In short, it's not an apples-to-apples comparison. You could install linux on your WHS box; you can't install windows on the media vault server. I do have to agree that the WHS applicance by HP seems to be overpriced, especially in light that I can buy a low end desktop and then install WHS for less money.

eshuundara

One awesome thing about it being Linux is that there is an online user community that is run by the original HP developer (he's since left HP) that has developed some add-on features. The yahoo group that he started can be found at: [tech.groups.yahoo.com]

After considering buidling my own bare bones storage server to backup the computers on my home network and stream music and video through my PS3 I opted for the HP MediaVault and I haven't been disappointed.

As for the web access to the unit - I don't know about the MV21XX series but with the older MV20XX models you don't need any subscription. There is an easy to configure http server built in (warning single threaded - so don't plan on using it as a real web server) and you also set up ftp access.

clalonde

soldstatic

BrandonG777

But yea if it says it supports UPnP then I'd be really surprised if it didn't stream straight to 360. Granted, you still need to have the video files in the correct format (using the right codecs [avi vs wmv doesn't really matter, its what codec is used to encode the video {there's a program called encode360 that re-encodes video using a codec that the 360 is cool with }]).

So if your vids are in the right format and you set it up to share the media via upnp from the vault, you'd be golden!

soldstatic

I can connect to it from any PC I want, I can VNC to it, I can plug my iPod (using Anapod Explorer) and USB hard drive to it, it streams music works as a Torrent server (torrent runs in wmvare).

Sorry linux guys, but Windows CAN do it cheap. I don't say that Windows is better, but it CAN do it cheap.

jiri

o0oceanwaters

Sergeant JoKer

I don't see that happening on this, but it would be a sweet option. If they add that then they are essentially turning it into a media center set top box. Which is still cool, given all the other gorgeous features, but would detract from the "purist" server type functionality, which is obviously what they're going for.

Highly doubt any DVR functionality, but if you have a windows media center pc you wanted to back up with WHS, you could set up the DVR on it and have the saved video files from your scheduled DVRing auto backed up to this box instead of a WHS, and then still stream it to your 360 or whatever (UPnP style).

They HAVE to put UPnP on this by default or whatever. Out of box UPnP is a serious must. Waaaaay too easy and cheap and adds great functionality for so many devices to NOT implement it.

soldstatic

the 360 has essentially two ways to stream media to it from networked files. Media center extender (which you get to by going down to the "media center" button on the media tab on the 360) requires a windows media center pc running the extender. The only great thing here, that I can see, is that you can supposedly do television tivo stuff as well as listen to am/fm radio (assuming you have the right cards plugged into your media center pc). The other way is by going to pictures/video/music on the media screen where you select the location. It uses UPnP for this. Most WMP11 installations make it extremely easy to share your media with the UPnP, and I use this much more than the "media center" extender thing cause it is faster (much bulkier program to do all that than just UPnP).

So essentially, if the Giz or sites like it have ANY pull in the market (which they certainly do) than the big honchos over at HP would be well advised to put UPnP in here. It'd be something easy to set up for users (you could fashion it after the WMP11 library sharing setups). Then my phone, my pda, other pcs of any OS, and the 360 (and i'm 90% sure the play stations as well, oh and the wii) could access the media with zero config / set up on the client side.

HP: Put UPnP on this. Add some USB ports or firewire ports so that the capacity can be upgraded further (or build in 4 bays (or do both)). I would certainly purchase this item, in an instant. Hands down for sure would buy this.

I don't see the point in getting this though, with less than a TB of storage. Not a big deal since they want to market half the price, and maybe some people don't need that much, but now that video is becoming so much more prevelent (and taking up so much more space than mp3s), it would be useless w/o min 1TB. Maybe have that as an option?

GET UPNP PLEASE

soldstatic

BTW, I am running it off of a 5 yr old P4 with a 10/100 network; so you really don't need a top end rig.

