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114 of 116 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very compelling solution for backups, restores, media server, and remote access to data, June 29, 2009
What follows is my review of this Acer home server, based upon my personal experience with it since purchasing one in late June 2009. If you read this very long review, you'll learn quite a bit about this Acer server and the Windows Home Server operating system. You'll also read about some minor issues I've run into, and how to workaround those issues. I've owned this server for almost two months now, and it's been a good experience overall. I can recommend this server, but do know that you're not likely to get much technical help from Acer. So for any problems, your own technical know-how and the Internet community are your best sources of help.
In short, I bought this Acer server and successfully installed it on my home network. In very large part, it's doing what it's supposed to be doing, that is, it automatically backs up my four-computer home network, and it gives me remote access to my data, too. Thus far, I have only one small, re-occurring issue which I'll share in a moment.
The out-of-box experience is pretty good, but don't expect much by way of documentation. You'll need to look elsewhere to understand all the ins-and-outs of using Windows Home Server (WHS). Although the "Quick Start" booklet seems very thick, it's actually got the instructions in about five or six languages, and so when you read the English section (if you read English), you'll only see how to set-up the server with a little narrative and black-and-white screenshots that are difficult to read. Fortunately, the setup is pretty easy, and they do include a larger poster with just the absolute essentials (which is what I used), and the poster was good enough. In short, plug-in the ethernet cable from the server to your wireless router, and you're in business. The server is heavier than I expected, and *quieter* than I expected (much less noisy than my desktop computer).
Then, you install a CD in one of your available networked computers to install the Server Console on the installed-from computer, and to begin configuring your new server. One things stands out in my mind here...the instructions say turn-on your server and wait until the blue LED light is glowing steady. Trouble is, there are about seven or eight lights glowing at this point (one light for each of the four disk drive bays, a power-on light, a network light, an "information" light, and possibly a disk activity light), and some of the lights glow purple, not blue. Suffice it to say that you should wait a few minutes just to make sure everything is settled before you start server configuring.
The server configuration went pretty well, I thought. Do a Google search for "Acer Windows Home Server Review" and you'll find a website where someone has very helpfully documented the entire install process using color screenshots of each step. The installed server console program (running on one of your networked computers) is not resizeable and won't maximize, which is annoying. You can use Remote Desktop Connection to actually login to your new server (if you're not familiar with Remote Desktop Connection, it lets you connect to another computer from the computer you're using).
In a very short time, my old, quirky Gateway desktop computer (circa 2003, XP Pro, 2Ghz CPU, 512MB RAM, 80Gb HD) was recognized by the new Acer server, and I was creating user accounts on the server that match my desktop computer (you should use a password on your user accounts, and be sure to specify the same password on the server as what you use for the desktop/laptop account).
At this point, I had my first problem -- the Gateway's connection to the server would get lost inexplicably during the first attempt at a manual backup. Long story short, I completely reinstalled Windows XP Pro SP-3 on the Gateway desktop, reinstalled the Windows Home Server Console, and was able to begin getting successful backups until I got to the point where I restored all my digital media files (using Acronis and an external hard drive -- not using the new Acer server) and then tried a WHS backup, which fails inexplicably. Could be my aging and quirky Gateway hardware, but it's a fresh install of XP and the error messaging is vague and unhelpful.
Notably, my three laptops (running XP Media Edition w/1GB RAM, Vista Ultimate w/2GB, and Windows 7 Ultimate w/4GB of RAM) backed up their contents perfectly -- no troubles at all, even backing up a very large VMWare virtual hard drive (which is a single, physical, 20Gb file on my Vista laptop).
Very cool feature: This Acer will wake-up either a sleeping or hibernating computer to do the backup in the middle of the night! So, don't turn-off your computers, just put them in sleep/hibernate mode so they don't use much power, but will still get backed-up. (Note: WHS does *not* use Wake On LAN technology, which doesn't work reliably in all environments - the WHS technical strategy for waking sleeping/hibernating computers works much better than WOL). The WHS backups are incremental, so you can return to any previous point in time during a restore -- you aren't limited just to what was done last night. This is handy if you want to restore your computer to the way it worked one month ago, when it was working reliably (you'd probably do a 2nd restore, then, to load all your most recent data following the system restore).
If you're a Bellsouth customer using a Westell 6100 modem, note that you'll need to disable the router functions of the Westell modem if you want to successfully use remote access on your WHS. Choose "Bridged over Ethernet" protocol in the modem setups, and then configure your wireless router so it is a PPPoE connection (you'll need your Bellsouth email and password for the router configuration). Once I got through this headache, I was able to gain remote access to my server -- very cool feature!! (BTW, don't count on any technical help by Bellsouth - you won't get any that's helpful to you).
I did a successful restore of my quirky Gateway computer, just to see what that's like. Very simple. Install a Restore CD in the computer (which must be connected by ethernet, not wirelessly), and choose a backup on the server you'll use for the restore. I did this twice, and it worked perfectly and easily. A computer with XP SP-3, Office Pro and maybe 5Gb of personal data was restored in about 20 minutes!
In short, it's a 4-star product because I can't backup my digital media files on my Gateway. My Gateway desktop hardware *is* quirky, so that very well might be the problem root cause, but even still, the WHS backup is unhelpful in diagnosing the exact issue for me. (The Windows Event Viewer alludes to a buffer space issue with a socket, but that's beyond the home consumer's ability to understand).
