Tranquil PC today have announced details of their new next-generation home server – the SQA-5H (affectionately known as the Squash from now on.)
The SQA-5H is a cube shaped multi-drive home server, featuring (count ‘em) five hot swappable, tooless drive bays. Despite the system carrying five bays, power consumption is kept to a minimum, with a single drive system starting at just 29W.
The system is based around the Intel Atom 330 Dual Core Processor (2 x 1.6 GHz) which is 64-bit compatible. (Not so important now, but if you ever need to run a Windows 7-based version of Windows Home Server, you’re going to need it). 1 Gb of memory is supplied in the base unit, but you can configure up to 2Gb if you want to load the Squash up with add-ins.
So far, so good – but you’ll also find a couple of new hardware innovations we’ve yet to see on home server hardware to date. First up is the Quick System Backup, a button on the front of the unit which takes advantage of Power Pack 1’s new shared folder backup feature. Simply plug in an external hard drive into one of the Squash’s 6 (3 front, 4 Rear) USB ports (or utilise a dedicated internal) hard drive slot and then press the Backup button. You’ll be notified when the backup is complete!
Secondly, you’ll also see a “Mode” button on the front of the Squash – press and hold this button and you’ll be informed how much server storage has been used and how much remains.
SQA-EX Slave Unit
Released alongside the SQA-5H will be the SQA-EX – a slave unit which connects via a single cable providing a further 5 hard drive bays – a 10 drive system is sufficient for even the biggest media collections.
Tranquil PC will be releasing pricing tomorrow at 10pm GMT over at their website at which point pre-orders will open too. Orders are expected to be fulfilled from November.
SQA-5H Home Server Specifications
| Dimensions | 213 (w) x 221 (d) x (195 (h) |
| Materials | Enamelled steel |
| Processor | 64-bit ready Intel Atom 330 (2 z 1.6Ghz) Dual Core |
| Memory | 1Gb DDR2 533/667MHz |
| HDD | 1-5 3.5” Western Digital GP |
| Colour | Satin Black |
| Front Panel | Power, Mode and Backup switches, multi-coloured LEDs and 2 x USB2 |
| Rear Panel | 12v Power In, 4 x USB2, Gigabit LAN, eSATA (with port multiplier), Desk Lock |
| Acoustics | 23 dBA (1 x HDD) |
| Power | 29W (1 x HDD) |
According to Tranquil, SQA (“Status Quo Ante” – Latin for “the way things were before”) refers to Windows Home Server’s ability to restore your PC to its previous state. With great new home server hardware such as the Squash hitting the marketplace, let’s hope after a tricky 2008, it signals a return to the home server category rocking into 2009.
More Info: Tranquil PC | Discuss| Brochure
17. October 2008 at 7:50 pm
The slave unit sounds very interesting for those of us that have made the investment already. Is it an esata connection or is it proprietary?
17. October 2008 at 8:26 pm
The SQA-Ex is in fact connected via an eSATA port (with high speed port multiplier, of course)
What that means is that ANY Server with a Port Multiplier enabled eSATA port (as found on the EX470, for example) will be able to be connected ! The drives in the SQA-Ex all spin down, after periods of in-activity, and so the unit will hardly draw any power when not in use, and then once it’s precious data is required it will just kick in and deliver the data at lightning speed.
For those unsure how Port Multiplier technology works – check out the following link :
http://www.siliconimage.com/products/product.aspx?id=74
Any more questions – the squash team are ready to answer you !
17. October 2008 at 8:33 pm
Wow, now that’s quick response! I have seen that some OEM WHS have a hard time with external drives that spin down, so am curious how this would work with the likes of an HP MSS or is it possible to turn the spin down off? I love your box, but am invested in my base server now. Also, the website has an error on the slave drive, it states 5GB of storage, not 5TB. Also, shouldn’t that be 7.5TB of storage now that the 1.5TB drives have been released or is there a hardware conflict with those drives?
17. October 2008 at 8:49 pm
I suppose 7.5TB in the Ex will be fine. Re spin down, can’t comment on how to do it – but from the test records I can see we found that there were no issues during use of the Ex with the 5H, we will have to test it with the EX470 – and post additional comments later, there is no reason why it should be a problem. New design standards for WHS main boards will include HDD Spin down, to save power / reduce heat – so it will become the ‘norm’ The issue with other OEMs units may be related to I/O buffers / chip sets etc – not really sure.
Anyway thanks for the great feedback !
17. October 2008 at 10:48 pm
Looks like a great box. Good job Tranquil!
18. October 2008 at 6:40 am
I have a full interview with David Thompson of Tranquil on The Media Center Show out on Thursday
18. October 2008 at 2:15 pm
Wish we had an Australian supplier…
Good work Tranquil!
19. October 2008 at 9:19 am
Here’s a question for “squash”:
The device itself looks really interesting, will there be a Linux option, or is this a Windows Server only platform?
As a fileserver, Windows doesn’t have the best track record, but full “PC” platforms like this run REALLY well under Linux as a fairly high performance server. It would be a shame if this device couldn’t be used that way.