HP MediaSmart Server EX475 – Hands On Review

Update: The HP MediaSmart Server EX487 is now available, which supercedes this model. Check out our Hands On Review here!

How many great companies do you know? Take a look around right now – who made your computer, the furniture in your house, the food in your cupboards. How many of those manufacturers would you say are great companies? I don’t mean great in terms of profitability, in terms of stock performance, or even great in terms of their environmental performance and social responsibility – I just mean they make great products.

I consider HP to be a great hardware company – if I take a look around the room I’m typing this article, I see two of their products which are pretty important to me. The home computer I’m writing this review on is one of their small footprint Pavilion s7000 desktops. Tiny machine, runs Vista without too many issues, tucks away neatly under the desk – great work HP.

If I look to my right, I see a Photosmart C6180 All-in One printer. It’s a printer, scanner, photocopier and fax machine. It connects to my home network wirelessly or through Ethernet. It prints well enough for my needs, at a speed that’s great, and whilst it wasn’t cheap, it didn’t cost the earth (its ink is a different matter, but this argument is going well, let’s not spoil it). Again, nice one HP.

So, Hewlett Packard – great hardware company.

The problem with HP being a great hardware company is that they’re a pretty average software company. In fact, I’d say that when it comes to software, they’re completely rubbish. The drivers that have run my last few printers have been an abomination – massive, bloated downloads that then fail to install correctly, don’t connect my printer properly, and are packed with pretty useless pieces of “value-added” software that I neither want or need. Maybe they’re getting better, but even now, my wife’s work laptop won’t connect wirelessly or via Ethernet to the C6180. Each time she wants to print, it’s hook up that USB cable time.

On the desktop side, well, like most OEMs they’re not completely innocent when it comes to adding in a few pieces of value-added software – okay, they’re not performing as well as Sony in the services-to-bloatware-propagation stakes, but if you want a totally clean desktop when you run your first boot, you may not find one on your HP machine.

So, Hewlett Packard – great hardware, terrible software.

Interestingly, the reverse is arguably true of Microsoft. Here I am, typing this article in Word 2007, within Windows Vista. Whilst Vista has its naysayers, I think it’s a pretty decent OS (especially with SP1 installed, which speeds it up no end). Microsoft Office is fantastic, and has been for ages. Microsoft is a great software company.

Microsoft is not a great hardware company. Sure they have some good products – I have an Xbox 360 in the next room, and their accessories team is, I would say, a small jewel in the crown of the business. But Zune v1 wasn’t the best, and for me personally Zune v2 vs iPod Touch is a non-event. It’s true to say they’re a software company first and foremost, and rely on great hardware companies to support and distribute their products.

At CES in January 2006, Bill Gates revealed Windows Home Server to the world, with the HP MediaSmart Server up on stage during his keynote representing the physical embodiment of the new home server category. The accompanying press release celebrated the collaboration with HP on the MediaSmart Server – “HP and Microsoft have worked closely throughout the respective development cycles of the HP MediaSmart Server and Windows Home Server software to create a simple yet compelling product for the digital home unlike any other on the market today.” (Satjiv Chahlil, VP Marketing, HP).

It looked great, but I’d been here before. Yes, I was one of three people who bought into an earlier Microsoft/OEM collaboration – the Portable Media Center. I picked up one of the Creative units, which at first glance, looked pretty great, until you started using it. It was quickly dropped by both businesses leaving this early adopter feeling pretty peeved.

Fast forward to today, and here I am typing this article, staring at the HP MediaSmart Server. Sure, we’ve all seen your pictures -you look pretty cute, but nowadays, I don’t jump in so easily. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the WGS Hands-On Review of HP’s EX475 MediaSmart Server.

What ‘s in the Box?