**** July 2, 2009 UPDATE
I've had this for just a few days now, and things are working nicely. I've got all my personal data on a shared folder, making all my data accessible anywhere on the Internet (by design - I could turn off remote access if I wanted). Everything is working very well. Using Offline Files and Folders (on XP Pro or Vista Pro/Ultimate), I've now got a great solution to carrying my data with me on my laptop. Note, though, that for the auto-backup function to work, your laptop should be plugged in, and I noticed this morning that the kids' laptop didn't go back to sleep after getting awakened for backup. That's only been a problem with one of my four computers, so it's probably computer-specific, and not a problem with WHS.
I added another 1TB hard drive...there's no instruction on how to actually do that, but here's the key: slide the orange knob on the front of the empty drive bay to take the cage out -- swinging that cage door fully open will disengage a hard drive from the server (but at the moment, the cage is empty, so it really doesn't do anything). One side of the mostly-plastic cage is meant to be gently bent so you an insert the new hard drive and fit it into the four button-pins (it's not screwed into the cage). When you slide the cage back into the server, shut the cage's "door" halfway until the cage is slid back as far as it can go. Then, fully close the cage's "door" to make a snug fit between the hard drive and the server's pin receptacle. I bumbled my way around to figure this out, as there are no instructions to explain this.
When you power-on your server, it'll recognize the new drive. You need to add it to the server's storage space (whether you want to use it as additional storage or whether you want to enable data redundancy so your data is stored on two drives, not just one).
By adding a 2nd hard drive, I can ask WHS to automatically make a copy of all my shared folders onto the 2nd hard drive, giving me data redundancy. Note: The WHS database that keeps track of all your backups is *not* redundantly stored, though. There is a free add-in to the server console (called WHSBDBB) which can make a backup of the backup database, but that's a manual process. This is a limitation of WHS, not specifically with this Acer server.
I bought a one-year McAfee license for the antivirus (by default, the server runs Windows Firewall and not McAfee's firewall). The process was klutzy and confusing after I clicked "Buy Now" on the server console (under the McAfee tab). Although others appear to have gotten a six-month introductory license, my Acer server came with only 45-days, and when I renewed, it didn't begin the year after the 45-day period, it began immediately, so I essentially lost out on a free 45-day window to use McAfee. (Update 8/29/09: I suspect that McAfee is the reason I get the "WHS Console blue screen" -- keep reading).
I bought a new APC-branded UPS for the...
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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love this machine, June 18, 2009
I've been disappointed with a couple of inexpensive network storage devices in the recent past and when this product was available, I jumped at the chance. When you consider that the 1TB hard drive is worth about $100 and the Windows Home Server is worth a little over $100, that means the hardware itself costs you about $200. That is a deal if you ask me. Here is what I like about it.
1. compact size. just a little nondescript box that you place anywhere you have an ethernet port. I put mine in the basement because it is cool down there year round and humidity is controlled.
2. 4 drive bays for plenty of storage. The trays are simple but effective. You have the option of hotswapping the drives although I probably would never use that feature. I do like that the drives are easily accessible. My main desktop has IcyHot trays and it cost me a small fortune for 4. Also, the home server software manages your data almost like RAID. You can configure which folders you want duplicated and it will put the data on different HDs for maximum protection.
3. low energy. I think idle energy consumption is about 50Watts. I leave this thing on all the time (how it was intended). You do not need a mondo processor for file serving.
4. internet access. Microsoft allows you to register your home server free of charge with an address of (name).homeserver.com. I can access my home server at work or out and about using the internet.
5. WHS. This OS is based on Windows Server 2003, a mature product. You control it via a console that you install on any computer you want. You can also control it via remote desktop. As WHS becomes more popular, you will see a load of aftermarket support for it. Right now, there is enough to get by. I even have my Squeezebox server software (beta) running on it and serving up my MP3 collection which resides on the WHS--I have 3 squeezebox unit so this was an unexpected blessing! You can also serve media to your PS3 or XBox360.
6. Quiet. This unit has a small fan and relies heavily on passive cooling. That is good and bad. Compared to a desktop, it is much quieter. My CPU temp is currently 152*F, my system temp 104*F.
Bottom line: a whole lot more than just a simple network storage device! I think the home server concept is sure to take off.
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great server, and a great value too., June 21, 2009
There aren't many purpose-built Windows Home Server systems available. I've tried the HP 485 also, and I prefer the Acer. I haven't measured the power consumption directly, but the Atom processor should use less power. More importantly though, it is much quieter than the HP.
The case design seems very sensible. It is shorter than the HP, but a couple of inches wider. This is partly because there's a big 120mm fan on the right side, blowing air directly at the 4 drive bays as well as the motherboard at the bottom.
Mine came with a Western Digital Green drive. It was the WD10EAVS version which I believe is a budget model (only 8MB cache), but I'm inclined to trust it more than the Seagate 7200.11 drive which comes with the HP.
I did have one problem but this was more of a documentation error. It happened when I tried to do a server recovery (I didn't need to, I just wanted to make sure I knew how.) This consists of starting the Server Recovery CD on a connected computer, then rebooting the server and hitting the reset switch. Or so the instructions said - but I kept getting the "Server Not Found" error. It took a long time to wade through Acer's technical support phone system - the first two people on the line seemed to think I was dealing with a desktop computer - but after 20 minutes they finally transferred me to someone with access to the necessary information. It turns out that to put it in reset mode, you have to turn off the server, press and *hold* the reset button (with a paperclip), hit the power button, *then* after several seconds, release the reset button. Even after that, I had to keep hitting the "back" button on the recovery software and retrying, but after a couple of minutes it found the server, and the recovery went smoothly from there.
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