FreeNAS Vs. HP MediaSmart WHS

[hulkhatepunybanner]

I think all households should have a home server, preferrably one that allows all users to run their applications by just logging on through any home PC.

However, computer geeks should have two servers: a home server and a "real" server for backroom stuff. Web, dev, NAS, whatever. The first WHS isn't perfect and HP's version is really imperfect (I lost all my data on one). The recover disc wiped all data.

[praecorloth]

At 2:20ish in your list of what parts of the video will contain what, you suggest (probably inadvertently) that Windows Home Server won't stack up against FreeNAS. I'd agree with this, but if you're trying to remain a neutral observer in this, you might want to double check your wording.

[bumwheel]

Did you figure out if you can convert the HP MediaSmart server to FreeNAS? I've got one that I bought and it sucks. I live in a Mac + PC environment that I want to be able to share files amongst freely and WHS doesn't seem to work well for this.

[nailstorm]

I recently went through this review on my own. FreeNAS is outstanding, ZFS is awesome, however WHS wins for its backup capability. Set and forget backup. Also WHS2011 will have native time machine support. FreeNAS time machine support works but has a critical flaw if you are aware of how the AFP works. Also FreeNAS 0.72 is better than 0.80 right now.. Also your comment about removing a drive from the DE pool is absolutely no different in FreeNAS using ZFS. Same exact concept.

[nailstorm]

I recently went through this review on my own. FreeNAS is outstanding, ZFS is awesome, however WHS wins for its backup capability. Set and forget backup. Also WHS2011 will have native time machine support. FreeNAS time machine support works but has a critical flaw if you are aware of how the AFP works. Also FreeNAS 0.72 is better than 0.80 right now.

[armmani2001]

My new favorite Channel ! Great review I was thinking about building a Freenas machine, now I can do it with comfort !

[t1a2r3i4k5]

can i install the whs of hp on a other pc so i can get de hp whs consule on a normal pc wit whs

[oitsonlikedonkeykong]

Is there a way I can set this up so that I can add HDD's later on when I purchase them? I want to build a 12TB NAS, but I on;y want to purchase 2 2TB a month at the moment. I was wondering whether I can over a period of time expand the size as of when I need? Or once, I set it up I can't add addtional drives? Will they be also recognised as 1 drive connected up in Windows?

[WinkyDaRabidElf]

If you want to put *nix on one of these boxes you might want to take a look at the Acer Aspire easyStore.

They have an open PCI slot. So, you "should" be able to put a *nix compatible NIC in there and be good to go.

[jimmah55555]

nerd 

[CanWeCapPlease]

Is that gigantic microphone review hardware also? 

[hottyson]

Very nice episode!

Your sound in the garage was very natural sounding and much better than by your desk. Very easy to listen to.

At your desk there are too many breath pops on the mic at your desk. You either need to get a mic screen, or go back to using a distant mic like you were using in the garage.

[gmanfreeman007]

So much space to backup your p*** oh shit lol

[lespaulrentals]

FreeNAS is excellent. I've played with it quite a bit. Glad to see a fellow guru out there who likes it too!

[Darthane]

@lespaulrentals Yeah, FreeNAS is great for what it does, and that is a rock solid NAS/SAN setup. Fast as all hell on the right hardware too :)

WHS however is quite possibly the the best windows ever, at just doing its job. And of course its scope is a lot more than just storage server, its backup management is a great addition and (considering its a 10 client license) good value for money.

[communitymart]

:07 dude got. ripped. off.

The problem is he knows better.

[lespaulrentals]

He got ripped off by having his server room in his garage?

So fucking what? Don't flame the guy!

[soyfu]

Great info and user stories. Thanks.

[speeron]

i have that dell w00t

[jonathanwgnz]

Hi i was just wondering if you have tried using Windows Home Server on a Custom Built Pc. Ive used WHS and never had problems with it before. Ive even lost power to it as well without a ups and it booted fine perhaps it was a hardware issue or just bad luck

[cchapin53]

Did you ever try loading FreeNAS onto the MSS?

[cchapin53]

Could you please update the review links in video info -- none of them seem to work.