This week, I received one of the first MediaSmart Servers to hit the UK. The packaging was pretty much complete, with only the manual and setup poster being draft, pre-production versions. Buy an EX475 and here’s what you get in the box:

• HP MediaSmart Server
• Power cable
• Ethernet cable
• Setup Poster
• Installation and Troubleshooting Guide
• Warranty and Support Guide
• Software Installation Disc
• PC Restore Disc
• Server Recovery Disc

The unit itself was very well packaged in protective foam, so nothing should dislodge from the server in transit. Upon removing all of the protective foam, you see the server itself is protected by an extra layer of plastic, protecting the shiny sides, bottom display and drive lights from scratches whilst in its box, which is a great touch.

The Software Installation Disc is a rebadged version of the standard Windows Home Server Connector CD, the PC Restore Disc is a rebadged Windows Home Server Restore CD and the Server Recovery Disc contains the software required to re-install your home server should it have a serious issue.

Compared to other WHS machines, the documentation provided with the MediaSmart Server is extensive. As you would expect, the Setup Poster provides a brief step by step visual guide to installing the server on your network, installing the WHS connector software on each of your home computers, setting up user accounts and so on. You can download a copy to check out (Front |Back).

For those requiring a more in depth guide to installing the server, the accompanying Installation and Troubleshooting Guide provides a 73 page guide to setting up the server, along with in depth troubleshooting tips in case of a problem. (My copy shown is a pre-production draft, so the final version may be formatted slightly differently). For those new to Windows Home Server, it provides a fabulous and easy to understand beginner’s guide to the software. Again, you can download a copy at hp.com.

Finally, HP provides a full User Guide for the MediaSmart Server on the Software Installation Disc, although this is in the form of a Windows Help file, which isn’t the most convenient format to settle back and read with. A 192 page PDF version of the guide can be downloaded from hp.com which covers all aspects of installing and using the MediaSmart Server, along with hint and tips and troubleshooting guides.

In short, the documentation which accompanies the MediaSmart Server is impressive – a comprehensive, yet understandable guide to the home server, which given the target customer, is a great lesson to other manufacturers on investing in well written and designed materials to support new users to the category.

First Looks

Unless you’ve been hiding in a cave, you’ll have probably seen pictures of the MediaSmart Server. It’s a great looking piece of kit. Like much of today’s consumer electronics, it’s clad in shiny piano black plastic (side panels), whist the front and rear panels of the machine are meshed aluminium, also in black. Interestingly, the side panels of the server are slightly tapered, improving its aesthetics no end – it’s clear that HP spent quite a bit of time working on the external look and feel for the MediaSmart Server.

Picking up the server reveals that whilst it has a small footprint, weighing in at just under 6kg, there’s a lot packed in there, and the outer casing, whilst not having the same feeling of robustness you experience with Tranquil PC’s aluminium case on the T7-HSA, still feels pretty sturdy.

The front panel of the server contains 4 LED lights positioned in front of each drive bay which are used to denote drive access. A display panel at the base of the unit contains additional indicators for power, network, and server health plus a front USB 2.0 socket. You’ll also find a small paper clip sized hole on the front panel which is used to place the server in the recovery state should you require a re-installation of the server itself.

The front panel of the MediaSmart server swings open on a left hand hinge to reveal the four removable hard drive bays. The bottom two drive bays are each fitted with a 500Gb SATA hard drive on the EX475 (1 x 500Gb on the EX470) whilst the top two bays are empty.

Each drive bay is hot swappable, – lifting a plastic handle at the front of the bay allows you to remove it from the system. Unfortunately, the drive trays and their mechanism feel very flimsy, with cheap plastic surrounds to the metal tray front – indeed, when attempting to replace the upper drive bay, the drive tray handle came out of its securing socket, providing a less than spectacular experience when using on of the server’s core features. A little extra investment here would have gone a long way to reinforce the quality of the hardware build.

The base of the unit reveals a label with serial number, as well as manufacturer’s information and Windows Home Server license. Again, aesthetically pleasing, but more than likely a pain in the backside if and when you need to retrieve this information.

