![hpdv4[1]](http://www.wegotserved.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/hpdv41_thumb.jpg "hpdv4[1]")
The Verdict
In our review of the EX495, we summarized as follows:
In spite of an increasing number of manufacturers entering the home server market, the new HP EX495 MediaSmart Server is simply the most fully-featured Windows Home Server available, offering improved performance, fantastic media features and unique support for Mac – sure, you’ll pay more for it than competing systems, but if you consider what that premium gets you, it delivers considerable value.
It is very difficult to argue that conclusion and the same applies to the X510 Data Vault. In comparing the HP EX495 or X510 to the competition, I would have to say that HP has raised the bar from a hardware performance perspective and no one comes close to delivering the value-added software package that HP provides with either the MSS line or the Data Vault line.
Except for one little thing. Remember the first section of this article? I asked the following:
Let’s see, the MSS EX495 with a 1.5TB drive is $699.99. An equivalent StorageWorks X510 with a 1TB Data Vault is $699.00. So I suppose I am losing 1/2TB of storage capacity for a change in the name. Now I must ask: what am I getting in return for that small premium?
Without tearing apart both, I would be hard pressed to find a hardware difference between the two machines, if one even exists. I can tell you that the hard drives in the X510 I have are your basic Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS models and not the more expensive enterprise-class ES series.
The software, with the exception of a few cosmetics, is identical. Not that I blame HP for keeping the software feature set the same. It is a fantastic software suite for Windows Home Server. The base WHS OS software features and the HP value-added software gives both the consumer and the business owner a rich feature-set that can satisfy the needs of either camp. That being said, HP must differentiate the software suite over time to accommodate the different needs of each camp.
HP have announced that hardware support for the Data Vault will be the same as for the MediaSmart Server – another area that may need looking at to better suit the needs of the business owner.
In summary, we know how good the hardware is. The X510 Data Vault will do a fantastic job protecting the files, folders, Macs and PCs that underpin your business. It’s good to see HP and Microsoft expand the market for Windows Home Server into new segments – but in truth, as a rebadged MediaSmart Server, the X510 Data Vault is only a tentative first step in that direction. We look forward to seeing a lot more to come from the product line to add additional business value to the SOHO user.
