Every so often, the “geek” in me comes out, and I have to dig back into my love of computers, and getting down and dirty with them. My latest project? Building a home server. Bought a Dell desktop off Craigslist with the basic specs I needed, and then bumped up a few things (RAM, Hard drive space, etc.) to really make it scream.
Then I loaded Windows Home Server 2011. Built off their Small Business platform, Home Server is a rather cool bit of software (and not expensive…. about $50 for a 10-license installation disk). Yes, it’s a server, so it’s primary function is to store and serve files. And it does. It backs up (daily) every computer in the house on schedule. And when I say “backs up”, I mean literally EVERYTHING on all of the clients gets backed up. This means, should a hard drive go bad in my desktop, or one of my laptops, I simply install a new hard drive, and then have the server build the laptop or desktop back to its original configuration. No more worrying about copying files, or missing pictures/music/documents. The server will also install new updates to any of the clients (no matter what Windows platform they’re running).
This server is also a fairly potent media server. It will serve up music, pictures, video and recorded tv to any device in the house connected to our wifi network.
It’s coolest feature, however, is the Remote Access. From any computer, anywhere in the world, I can literally access everything in my home system. If I’m at work, and I want to listen to a particular music artist, I simply log on remotely, and I’m listening to it in a matter of seconds. If I want to show the latest video of my black lab, saved on my home desktop, I can simply log in, navigate to the video, and display it on any computer.
Yes, it took quite a while to get it configured exactly the way I wanted, and to make sure I wasn’t compromising security in any way, but the payoff is great. I had a few issues with my Verizon router not wanting to play nicely, but in the end, I was the victor, and all the features came to life.
Oh yes…. and there is a Windows Phone 7 app to also administer the server, to stream media, etc. From my cell phone, I can stream music, watch videos, start a server backup, etc. Imagine me driving down the interstate, my phone plugged into my car’s sound system, and I’m listening to Steely Dan being streamed from my house.
All too cool. Jamie wonders if he has lost his other 1/2, given the fact it took several nights of work to get this all configured correctly. He finally asked if I was ever coming downstairs again.
Yes, sometimes the “geek” comes out in me still……
-Rob