The unit itself is completely closed, other than the drive trays – there are no screw holes readily available for accessing the system’s internal hardware, so if you want to have a play with the MediaSmart’s guts, you’re going to have to bash it around a little.

Around the Back

As the Windows Home Server hardware requirements dictate that servers should be headless, you won’t find any monitor, keyboard or mouse sockets around the back. What you will find are three USB 2.0 sockets, an eSATA socket (which is fully compatible with eSATA port multipliers), gigabit Ethernet socket, power socket and security lock. A rear power button completes the line-up.

Under the Hood

Let’s take a look at the EX475′s specifications:

As you would expect from such a close collaboration with Microsoft, the EX475 delivers the recommended hardware specification for Windows Home Server across the board. The provision of two 500Gb hard drives (and two 250Gb drives on the lower spec EX470) allows you to take advantage of Windows Home Server’s folder duplication right away, and the ease with which additional internal drives can be added makes future expansion a cinch (make sure you don’t pull the handle off, though like I did. There’s a definite knack to replacing the drive bays – keep the handle up, replace the bay, drop the handle down).

If you’re sitting on multiple terabytes of data, 4 external USB ports, and an eSATA port mean that you’ll get just under 9TB of storage right now if you needed it, so the HP MediaSmart Server will easily expand and grow with your family’s digital needs. In other areas, however, expansion may not be so simple.

As with the Tranquil PC T7-HSA, HP have made it extremely difficult to open up the MediaSmart’s chassis for investigation, and indeed, upgrade. To all intents and purposes, the MediaSmart Server should be treated as an appliance – a piece of consumer electronics that should last you a reasonably long time without the need for upgrade or replacement. No news is forthcoming about the ability to upgrade the system’s operating system to a future version, although my belief is that this should not be a problem. The 64-bit compatible AMD Sempron 3400+ processor is fine if the WHS team decided to move WHS v2 to the Windows Server 2008 codebase, and the included 512Mb RAM would possibly be considered the minimum required for a future version, but again absolutely fine.

Whilst the hardware delivers the Windows Home Server experience effortlessly, there are a couple of minor issues. If you’re looking for a silent server, the MediaSmart Server isn’t it – there are a couple of fans at the back cooling those hard drives, and they do make a noise – broadly equivalent to a medium sized desktop. It’s not a distraction – you won’t think there’s a hovercraft about to hit the house – but the noise is there all the same. The upside of this though is that the unit runs cool – I’ve had the review unit tucked away in the kitchen cupboard (which doubles as the WGS home server room!) and there has been very little heat build-up.

Secondly, compared to other units, the power consumption of the EX475 is relatively high, with HP quoting between 60w and 90w of consumption, depending on the number of drives fitted. Many home users will be conscious of the running costs of an “always on” home server and with Tranquil PC quoting a 24w consumption in their forthcoming T2-WHS-A2 rack mounted server, there’s definitely scope in the future for HP to work with their component suppliers on a less power-hungry system. All in all, though, it’s a great package.

Installing the HP MediaSmart Server

Installing the HP MediaSmart Server is relatively straightforward, although it’s a slightly different process compared to installing WHS RTM on your own box. Here’s a brief overview, with screenshots:

1. Attach the server to your router via the Ethernet cable, plug in the power lead and switch the unit on via the button at the back.

As mentioned, you’ll immediately hear that the MediaSmart Server isn’t the quietest of units, with rear fans keeping the system cool, and audible hard drive noises. The hard drive bay lights will flash red, then switch off, and the bottom display lights will come on. The server health light will flash whilst the system boots for around 90 seconds, and when the system is ready to proceed, the bottom two hard drive lights will turn a very nice shade of purple.

2. Insert the Software Installation Disc into your first home computer.

The Software Installation Disc is a rebranded and slightly tweaked version of the WHS Connector CD. Follow the screen prompts to install the Connector application on your home computer.

