HP (Hewlett-Packard) MediaSmart Server EX470 500GB 4-Bay NAS Drive

The Very Useful HP MediaSmart Server

Posted May 13, 2008 - I originally purchased the ex470 primarily as a backup for my computer's 1TB internal hard drive, shortly afterward I discovered the many, many uses for this well designed product. You can have up to 10 users who can access the server remotely, Grandmothers and other family took up 4 user spots and were quickly thrilled at their new ability to access pictures of my kids anytime. My friends and I took up the remaining user spots, we keep a pool of our music, videos, pictures, and data on the server so that it can be accessed from work/anywhere else. I didn't even know about the ability to remotely access your home computers until unboxing the device. This is an amazing feature that I am constantly finding new uses for. The box itself is surprisingly small, I've heard reviewers refer to it as loud, mine is quieter than the average desktop. You will rarely touch the box itself, once everything is set up you will almost forget it is there, auto backup is great for peace of mind. I have zero tech skills and yet I had no problems installing a second hard drive, I did call tech support for a little Q&A, tech support was fast, helpful, and actually knew what they were talking about. For some the Data Corruption Bug is a deal breaker but Microsoft is readying a fix for late June, check out their Data Corruption Bug Page for all the info you'll need to know, the Bug is easy to avoid by simply setting everyone to read only. I was going to wait about purchasing this unit until the fix was out but I correctly assumed I could easily waste a month learning everything, getting the settings where I wanted them, teaching the other users how to use the server, and getting my webshare (a grandma favorite) set up. The features are great and will only get better with PP1 (Power Pack 1 - Same as a Service Pack) set to drop around the same time as the Data Corruption Bug fix. Ask any questions in the comments section and I'll do my best to answer them.

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Windows Home Server from HP

Posted 1 year ago - I originally built my own Windows Home Server out of some old computer components that I had. However, I envied the sleek HP EX470/EX475 Home Servers. I couldn't even build one as cheap as these!! So when I ran out of expansion in my DIY system, and when the EX470 went on clearance prior to the release of the new EX480/485, I bought one. It was kind of funky doing the installation without an attached monitor, but it went smoothly. I was able to transfer over my data w/out a hitch. Note that this is not the quietest unit, so take that into consideration in a living room situation. However, as it's a network appliance that only requires power and an ethernet connection, it's best to hide it away. Heck, put it in the garage! :-) It's easy to add drives, with the pull-out drive trays. The Windows Home Server software is awesome, and easy to navigate. IMPORTANT NOTE: Microsoft has finally fixed the corruption bug, so be sure and read updated reviews on these units. My HP has been running for months now, and never a hitch.

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Great product for backups and media sharing

Posted Feb 23, 2008 - Great product if you want to take automatic backups of your pc and for media sharing. I use this for these two purposes, media sharing is great with my Xbox 360. Additionally the WHS is built on top of Windows Server 2003, although it is not recommended to directly log into Windows Server 2003, but it is helpful if you want to do some advanced tasks such as printer sharing, additional websites, etc. With the WHS we also get a free domain, [alias].homeserver.com... for accessing from the web (media, login to your connected machines, etc). All in all a great product. A star is dropped in the rating due to the data corruption bug, which I hope a fix will be available shortly

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A great device for unmanaged backups and some piece of mind

Posted Dec 28, 2007 - I purchased the EX470 and immediately purchased another 500 GB hard drive to add to it. You have the option to 'duplicate' any or all of your shared folders once you have multiple drives installed. This feature is worth its weight in gold since I've moved all my videos, pictures, and songs onto the server. For even more piece of mind, there are a couple of 3rd party applications you can use to back up the shared folders via the Internet. This not only protects your files from system corruption, but also from natural disaster (fire, flood, theft, etc.). The step by step installation helps you to completely set up the server for remote access in a very easy to understand fashion. You get a free website from Microsoft (whatever.homeserver.co...) that points directly to your home server and it attempts to do all the necessary configurations to your router to open up this access. My router wasn't compatible, but it was easy to make the changes needed to open up the server for outside access. Another great benefit is the Media Connect support. I have full access to all my songs and movies on my television via my PS3 which is wonderful. It only took me enabling the media connect support. My Media Connect device (PS3) found the server right away and had full access to my files. As stated, my only complaint is that there's not more this box can do. I love all the added features that HP added to this Microsoft server product, but I see so much more that can possibly be done with a centralized server. This will be one of the most important and critical devices that I have. I already can't live without it.