[djd34dpool]

Yo you can prolly anwser a question i have is there any ftp server that can do this:

Can add Administrators

Has a WEB GUI (Assigned to a static IP)

Can leave users messages/users can send messages

Can set permissions.(Administators)

[lowtone10]

firefox agrees with you lol! just as you said "what the heck, that is not acceptable!" firefox crashed. that is not acceptable firefox, i mean what the heck, crashing in the middle of a good video.

[lowtone10]

according to lifehacker, windows home server is amazing, but ubuntu server is free, though more advanced, ubuntu server was their choice, though i go with FreeNAS

lifehacker /5162026/best-home-server-soft­ware

[CharlesLapriseBleney]

No VGA port !!!

WHY!!! ????

[spikeguns1]

it has a gpu chip build in but they would have to pay for patends etc.. buti ts a server so it's not really needed.

thats why it is leaved away

[gmfoo1]

What a disappointing comparison. Wow, can't believe that you trash WHS because you don't have a CD. C'mon! You have a power outage and the box won't boot so you blame WHS OS. You're guessing that the hardware is good because you hear a fan and see some lights? The power outage could have corrupted the OS or FAT or a surge at power up could have taken out the mobo/ram/etc. None of this is WHS's fault and everything can be corrected if you took the necessary steps (the CD) to correct the problem.

[Yerzriknot]

Any dumb ass can use HP MediaSmart. If you actually want to learn something I suggest FreeNAS. Any computer bought within the last five years should be able to run it.

[fireworkstube]

Mediasmart is a consumer product, not a geek product. It's for folks that have 1000's of photo's at risk, are savvy enough to stream media to a Xbox/PS3 but not really computer literate, and want a toaster. FreeNAS is for geeks or as use as a solution for small business. Still need hardware though. This is apples to oranges. As for the problems with Mediasmart this is the EX470 which is currently 2 generations behind. Basically, ignore whatever he's saying and find more current information.

[JayWants]

Can't agree with your review. Have a HP Mediasmart that has run absolutely rock solid for about a year. I started with FreeNas but quit because of the fiddling it needed to the WHS capabilities.

The duplication works great coz specific folders can be duplicted or not. Drive replace works, but just needs to copy the data elsewhere before it let's you swap. Media streaming, superb backups, external sharing are completely fuss free. If I had the patience to fool with FNas I may have agreed.

[TheR8drfan]

my hp whs works great. I did not have to hack anything to make it work.

chris-i would get a new disk before throwing out the server.

[rodneysb47]

So you fudged it up when you where toying go pay $15 and get another disk from HP. BTW this is meant to be a ready to go easy to use product. Its perfect for the people who want easy to use software. Good attempt but you didn't give the HP a fair shake cause you broke it then "lost" the disk.

[jagowar]

I have had the new acer h340 whs.... I have not seen any of the issues you were seeing. Been running it for 6 months and not a single crash or file transfers always run between 60 and 70 megabytes/sec.

[ssj5andrew]

I <3 FreeNAS I have to reload it onto my system because i was experimenting too much with my partition tabling and accidently nuked the partition table oops :P user error :P

[demon1481]

My advice to anyone wanting WHS if you are into PC building then build your own WHS, I have it running on a old computer and its not as bad as he says, I have had it running for a year 24/7 with minor problems.

[mahou008]

I am still quite interested in the MediaSmart, mainly because the small footprint, and it seems that it is ready to use out-of-box. Although I am quite concern about the system is not "Hot-Swappable", stability and mirror performance.

I'd like to know more about which MediaSmart did Chris use?  is it the newer model the EX485 or EX487? Can Chris explain more about the duplicate features? thanks

[fireworkstube]

He's using the 1st gen EX470. Many improvements have been made since then. Folder duplication is not smart or fancy, WHS transparently keeps a copy of any file you want over multiple drives. Think you photocopying a document for safe keeping. RAID and good backups require more knowledge than the average joe has. WHS is compromised in a sense by it's simlicity but HDD are cheap these days, and all Mediasmarts support external storage as well. Basically, don't worry too much about duplicate

[LadyGanxtaa]

Haha :D

[jakestarnes123]

You seemed to have missed the point. The WHS is just what it says a HOME SERVER. It's designed for basic tech aware families that dont want/ know how to do all the tweaking and hacking that your talking about. It's not really fair to compare the two.