The installer installs the .Net Framework 2.0 and HP Update program before the standard WHS Connector installation routine takes over. This installs the necessary components required for Windows Home Server and then searches for the MediaSmart Server on the network.

Once found, the WHS Configuration Wizard opens.

3. Configure Windows Home Server

The server initializes itself, and asks you for a name to identify the home server on the network. The default is HPSERVER. Create a password for the server and select your options for automatic updates and participation in the Customer Experience Improvement Program and Windows Error Reporting.

Following these selections, Windows Home Server Update downloads and installs the latest updates, during which a slideshow of WHS features is displayed. Before long, the configuration is finished, and you’re ready to go.

4. Log-in to the WHS Console

5. Check HP for Updates

Slightly annoyingly, having checked Microsoft for WHS updates, the first thing that happens upon log-in is that you then have to check the HP website for MediaSmart updates. It would have been great if this step could have been automated in the configuration wizard.

6. Configure the MediaSmart Server

Okay, it’s time to configure the MediaSmart Server with software update settings, user accounts and other items. A new wizard has opened, with six steps to help you set up and configure the server quickly and easily.

• HP Software Automatic Updates
• Create User Accounts
• Configure Remote Access
• Configure HP Photo Webshare
• Turn On Media Sharing
• Learn More About Your HP MediaSmart Server

This new wizard helps you work through elements of Windows Home Server’s Settings dialog, and at the very least, provides a more structured way of setting up and configuring your server.

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Running Windows Home Server

I gave the guys at HP a hard time earlier for including all sorts of random “added-value” software on their standard desktop systems. I was very pleased to discover, that aside from a couple of bespoke plug-ins, you will not see a trace of any additional software on the HP MediaSmart Server. The server desktop is remarkably clear of additional icons (just the WHS standard Recycle Bin, Shared Folders and WHS Console Icons) and in the Start Menu, you’ll only see Firefly Media Server (used for the additional iTunes Server add-in, Java WebStart and PostgreSQL 8.2 installed on top of the standard WHS server build.

That’s not to say that the build hasn’t been tweaked slightly compared to the standard RTM build. From working with the server for a short while, it looks like HP have tightened up some of the security policies on the home server to ensure that executable files can’t be run by any user (including the Administrator) on the server via remote desktop. Even zip files are blocked by the MediaSmart’s security settings. Whilst this may frustrate the more knowledgeable enthusiast, given the user HP and Microsoft are targeting with this system, I think it’s a wise move.

So, with kudos flying over to HP for keeping the Server pretty clean, let’s take a look at the client. What’s in store for your home computers? Again, the desktop is kept clean, with a bespoke desktop icon (replacing the standard folder icon on WHS RTM) which accesses the MediaSmart’s Control Center as well one start menu entry which performs the same task.

So far, so good – but what about the add-ins?

HP bundle the MediaSmart Server with three major features built on top of the vanilla Windows Home Server build. Firstly, HP Photo WebShare, which allows you to easily share your digital photos with family and friends via the home server , secondly an in-box iTunes server (based on Firefly Media Server) which allows your home server to collate the iTunes libraries from across your home computers and build a master library on the server. Thirdly, a link-up with domain name provider TZO allows you to select a wide range of domain names for your server, other than the freely supplied xxx.homeserver.com domain from Microsoft. We’ll take a look at these shortly.

Accessing the  MediaSmart Server is managed by HP’s included Control Center dashboard, which is accessed via the Start menu or desktop icon.  The Control Center consists of three tabbed menus (MediaSmart, Tools and Help & Support) which permit access to the main WHS Console, Shared Folders on the server as well as settings for the HP Photo Webshare and iTunes Server applications, and user documentation. You are also able to start a manual backup of your home computer via this console.

Rather strangely, whilst links are provided to the Shared Photos, Music and Video folders on the server, the shared Software folder is neglected, which seems like an oversight.