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Easy-to-use, cost effective networked storage

Posted Dec 26, 2007 - I bought my EX470 with one 500GB disk and added 3 750GB disks to give a 2.75TB storage array -- the total cost was only 37 cents per GB! This thing worked flawlessly right out of the box -- NO network reconfigurations or special setup was required (I have a linksys-based home network). Adding the new disk drives was a breeze -- mounting the drives in their trays required no tools, adding them to the file system took only a minute each and was a 'no brainer'. The EX470 runs Windows Home Server (WHS) which offers replication on a folder-by-folder basis. Transfer rates are modest (I am running 100Gb E/N) -- averaging about 8MB/s. There is no striping or RAID other than the folder mirroring so important files require 2x the space to be backed up onto distinct disk drives. WHS gives single namespace access so you don't see drive letters for each drive -- only the overall storage pool. You probably want to run 3 (or 4) disk drives to enable file access via replicated folders from an idle disk. BOTTOM LINE -- Great product and good value

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Great Home Server

Posted Nov 29, 2007 - The EX470 will wake on lan my PCs and do daily backups. I can remote access my network from the internet and share pictures/videos with family members. It will also stream audio/video/pictures to the XBox360, Extenders, and wireless Photo Frames. However, to support DivX and some Slideshow Frames, one must use a work around unsupported method to install WMP 11 to get WMC 4.0 features.

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Corrupted my data, discs would spin 24/7

Posted Jan 31, 2008 - This product was just not ready to launch. The worst possible file for me to lose was the one that got corrupted. I suspect it was due to constant balancing of the drives while I was editing the file. Microsoft suggests the work around is to "copy" the file from the server to another PC, edit the file there, and then re-save it to the server. What is the point of the server then? I did everything I could to keep this but in the end decided I could not devote my life to MAKING something work that I originally bought to SIMPLIFY my life. Instead, I lost data and lots of sleep. I am shipping it back to HP for credit tomorrow and will consider purchasing again in 1 year once the bugs are fixed.

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Nice

Posted 1 year ago - Had it about two weeks. Extremely easy setup, just works. Have added two more drives to get the duplication, and plan to add RAM soon. I like to "play" with new toys, and it's almost disappointing how little maintenance it takes. It just works.

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a must have for your home network

Posted 1 year ago - windows home server has lots of features for everyday life, it can backup all your home PCs automatically, which can save you real heart break should a hard drive with your photos, home video and songs fail a day before you were planning to take a backup. media streaming is the way to use home entertainment systems. hp has built a very good product to do full justice to windows home server. it is stlish looking compact machine, that is very energy efficient. missing display port and just enough power of hardware is intentional to keep energy use low

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Great Home Server in a Small Package!

Posted May 17, 2008 - After receiving my server, I was amazed at how small it actually is. It's measurements are: 5.5" x 9.8" x 9.2" Setup is a breeze. You simply connect the power and ethernet cables and power up. Then, you use the installation disk on one of your home computers and follow the steps. I love how quick and easy it is to install additional hard drives. Along with this, the ability for the server to automatically duplicate your shared filed on multiple hard drives definitely eases worries of losing data. If one of the hard drives were to actually fail, your server has it stored on another hard drive as well. Peace of mind!! Having music, movies, pictures, and whatever media all centralized on one server (that I always have running) is great for spontaneously wanting to view it either on any desktop computer, xbox 360, or a number of devices around my house. The media is ready to be viewed whenever I want. Convenience!! Another great feature is the automated backups that this server will do for your other computers on the network. Whatever time frame that you set, the server will create a backup without you having to initiate it. It's a simple thing like this that can save your butt. We all seem to procrastinate on making backups. So, it's just a matter of time until we lose important data. But, with a home server doing backups daily; you're gonna be safe. I definitely recommend this for anyone with multiple PCs or if you want to unleash your vast library of media.

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Great product for anyone with multiple PCs in the home

Posted Dec 29, 2007 - Microsoft and HP did a great job integrating features into a TINY unit and love how well it works. It makes backups and restoring very simple. HP has also integrated additional features with synchronizing and backing up iTunes music. Add-ons are also available for other features that are not included with the product like TiVo video sharing etc.

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