
  • Microsoft Home Server Forums
  • Windows Home Server Home Page
  • The Vista Forums Home Server Forum
  • Wikipedia Page