Might want to read up on WHS's storage system.

Edit: Ugh, reply to #30

It just seems to be a lame way of riding the Atom bandwagon. How can a chip that is only just capable of handling a netbook be any kind of server? It would be better to load up with Pentium dual cores or better still X2's which would be available at a fractionally higher cost and exponentially increase the functionality.
Most people using the atom home server for even the uses that an average student has these days would end up cooking while waiting for the atom to "serve up". LOL

If all you need is file storage, you're better off and more secure with an opensolaris box. ZFS gives better, verifiable redundancy than anything available with windows.

Slap that on a frequently discounted to $299 Dell T100 server with a couple of drives, and you'll have a faster, more expandable server...

for a moment there, i though i had read "a cheap and expendable " and went "WTF?!?!"

I wouldn't really call this device 'expandable'. VIA is selling a nice 8-bay WHS device which can offer a lot more in the way of expansion. Neither was really right for me. I have half of my bays filled and I currently have 12TB (8x1.5tb) and it runs nicely.

Easy backups.
Media hosting and streaming.
'light' web hosting
Home Security

Wouldn't it be nice if the Deal of the Week were simply, "A cheap, expandable home." and have it be just that? No server. Just what the revision says: A cheap, expandable home.

/pui

I've never really considered it until now, but does Windows Home Server function as a mini-Domain controller or just Peer to Peer access?

Is there a version available without Windows Home Server, which doesn't sound like a cheap bit of software to me? I.e., is there a $299 version that I can stick Linux on?

Here's what I use: a standard ATX case, standard mobo, cheap cele cpu, a couple hundred gig hd, w/a wireless card for running a wireless point, hooked to a switch to the rest of the network via built-in ethernet, running linux.

Cheap (couple hundred bucks), reliable, expandable both in terms of software (a pc configured as a server in linux) and hardware (standard mobo with sata ports and pci/pci-e slots).

All these new pre-made "home servers" and fancy nas drives cost at least that, and though they look slick, most of them are not as expandable in the long run. Can you run a web server, VPN, or other type of server on those machines? What happens when you need more than 2 drive slots on a NAS? It works for me, but hey, whatever works for you.