RSSWindows Server for Consumers: Is There a Place in the Home?
By Scott M. Fulton, III | Published May 25, 2007, 4:17 PM
With the near-ubiquity of network architecture as a fundamental part of nearly all computing and digital communications, it was only a matter of time before Microsoft would develop a SKU of Windows Server directed toward the consumer. Windows Home Server may have a substantive impact in the home computing environment, opening up new avenues for connectivity and functionality that home distros of Linux, and even the more media-savvy Mac OS, thus far haven’t considered.
Jupiter Research analyst Michael Gartenberg has often said that Microsoft is in a unique position among the world’s corporations: It must find a way to market essentially the same product to a business systems architect as well as a cola-drinking, detergent-using consumer.
Depending on which market some facet of Windows targets, an appropriate hat must be chosen for it, if you will. So when Windows Server 2003 forks a separate version for the home, it has to change hats, dropping the whole security, functionality, and interoperability campaign in favor of, “It’s about the experience.” In fact, Microsoft’s consumer campaigns for both its software and devices will merrily list for you the various things that “it’s about.”
So when we spoke to Windows Home Server group product manager Joel Sider last week at WinHEC 2007 in Los Angeles, we fully accepted to be told what “it’s about” now, and Sider did not disappoint. But in anticipation of a carefully orchestrated, consumer-oriented message, BetaNews went into the interview with the intention of asking some questions from deep left and deep right field, on topics that wouldn’t usually get air time.
We beg Sider’s forgiveness for all the curve balls. But in the following transcript, watch how a veteran marketer works diligently several times to bring us back “on message,” to move the discussion out of left field and into the territory of topics that do get air time. You’ll see references not only to what “it’s about” but what “it’s not about.” Like an invisible doggie fence, the “it’s not about” message is designed to bring us back to the center of the discussion.
Our talk began with a reference to an earlier keynote demonstration of Windows Home Server streaming content to an Xbox 360, for display on the HDTV to which it was connected.
SCOTT FULTON, BetaNews: A lot of people saw for the first time this morning a demonstration of Home Server working in conjunction with the new extension units...bringing the Xbox 360 into the mix. I’m wondering, why the Xbox specifically? Microsoft may have had an opportunity here to develop a whole new class of media box. Why Xbox? Because it was there?
JOEL SIDER, Group Product Manager for Windows Home Server, Microsoft: A core goal of Windows Home Server is to provide a central place where a family can keep all of its digital content. Everything from pictures to music to video to documents, but a lot of media. Obviously we’re all aggregating more and more media, and we need a place to make sure it’s all protected, backed up, and centralized so you can all get to it. Sharing media, sharing those digital experiences, is a core tenet of the product. And one way to help enable that is streaming it to Xbox, and the reasons to do that is so you can put it on the big screen, so the family can enjoy media in the living room on the big screen. So listen to music through the Xbox from Home Server, enjoy a picture slideshow, enjoy videos, etc. [With] Xbox in this case, through the Windows Media Connect technology – which both Xbox and Home Server support – you’re able to achieve that scenario.
Essentially, we do a lot of focus groups, and continue to do so with potential customers. What they often talk about is, people are kind of siloed off, doing their own thing in the household involving technology. Somebody’s off doing computing, somebody else is playing games, somebody else is doing music, etc. In many ways, we’re kind of off on islands or siloed off, and technology is, in a lot of ways, a great way to better connect us as families. So we see the technology enabling that again by providing a central place where we can all get to and share and participate in video content, and in terms of actually enjoying it as a family.
SCOTT FULTON: Well, if we’re all being connected as families...Microsoft is pretty good at defining how one connects to a device. It has this whole user interface concept pretty well wrapped up. Which goes back to, why the Xbox? Is there something about it specifically that makes it a more suitable, adaptable, connectable thing? It seems that the possibility for awkwardness is there, specifically with – and correct me if I’m wrong – we’re not talking about a universal interface here. We’re talking about a joystick controller.
JOEL SIDER: It is a game controller, and that’s a very good point. It’s not about Xbox, it’s about Windows Media Connect, in that you can stream media very easily, you can dictate that one of your media folders - photos, music, video – are able to stream. That means you can stream to other devices that support Windows Media Connect. Xbox happens to be one of those devices, and happens to be a device that’s pretty widely out there and understood and enjoyed by a lot of people, so it’s an example. Now there are other devices that support it, and in fact, we’ve seen in our focus groups, some people don’t really have a lot of experience with a gaming device and a gaming control. They may just want to use something like a Roku SoundBridge, which is a really clever little product, very small, compact. You connect [it] to speakers, it will easily find Home Server on the network, and you stream your music to it and you just basically have your digital jukebox there in the living room.
We have this whole other array of devices; Xbox is just a good example, but certainly not the only one. It’s really about being able to stream your media to other devices in the home, so the family can better enjoy them.