Johnny Chimpo

SneakerFiend

Kaiser-Machead

N@tedog

Andrew Min

Besides linux commands aren't all that hard and you get free support from a very active and involved community.

Tohe

bobdobbs

quikboy

magicconch

Thanks for this mini-review, as I'm in the market for a NAS and had my eye on this model.

One thing that concerns me is the "fixed" hard drive. It was a deal-breaker for the last model and it could break the deal again. What's the deal with HP and their "fixed" hard drives? How fixed is it really? I've heard if the fixed hard drive fails you HAVE to ship the unit to HP. That won't cut it for me.

Although expensive as hell, I'm leaning towards a Drobo...

AJ_Syrinx

Again, where are the savings from efficiency? Is it good on the electric bill?

Good size too. All in all it seems like a super good product that gets under the nails of the super Microsoft Giant. People that don't already have a server should go and get one of these as soon as it comes out.

LINUX IS IN SERVER ROOMS FOR A REASON.

oo0cyst0oo

An IP address alone will not give you internet access. First off remember that this will most likely be behind your router and only have a private network address (10.10.x.x or 192.168.x.x) so you'll need to do some sort of NAT or Port forwarding. Second, people will only be able to access the device if they know the IP and since most people have Dynamic IP address it can be a hassle to let everyone know when you're IP changes (heck, you might not even know when it changes).

I suspect the "service" is a proxy that allows you to create a URL and then people can go to that and it will connect to your device. It's possible, although I can't say for sure, that the service will also provide some basic firewall protection against hackers and viruses which I am sure this device does not have natively.

So the "service" could be useful and valuable unless you want to go out and buy a good firewall box, buy a Domain name and buy a Static IP from your ISP.

cowboyshootist

For those who wish for a server with more features (and if you have a spare PC laying around), you can always download one of the free Linux distros and set up your own Samba/NFS server (64 bit OpenSuse works for me...).

dsuse

Crescent

Crescent

Sergeant JoKer

alandashby

cmarsh

rainfever

Other than that, I can not see why anyone would pick WHS over this. Fantastic work, HP! I take back some of the bad things I said about you last eek.

Monty

genius74

xxdesmus

Gonzie

NASBoy

- The WHS servers will do a COMPLETE DRIVE IMAGE and offer recovery from a failed disk. The MV2120 will NOT do this, it only has file/folder based backup

- The Remote access is powered by TZO.Com Dynamic DNS and HP offers "HP Personal Domains" via TZO for FREE the first year. After the first year, you can pay $9.99 per year for the remote access/DDNS feature. If you choose not to renew TZO, you could hack your own DDNS client in there if you are a linux geek, or run DDNS in your router or any other device on your network and that will work too.

-You CAN open port 22 in your router and SSH into the box. you just need to set an administrator username up first.

There is another review on this HP MediaVault server that came out a few days ago before this review was posted, it explains some of the features in more detail and includes some detailed screenshots and a link on how to get ROOT :)

NASBoy

Hey, if you like the NAS thing, that's great. It looks like a good box for the money. I'm just telling you why I like home server.

The Brain

phryed

Not to be cynical or anything, but what's so special about the web front end again? That's what you're doomed to on 'starter' NAS boxes anyway. And what did you mean about Domain Name? As in it is easily internet accessible?

How is adding storage over USB a key feature? I am curious about waking up and 'remoting' to any computer though. Finally consumers get to have WOL! But I'd still rather use something like [logmein.com] which is much faster than RDP over ther internet anyway :X

neosoul

Maybe the web front end with domain name? Adding more storage via USB? Waking up and remoting into any computer on your network? Add-ins?

The Brain

ara

exterminat25

I'm not sure about either device, the small one has nice features but seems limited by it's form factor (2 bays, really?) And the WHS is uh.. big.

