WARNING! Windows Home Server Vail Preview is an early test build of the next version of Windows Home Server. As such, it is not in any way, shape, or form ready for you to MOVE any important data from your current Windows Home Server (or other machine) to a Vail powered machine. Doing so without proper backups elsewhere may put that data at great risk of being lost forever.
It may not come as much of a shock, but Windows Home Server Vail requires beefier hardware to run than the previous version. The current requirements are as follows. Please make note of the word “current” as the requirements have changed previously and are subject to change at any time, until we reach the final release. Indeed, your experience of testing and feedback with various home server specifications will help Microsoft lock down the final requirements.
The current minimum hardware requirements are as follows:
- Vail is a 64-bit only operating system.
- System Requirements:
- 1.4 GHz x64 processor.
- 2 GB RAM
- At least one 160 GB hard drive.
- NTFS is the only supported file system.
- Supported Networking Configuration:
- Your server computer must be connected via a network cable to a router.
- The router should be a UPnP-certified device, but it is not required.
- The router should be in the 192.168.x.x subnet, but it is not required.
Let’s take a look at those specs in greater detail.
64-bit CPU
The big specification to make note of is that Vail requires a 64-bit processor. This should not be a problem for most machines on the market today, but it always best to check out your hardware. If you are looking to upgrade your current home server but unsure if the CPU is 64-bit, one of the easiest ways to find out is to download a nice little utility called CPU-Z. Download it, install it, run it and look for x86-64 (AMD) or EM64T (Intel) in the Instructions line.
CPU speed
We’re looking for a 1.4GHz+ processor speed. You can glean this information using the same CPU-Z program as above or simply run the OS System Properties application:
Memory
Next, you need to make sure you have adequate memory – at least 2GB. You can either obtain this information using either the Systems Properties app (see above) or CPU-Z
Bear in mind that if you want to take advantage of Windows Home Server Vail’s remote video transcoding, you’ll need a much more powerful processor. At the time of writing, Microsoft are not making any recommendations as to processor type or speed – we’d recommend at least a dual-core processor running well above 2GHz.
Hard Drive
If you are using Windows Home Server, I would hope that you have at least one drive that is bigger than 160GB. An easy way to check that is in the Storage tab of the v1 Windows Home Server Console:
One very welcome improvement over WHS v1 is that Vail reserves 60 GB for the system partition. Just a bit more OS headroom than the 20 GB that was reserved in v1.
Networking
As far as networking is concerned, if your home server works now, your network should be compatible with Vail.
These hardware requirements are great for those who wish to try out Vail on a home-built system or for building a new system in anticipation of the RTM version of Vail. What about those of you running a headless OEM home server (e.g. from Acer, HP, ASUS, Lenovo)?
OEM Home Servers
Some early generation home servers will not meet Vail’s minimum hardware requirements . While the newer machines may meet these requirements, you still have to remember that these machines are “headless appliances” and as such are very difficult to install as they have no access to a monitor, keyboard or mouse. Unless you are a technical wizard and are able to create an .inf file to perform an unattended install, don’t expect to be able to upgrade your current OEM solution to make use of Vail. Of course, “upgrade” is a misnomer, in that going from a 32-bit to 64-bit OS will require a clean installation, not an upgrade install.
And what do you do with all that data you currently have? That won’t be a fun job either way (self-built or OEM) to preserve.
In the end, you, the user, are at the mercy of the OEM as to whether they will support an upgrade path on existing hardware. My advice:
- Don’t hold your breadth
- If an upgrade becomes available, expect to pay dearly for it.
Questions? Comments?
Discuss: WGS Vail Preview Hardware Forum