Overall, however, I love what HP have done with the Control Center – whilst to many (especially experts) it may seem like an extraneous dashboard sitting on top of the Windows Home Server Console (which in itself is pretty easy to use), it allows the average user to access the most regularly used areas of Windows Home Server with the minimum of effort.

HP Photo Webshare

HP Photo Webshare is the highlight of HP’s exclusive add-ins bundled with the MediaSmart Server. HP Photo Webshare is an add-in which allows you to create and build separate photo albums on your home server, and manage who has access to those albums across your friends and family. You are able to add names and descriptions to your photos, perform simple image manipulation (rotation), and order prints (of course) from HP’s Snapfish photo printing site (my wife used these guys last week and told me their next-day service was excellent). The application is managed through your web browser with a great AJAX-based UI and is simple and easy to use.

Clicking the icon in Control Center opens up your home server’s remote website in your internet browser, and takes you to your Photo Webshare main page.

A sample album is included to play with, but it’s very easy to start a new album and add image files from your server, or indeed upload images from whichever computer you are using.

You can allow friends and family to access and create individual photo albums by adding their details to the Users list. Note that this set of users is kept completely distinct from your main Windows Home Server user list. Granting access to a photo album in HP Photo Webshare does not set that user up as an account holder on Windows Home Server, in case you were worried!

One very neat addition to HP Photo Webshare is that the people you have permitted to view the album will then be sent an email with a web link pointing to the album on your home server, and access permissions are all taken care of behind the scenes.

There are a number of settings for HP Photo Webshare which can be configured in the WHS Console’s settings menu. These include giving your Webshare a unique name, configuring email notification settings via TZO.com or another email provider, managing Webshare editors and setting storage space quotas for family and friends.

I’m a big fan of HP Photo Webshare for a couple of reasons – firstly, I love the simplicity and ease with which you can set up and manage your photo albums through the browser – average users should have no problems building albums, and as long as your router and remote home server website are set up correctly, your family and friends should have no trouble checking out your photos.

More importantly, however, I think the HP Photo WebShare application and UI points the way to how Microsoft should evolve Windows Home Server’s own remote website. I’m not a great fan of the current remote website experience in Windows Home Server, which, whilst it performs its function reasonably, is a very basic, practical, business-like place to be. (And no, those stock shots of the beautiful family at play don’t help change my impression!). If you’ve ever used Sharepoint at the office, then you’ll be used to that kind of web experience and to me, it screams work, not home server.

The HP Photo WebShare experience comprises a pretty simple, but effective home user-targeted application within a rich browser based environment. You can imagine HP in the future offering family calendar applications, blogging applications and others to allow users to create a fantastic family website which they can easily update and publish what’s going on in their lives. HP can offer this, but I hope Microsoft deliver it themselves in-box in Windows Home Server v2, as the remote website experience is currently very weak.

iTunes Server

HP also bundle an iTunes Server add-in with the HP MediaSmart Server, which is based on the open-source Firefly Media Server application. HP’s add-in allows your home server to create a master library of audio files from each of the iTunes libraries on your home computers. So if you have different tracks on different home computers, they will be copied across to your home server, giving you an easy solution for playing any of your tracks on any home computer or supported digital media receiver.

You can set the add-in to watch your home computer’s iTunes libraries regularly for new tracks and podcasts from every 15 minutes up to once a day if required – importantly, copying the files to your home server does not use up one of your five DRM licences, which will come as a relief to active iTunes users.

HP Domain Names

The HP MediaSmart Server frees you from the limitation of using Microsoft’s in-built homeserver.com domain for your home server, albeit at a small cost. A relationship with TZO.com provides a unique domain name and email forwarding for your HP Photo Webshare, with a choice of HP related domains, or your own. The domain is free for the first year, then $9.99 a year after that, which isn’t a huge price if you’re keen to have your own domain.