If I were to build something smaller, I'd find a 4-bay Shuttle PC (2x 3.5, 2x 5.25) and get something like unRAID. Or get a bigger machine and run something neat like MythTV.

I guess this could've been great for newbies, but Lacie and others offer 2-disk NAS configurations with higher storage, cheaper price and similar features?

neosoul

@ocha: They're saying April 1 availability (sorry I left that out of the review).

@mksql: It is definitely a NAS, and if I understand your question, the answer is that you would definitely be able to use a non-Time Machine Mac OS network backup program to back up to it. Not a problem, given the fact that I've accessed it on my network from both Macs and PCs.

@eblingmis: Hey, I totally understand your confusion. The idea is that this is a hard drive that connects to your network (i.e. router) and not directly to your computer, so you can put files on it, but so can other people who share the network. Welcome to Gizmodo!!

@ All you dudes discussing video file compatibility: This was one thing I really didn't get a chance to mess around with, but you look like you have a lively discussion going. I will try to do some test with the Xbox (Dave Zatz) but in truth, HP doesn't really care much for the Xbox, and wouldn't bend over backwards to make the MV extra compatible. "Xbox is a game machine... period!" is the message I get from HP. But you guys know I don't believe that.

OK, that's it for me for tonight. Thanks for the enthusiasm!!

Wilson Rothman

jkr

But this little device looks pretty great. Minimum of 4 drive bays and RAID 5 and I'd be sold.

nubbinator

Lizard_King

eblingmis

The backup client is nice for home users, but if it can also operate as a file share on a network, then it might be useful for Macs and Linux PCs.

mksql

actually it does work with divx files now. I have files located on my server in the shared video folder and on the 360 I have it's video location set to the server. works perfectly, all my vids are .avi

madmike1029

Lizard_King

back on topic: i can't wait to see what the hackers get this thing to do, it's like the linksys wrt routers times a million!

oldmanstan

Khamel

WHS does indeed use Windows Media Connect to stream content to 360s and other PCs running WMP. I never use it.

The thing that struck me about this review was: Why do you need to pay to access your own server over the net? Does HP own the internet now or something? Seriously, that's messed up.

olafson

I just built a dedicated machine running Vista Home Premium, and it streams Media Center to both of my Xboxes. File serving and automated backups are not mission critical to me (a NAS would suffice)

Lizard_King

bailey_ca

bailey_ca

jonthomasdesigns

jonthomasdesigns

davezatz

"Bobby got an A on his exam! Let's put it on the fridge."
"No, let's scan it and post it to the intranet!"

*shudder*

That said, if it's just Linux, is there anything stopping people from installing Wordpress or Drupal on it for an intranet?

bailey_ca

I've lost files, had user accounts totally locked out, and random drives disappear off it. I'm really pissed off that HP has been able to make a better product, at half the price but I guess that is the price of trusting Microsoft to make a reliable product.

scoobydoo

xxdesmus

diacronic

ocha

jschulman1591

radikaled

The last "great product" Microsoft put out was Visual Studio 2005. The last great Windows product was Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005. All in all, 2005 was a great year for them, I'm trying to say. Just wish they'd put out something since that isn't crap.

HeartBurnKid

Of course if WHS had some huge advantages like a proper iTunes server (it doesn't, iTunes is just not a good network app) or a Media Center Server or could gain some usage and justify a Windows OS.

Lizard_King

Also, it looks as though the internals would be a dust magnet. my only fear is that the door to the internals ans removable bay (and the main logic board) are prone to getting filled with dust and damage. just a thought...

discounteggroll

indy360

Definitely an eye-opener.

strider_mt2k

granted WHS is probably a great product, but i really wish they would admit that linux is very good at certain things and stop trying to rule the whole world.

if microsoft would focus on their core competencies (desktop operating system and major productivity apps) i guarantee they could turn out some amazing products that would even re-convert some of us linux users.

oldmanstan

sisedi

sisedi

klaybc

ripfire4