Microsoft Windows Home Server 2011 64-bit OEM System Builder - OEM

Pros: Can't think of any - a lesser version of WHS2010.

Cons: Product has been discontinued by Microsoft. It doesn't even support Windows 8. DO NOT BUY.

Pros: Good job for backups of Windows XP (SP3), Vista SP1, and Windows 7 machines.

Passable job as a Media Server.

Cons: Problems with UEFI based OS.s (Win 8 in particular). Need a patch that has not been fully released to handle Windows 8 machines.

So/so job as a streaming media server.

File sharing. .. is so/so as well. It wants to use MS HOMEGROUP setup and does not let you setup a WORK network.

I lock down all my machines anyway and use WORK network on clients w/ account access control.

You need to have the same account names on the server as on each individual machine to make this as seamless as possible.

Once set up, file shairng works very well.

Other Thoughts: Am running this on an HP G7N40L w/ 4 Seagate 2TB drives in a RAID 10 configuration. (mirrored/striped). I only backup the system OS drive to external drive. Have one extra 2TB drive for replacing one of the raid drives.

Once WHS 2011 is setup does a good job of backing up your windows machines up to Win 7.

Win 8 requires a patch that you need to pick up for UEFI based OS's.

I prefer to use Mezzmo for a media server. Does a better job with most media and handling DLNA devices.

But solid for backup & recovery. Once you set it up, and it's running. . it's pretty much set it & forget it.

Have done a couple of restores, one with Windows 8 (with said patches applied). For most home backup needs does a solid job.

Pros: It does what most home users need and then some. It's easy to use, and requires only moderate knowledge to set up. There are some quirks, but not a number of problems like I had with FreeNAS.

Cons: As with all server O/S I've used, permissions can be quirky, but a resetting of the permissions and a restart is usually enough to get things running correctly again. Has "intentional" setup bugs, with Intel's non-server boards, that require editing driver files just to get the O/S running. Other issues that can be averted, if researched, can be a PITA to get around without massive changes. The hard drive has to be a certain size to work, and it only allows for Windows backups within the O/S (makes that backup drive useless for anything else) and I've learned to be wary of Windows backup utilities. I would not rely on them for my personal computers, let alone a server. Finally, it does not lend itself to cloning should a disaster happen.

Other Thoughts: It sacrifices a lot to make it easy for most, and it works. The price is too good to pass up for the relative simplicity when compared to free alternatives. A lot less trial and error and annoyances for those that aren't as inclined to do hours of reading and research.

Pros: Easy to use and setup.

Cons: I had this installed on my home server and i wasn't satisfied with it so i went back to Amahi - Its free and you cant beat it for the money

Pros: Easy installation, solid platform, few crashes. The media sharing is improved over WHS 2003.

Cons: Don't know where to begin, I have a mac in my system so I decided to "upgrade" to WHS 2011 from WHS 2003, as the old method wasn't really a backup and it was the wife's mac so she won't have to "remember" to start the backup. BIG mistake. First off Lyon came out right after I installed and guess what? OS no longer supported. Then MS never bothered to fix it, hell it was one of their MAJOR selling points. Then they removed the drive extender which was fantastic. A bunch of different sized drives seen as one massive drive by the computer. You manage folders not drives. Not sure why this isn't in all MS products. Lastly, they back up service. The old system would back up every night and basically just "sync"/track the changes so it didn't kill the space. Basically, one big backup with a bunch of little "amendments". The new system saves a new copy everyday and you're left with a bunch of large backups. i.e. backing up a 200MB "C" dirve is 1TB every week. MS do the math. And since no drive extender, you are out of space every week. Not to mention if you're backing up music/movies/photos, I mean that's why you do it right?

Other Thoughts: The minor pros do not out weigh the cons on this one. They had a really solid product in WHS 2003. Some minor fixes/tweaks and they could have had a rockstar program here. I'm guessing that really just wasn't their desire. Not sure why they didn't want to make money...

Pros: It will back up Windows 7 and non-GPT Windows 8 (after installing updates to WHS2011), and provides continuous backups as well as a bare-metal restore method that works well. With any Server 2008R2 knowledge at all, you can do a lot of other things too.

Cons: Microsoft has stopped producing Windows Home Server products. I don't believe there will be any service packs or major updates to this product.
Does not support GPT partitions which Windows 8 loves to use natively and will be used on OEM systems.

Other Thoughts: I put this on a bigger system at first, after watching it for a while, I decided it didn't need to be on a blazing machine, so I put it on an old HP ProLiant N40L. It works nicely there for what I am using it for. (Backups, streaming audio, some video, etc.) but I mainly got it for the backup capability.

Pros: MS has issued Hotfix KB 2781272 adding support for UEFI based computers, i.e., most recent WIN8 computers. I have not got access to our WIN8 laptop presently, so I have not been able to yet verify the hot fix adds accessibility for backups of UEFI-based computers.

Cons: lacked UEFI support

Pros: Easy install, easy adding hard drives. Perfect if you want to upgrade a PC that you have no other use for. I'm backing up a laptop and 2 desktops and streaming media to every TV and device in the house, both wired and wireless. Can also remotely access the shared folders from anywhere with an internet connection.

Cons: Support ending soon, but I've read it will be available in OEM form til 2025. The only problems I had were getting all the settings for the wireless router in order, networking is not a strong point for me.

Other Thoughts: Had a tower with a very basic micro ATX board, AM3 dual core CPU, 4GB ram. Added a 96GB SSD, and 2 - 2GB WD reds, and 1 - 2GB WD green for server backup. Yes, you can install this on a hard drive < 160GB. Google is your friend.

Pros: Full Client backups that are set and forget with simple restore process. Makes media streaming effortless between PCs.

Cons: Software discontinued and release too late. This product should have been around since windows 95. DNLA could have worked better. Actually, I think DLNA in WHS seemed to work better for me but there are many ways to correct that issue.

Other Thoughts: I Purchased this software to replace my aging WHS build. I paired it with an Opteron based server and never looked back. I considered FreeNas and will probably end up with that platform when I need to update but this was just easier than bringing myself up to speed on the FreeNas software.

Pros: No pros

Cons: I have been trying for a year to get WHS to work, the server shows it backing up and then it comes back as unsuccessful. Also, MS has discontinued WHS and now is promoting 2012 Essentials