[leonidas113]

Free NAS sucks balls

Open Filer Rules bitches

[transform100]

Very good insight, for me FreeNAS owns all followed by a Ubuntu server.

[steelcitypullers]

That was a fairly biased ridiculous review. How can you just recoverability if you lost the CD you should have kept?

[ypereto]

It's called the internet, you should give it a try.

[BlackJackEnt]

lool

[eierer]

Chris, you got to get payed pretty well, since you have all that stuff.. Or maybe it's just a matter of priorities. :)

[jupiterbroadcasting]

Some of it is review hardware that I send back. Some I bought over time.

-Chris

[C01eMaN87]

lucky man

[garejnc]

Cris, thank you, keep it geeky, you rock (I'll write this at every video you put out)!

[brandonrobinson5150]

Does freenas work with MAC.

[jupiterbroadcasting]

Yes, it has AFP, and SMB. Both protocols the Mac supports.

-Chris

[brandonrobinson5150]

Chris i need your help, I have a Imac 24" OSx 10.5.6 and a Xbox360 can build a pc with 4 hd's use Freenas to back up my mac using time machine and stream content to my 360 over a wireless network?

[jupiterbroadcasting]

Not sure FreeNAS will do the Time Machine thing.... Stay tuned for my Drobo review.. That might be more what you are looking for.

-Chris

[fireworkstube]

No offense but if you can't figure that out yourself you probably should just go with the Mediasmart. According to google you can use TM on FreeNAS. 360 is also doable according to google. Wireless has nothing to do with FreeNAS. Are you asking about bandwidth? It's possible HD will give you issues if your wireless doesn't support enough bandwidth. Check specs and compare against HD requirements. Good luck!

[djsimplyseth]

@brandonrobinson5150 mac's can be timemachined to an AFP share. Google "TimeMachine FreeNAS 8"

[bowenit]

If your box is registered then you should be able to get a reprint DVD. Also why not check out the salvage ability of HP Home Server via Helix3, or other such tools.

[jupiterbroadcasting]

You'd think so. But not that I can find, I have checked HP's site and torrent sites...

-Chris

[MaddysAGoodGirl]

OK, maybe my previous comment is irrelevant, and I don't need the Drobo. FreeNAS 0.7 will include ZFS, which may include the data protection and expandability of the Drobo. I need to look into ZFS further. With ZFS support, FreeNAS could become something truly awesome.

[MaddysAGoodGirl]

I'd like to boot a low power FreeNAS system from compact flash, with a FireWire 800 connection to a Drobo, skipping the DroboShare. I want the versatility of FreeNAS with the data protection and expandability of the Drobo. Will FreeNAS support FireWire 800 cards? Is there a significant disadvantage to not being able to run the Drobo Dashboard? What can DroboShare do that FreeNAS cannot?

[librano]

cool stuff Chris! Drobo vs FreeNAS should be interesting!

[bufsabre666]

say it with me chris, new-clear, new-clear

new-clu-ler isnt a word

[technologyadventures]

good video. I can't believe all the problems your having. I have WHS and it has been up and running for about 4 months without any problems.

[mike94560]

I know what you could do for a pop shield. Wear a stocking over your head. hehe. I would bust up laughing if you do it.

[ashneilroy]

NO VGA PORT!!!!!!

I cant believe that.

[ashneilroy]

Thats the best video i have seen on youtube

[ThingsontheWeb]

how do you spell user/Jupiterbroadcasting/  droal bo?

The link is in the description. Drobo

5/5

[ThingsontheWeb]

yeah, the server room.

Nice 5/5

[htplainf]

Good review. Looking forward to the FreeNAS vs Drobo smackdown.

[coaxx]

thanks for the review.. been looking into this oddly enough.. timely video

[angryjoy]

Built my first FreeNAS box with an Atom 330 PC (low power goodness) a few months ago and I can say that I will never go back to WHS.

[thomashome05]

Good Video!