SCOTT FULTON: A lot of Microsoft technologies come out of the gate fresh, sometimes so fresh that they get tweaked in Service Pack 1. But the moment they’re ready, here they come. In the case of Windows Home Server, it seems to me there is one little critical feature that Microsoft may have had to wait for, and that’s being able to network on Wireless-n, and get that 5 GHz stream that we saw demonstrated today. If the IEEE had agreed on how to keep their gigahertz apart from one another, we might not have had this problem, and some of this stuff we could have had two years ago. Has some of this stuff been on the shelf waiting for everyone else to get their act together?
JOEL SIDER: Really, it’s been a matter of developing the right user interface, the software. Under the hood, this is Windows Server, the stuff that’s in data centers, but we want to think about and research and build in the right way that layer of software that your average consumer, our target market of families and what we call “enthused followers,” not highly technical people, are going to be able to take Home Server off the retail shelf...plug it into the wall for power, connect to your router, install software into the client machine of the home, and you’re off to the races. All your PCs are being backed up, you have a central place to keep everything in a very familiar interface that we’re all familiar with in terms of folders, and in also enabling remote access, so you can connect to your Home Server from anywhere, get to media, share it with other people...and then there’s some added additional features like network monitoring, as well as media streaming.
SCOTT FULTON: On that mark, Microsoft had to go back to the drawing board several years ago to make an operating system that was orders of magnitude more securable than its predecessor. So for the home consumer, security is extremely important. We may not be looking at a platform that is that open to being penetrated quite yet...the technology for “hacking” into the Home Server might not be there yet. But it might be in two to three years’ time. Are you guys ready for this?
JOEL SIDER: Yea, again, the reason we didn’t build this from the ground up, we based it on Windows Server, is because people expect security to be in there. So that proven, hard case of Windows Server, with its security benefits, are already there. Remote access in terms of strong password, issuing of certificates, all of that is there as well. It can be updated just like other versions of Windows, with security fixes, etc., once the model has been established.
SCOTT FULTON: So what points of the Longhorn security infrastructure is under the hood here, that the consumer will benefit from even if she doesn’t see it?
JOEL SIDER: It’s all there, essentially, Windows Server 2003. In a lot of cases, people are going to have their existing firewall in place, so it’s behind the firewall. Remote access can be turned off by default, if you are worried about that extra threat. And then the nice thing is that people like F-Secure and other third-party security providers will also be building software for Home Server as well.
Next: One more try at Windows on your fridge...
I'm waiting to see if they rename it to fit the rest of their product line (ie "Windows Live Home Server .NET 2008 Ultimate Premium Extras Edition").
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|Wow, that was clever.
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|Nah, it was Clever (Extra Special Super Improved Edition).
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|I have a Windows home server and it's called Windows Server 2003. It is mainly a 'hub' to connect all my extra junk to in a closet. I have 4 massive USB drives (for photo backups mainly), a scanner, and a printer all connected.
The USB drives are shared as network drives and I have backup jobs that run every week across the WiFi network.
The OS is VERY stable, even on the old Presario hardware it is running. The role-based setup of WS2K3 allowed me to install just the roles and devices I need for file & printer sharing. However, I realize that this is overkill for a home-server, so I would love to see something designed more for my needs. Perhaps the new Windows Home Server is what I need. I will look into it, but I will NOT replace my existing configuration until I am convinced it will work as flawlessly as what I have now.
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|Heh...
Damn beta stills says it *is* windows Server 2003, so you probably wouldn't be loosing *too* much. :p
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|You always have a hot switchable drive on your system. It's only purpose is to backup your boot drive in case of failure. It doesn't appear as part of your drive space.
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|Recovering a WHS system:
-On a system with one one drive it disables duplication by default (since such a thing would be pointless) With more than one drive, it is enabled by default.
-Systems added to the group are automatically backed up and a restore ISO is automatically in the shared folders (along with the connector CD and the server installation CD).
Shared files:
If there are multiple drives in the system, it will be set up to duplicate these files across multiple drives. If one fails, simply replace it. If you do not have more than one drive in the system (homebuilt), Duh? You lose it all, just as you would in any other system.
The OS itself:
Simply re-install it. Nothing is stored in the OS "partition" that requires backup. Even the add-ins are stored elsewhere. Again, this is assuming there are multiple drives available which, as I understand it, will be a requirement on retail systems. Again, with homebuilt, well...you should know better, and would probably be using an alternative (free/OSS) system anyway.
These obviously aren't intended for use outside the home. As such, a lot of the tools for administering a Domains, Users, Directories, etc are not available as they're simply unnecessary and frankly, beyond the ken of the average home user.
Basically, if you want to be able to tinker with the settings, tune this, tweak that, or well, "administrate" the server, it's not for you. You install it (plug it in), install the connector on the other systems and let it be. There's really not much else you can do with it, which was kinda the whole point behind it. The less work for the home user, the better.
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|Sorry to confuse you, as you have obviously been living in the world of PCs too long. And what is so amazing about your chicken little claim? Its true of any PC, be it laptop or a server if you don't utilize server class configurations and planning. Duh!
