A month or two ago, Microsoft launched another operating system, with very little publicity, in contrast to the high-profile launch of the unexciting Windows Vista. Its name? Windows Home Server. And what does it do? Basically, it’s a server for multi-computer home setups, and just one of the things it can do is to back up all your data automatically.
It’s available already to OEMs, and you can buy a complete appliance with WHS installed. Soon, part-built chassis will be available to various designs.
Computer buffs, the kind of people who like spending a week building a PC and installing software, point out that you can do the same job cheaper with a Linux distro, e.g. with an Ubuntu server. But the Microsoft solution looks to be less bother for the average Joe.
My biggest problem with WHS that it doesn’t do ICS. Those who run bittorrent needs to have one machine always on, which is usually the one that shares the internet. While WHS already has a utorrent add-in, it still cannot take over this task. Having a router (able to “dial-in” for adsl) is only a solution if it doesn’t die on too many bittorrent connections, as most do.