Windows Home Server Console

Using the Windows Home Server Console on the MediaSmart is a very similar experience to the standard RTM build, however, there are a couple of new tabs and settings built in to provide you with all you need to work with your home server.

The first thing you’ll notice is a new tab at the top left of the console, which contains various settings to help you manage the MediaSmart Server, including the ability to manually check HP.com for updates, shortcut links to your Remote Access, Photo Webshare and iTunes Server settings, and a not-completely-necessary-but-still-quite-cool slider for changing the LED brightness on the front of your home server. Someone really needs to write an add-in to allow you to change the LED colours based on your personal preference - that would be very cool.

Over in the Windows Home Server Settings tab, a number of MediaSmart options are also available. Hardware Status shows the software and BIOS details of the server, along with Server Fan and Temperature status, Voltages and an option for changing LED behaviour when WHS has a server health notification.

Elsewhere, dialogs for HP Software Updates, Photo Webshare and Settings for iTunes allow you to configure elements of HP’s software add-ins. Other than that, it’s business as usual.

Server Recovery

One area that has prompted a lot of interest and a little confusion over the past few weeks in the build up to the MediaSmart Server being released is the subject of Server Recovery. Given that the machine is headless, and does not have a DVD drive, how can it be reinstalled in the case of a serious issue. The answer’s actually pretty simple, and pretty clever at the same time!

You place the included HP Server Recovery CD in one of your home computers, press a hidden switch on the home server to place it into recovery mode, and reinstall the system over your home network. Pretty neat! Here’s a runthrough of how it works.

1. Insert the Server Recovery Disk into a home computer on your network and accept the EULA.

2. Uninstall the HP MediaSmart Server and Windows Home Server Connector applications on your home computer from Control Panel.

3. Hold down the power button on the rear of the MediaSmart Server for 4 seconds to power it down.

4. Press the power button again to switch the unit on, and insert the end of a paperclip in the hole on the front panel of the server when the server health light flashes blue and red.

Next to the front USB port, you’ll see a small hole which just about fits the end of a paperclip or extended staple.

5. Return to your home computer and press Next.

Your home server will be found on the network.

6. Select your recovery option.

You have the choice of two options, and make sure you select carefully! The first, Server Recovery will reinstall the Windows Home Server operating system, leaving your data protected on the home server. You’ll have to reconfigure the server with your user accounts and passwords etc, but all of your data should remain in tact.

The second option, Factory Reset, performs a complete wipe of the server – everything will be lost, all data and settings will go and a clean build will be reinstalled on the server.

7. Be Sure

You did pick the right option, didn’t you?

8. Server Recovery Progresses

The server is reinstalled across the network.

9. Server Recovery Completes

10. Reboot Server and re-install the WHS Console on your home computer via the HP Software Installation Disc and you’re done!

The Verdict

Well, I said that HP was a great hardware company and the HP MediaSmart Server has reinforced my belief - it’s small, powerful and looks fantastic. A beautiful pin-up model for the new Windows Home Server category. Sure, there are a couple of niggles I have with its build quality, and the price could be more competitive over here in Europe. But put it up against all of the other hardware options for Windows Home Server right now, and you’d have to have a hard heart not to fall for it.

The big surprise is the thought that HP have put into their software. No bloatware. No terrible drivers. Just a small selection of add-ins which have sympathetically extended Windows Home Server’s media handling capabilities, to maximise the MediaSmart’s usefulness at the centre of the digital home. HP not killing me with terrible software? Must be a dream

But what you’re really purchasing when you buy the HP MediaSmart Server is the stage for a perfect partnership to blossom. The HP MediaSmart Server combined with the Windows Home Server operating system is a fabulous combination of hardware and software. A simple, easy to use home server platform running effortlessly on a simple, easy to use home server – power, simplicity and flexibility in one small package. Oh yeah, and one day, it may just save your digital life. Truly the best of both worlds.