Not only is redundancy and the avoidance of single point of failure configurations such as separate controllers, drives, power supplies common in the server world easily accomplished in the physical realm; but a real server would have a an elegant backup management - something that is common in the UNIX world but almost an oxymoron in the PC realm. (Although enterprise tools such as ADSM/Tivoli Storage Manager can be brought in to serve Windows, although given the choice I certainly wouldn't want to try to run it from the Windows platform. Nor in the home! ;-)
Virtualization can greatly ease this issue in the software realm. Multiple VMs distributed across independent subsystems with shared resources can have you back up in almost no time in a poor man's HA.
And, chicken little, the home does not need true high availability systems! But your hysteria is still surprisingly common in the enterprise realm!
So I guess my comments straddle the fence, but definitely lean to one side. Sure there is room for home based servers! Even if it was simply to implement a home back up strategy for other machines! But there is the rub, with the systems and tools available, the option is not a friendly nor particularly attractive one!
I can't help but marvel at the Windows world where the applications and OS are intentionally intermingled..not to mention the basic structure of the Directory.
Other systems allow you to make a fully functional and bootable backup copy of the OS placed dynamically in a logical volume with a simple 'mksysb' command! Maybe more folks should become aware of what is routine in other environments and unknown in the Windows world. But then up to 3 way mirroring and unmirroring logical volumes with sophisticated inter and intra drive policies are also accomplished on live systems with a simple command ('mklvcopy')
...Not to mention the ability to split a designated physical and logical 3rd copy off of the mirror, thus providing a full backup without having to kick anyone off the still mirrored system is also possible with a simple 'spltlvcopy' command.
And if you need a REAL HA system you are using AIX anyway. Not exactly a 'home' class system.
All of this is mentioned simply to illustrate that Windows still lacks fundamental capabilities. And that is the primary problem with using it as a server.
And that is why Windows is still an awkward midrange level environment for systems that simply do not require, or for which many are still not aware, of the capabilities that exist (and have existed for over 10 years) on other systems. Of course, when was that last time you saw any of them advertised? Do you wonder why?
When you discover some of the capabilities mentioned (not to mention dynamic kernels, etc), that is the real reason lots of folks are not keen on Windows at any level. It simply lacks the sophistication, robustness, elegance, and functionality other environments offer. And that is not simply an anti-MS complaint. It is simply that other platforms exist that do more - more elegantly and more reliably.
But with proper planning, a Windows environment Can be made workable at the enterprise or home level. And the capabilities to do so are long overdue! Unfortunately it is necessary to employ quite a few non-native tools that are fundamentally lacking in Windows, necessitating a much greater level of hassle and still not providing a seamless solution.
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|Is there even a point to your random rant?? This is an article about a server for the HOME. I'd like to see a home user get by reading just first sentence of your pointless ranting before writing it off as useless BS when considering a home server product.
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|Poor baby. You obviously didn't read the multiple posts made prior to my post.
"I'd like to see a home user get by reading just first sentence of your "
...got language skills? We get your point, which is to say: You are functionally illiterate.
And you are championing 'less experienced home users' reading posts here? ...Gee, and after I have been told on several occasions that the folks here are technoids... ;-))
The fact is, without greater basic functionality, someone would be better off with network attached storage and a simple data backup strategy... a functional strategy that Windows still lacks in any form.
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|The fact is, without greater basic functionality, someone would be better off with network attached storage and a simple data backup strategy..
That's the whole point.
This product isn't aimed as those of us who are able (much less willing) to do what you are suggesting.
The Home user can simply plug this in and forget it. Their systems will be backed up, they'll have a single storage medium for their shared files, and a central security monitor in case one or more of the systems isn't actively monitored by responsible parties (i.e, the PC in the kids room).
Sure, other alternatives exist, perhaps even better ones. But as far as getting it into the hands of the average home user, MS wins, hands down, and it does the basics pretty well.
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|What sprang to mind as I was reading this was:
SINGLE POINT OF FAILURE!
The Home Server goes down and the whole Household
just stops?
So maybe you need two separate servers, with 'fail over'?
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|Whats springs to my mind reading this is:
SINGLE POINT OF FAILURE!!!
Loose the Home server, your home computing is
'Dead in the water'.
So, you need two for redundancy?
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|Yeah, because the restore CD, duplication of files, and backups sure wouldn't help, right?
do you actually know *anything* about this product, or are you just bashing it because it's Microsoft?
Don' worry about replying, we already know the answer.
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|is it better used than xp?
_______________
iPod Converter
http://www.ipodconverter.com
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|Hey look, it's MS Bob II. This thing is so gonna flop
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|I wouldn't be so quick to rush to judgement on Windows Home Server. I'm running the beta version of this product, and I'm convinced it has a place.
There are a LOT of people with many Windows systems in their home. This makes a good deal of sense for more reasons than you might imagine.
The 1st being you don't need to be a network geek to set it up.
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|plus it would be "cheaper" i guess
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|Hey look, its a troll....
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|lmao.....nice
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