HP MediaSmart EX487 Home Server Review – HP’s newest Home Server based on Windows Home Server
The home server market was mostly a dream when HP released the first HP MediaSmart home server just over a year ago. Since then, the market has heated up and other companies are diving in selling hardware with Windows Home Server preinstalled. We love our first generation HP MediaSmart server (EX475) and we immediately upgraded our RAM and started tweaking the server to do what WE wanted it to do. Our experience has been amazing, and not only does the MediaSmart share our important media and photos, it provides a nightly backup for peace of mind and a super easy restore option if you have a disk failure.
HP has done it again and is making new waves in the market with the introduction of two new MediaSmart home server models, the EX485 and EX487. These two new MediaSmart servers look very similar to HP’s first home server offering, but they are quite different on the inside and much improved. In this review we are going to skip over many of the Windows Home Server platform benefits and focus on the value added features that HP includes with these new models. If you are looking for detail on Windows Home Server and what it offers, we suggest you check out some of the external links we add at the end of this review. This review was done after we spent some time using an HP MediaSmart EX487 – the more expensive of the two models that includes two 750GB disks, giving us a whopping 1.5TB of storage.
The two new HP MediaSmart Home Server models are listed below:
The MediaSmart EX485 – one 750GB disk, Suggested Retail of $599
The MediaSmart EX 487 – two 750GB disks, Suggested Retail of $749
The new MediaSmart servers are very similar in looks to the previous models, except the newer models have different color LED’s and a black shiny top (the older models were silver). The new models are also slightly smaller by about a 1/2” in depth. The new MediaSmart hardware has also been updated and these now use an Intel Celeron 2.0 Ghz processor instead of the previous AMD 1.8Ghz Sempron. HP has also listened to the users of the first generation MediaSmart servers and now offers 2GB RAM instead of the meager 512MB that was initially offered. Another welcome “feature” in the new models is something that was oddly missing from the first version – the ability to have the server boot back up after a power failure! If you are going to call the device a server, and run web sharing software and backup software, the machine should have the ability to be a real server and restart when power comes back on. The new MediaSmart servers now return to the last power state – a big YAY from us!
The HP MediaSmart First and Second Generation Side-by-Side
The New EX487 on the Left, HP MediaSmart EX475 (First generation) on right
HP really listened to customers and designed their new interface and options based around consumer feedback from the first 2 MediaSmart models. The result is a slick, streamlined front end for Windows home server and an even better user interface packed with features for the digital home or small business.
One of the first things you’ll notice with the new MediaSmart models is the redesigned front end on the Windows Home Server console. HP has laid many of the value added features in a nicely organized menu on the left as shown in the screenshot below. The standard Windows Home Server options for backup, user management, shared folders and storage are in their familiar spot on the top menu. The buttons on the custom HP menu can be re-arranged by dragging and dropping so you can have your most common activities at the top.
The screenshots above shows the Windows Home Server Console design in the new HP MediaSmart EX485 and EX487
Features for Mac users: We’ve never really been a Mac household, but there are many homes and small businesses that have mixed environments of both Mac and Windows based PC’s. HP has added a Mac version of the HP MediaSmart Control Center software and the MediaSmart can also be used as a backup drive using Apple Time Machine. Best of all, each Mac you backup does NOT count against the 10-user limit on Windows Home Server! The new Mac MediaSmart Control Center allows a quick and simple interface for accessing the HP MediaSmart shared folders. You can also access the HP Photo Publisher and even send a wakeup command to the server using a built in Wake-On-LAN (WOL) option. We are glad to see HP embracing Mac users making it easier for them to co-exist and get the most out of Windows Home Server and the MediaSmart platform.
The screenshots above shows the new HP Control Center software on the Mac and the Windows Control Center
HP Updates Remote access offerings by adding free SSL Certificates:
HP offers much more than any other OEM bundling WHS, and in the first generation MediaSmart offered a tightly integrated and more customized DDNS powered by TZO. By Default, Windows Home Server has a free Microsoft powered DDNS and a homeserver.com domain name if you enable remote access.
HP was looking for additional value and to give the end-users more options when it came to remote access. HP worked with TZO and offers a free year of the HP Personal DDNS which allows the customer to choose from several HP branded domain names such as HPMediaSmart.com, HPShare.net, HPHomeServer.com and several others. The TZO Custom domain name option provided by TZO allows you to get your own custom/private domain name such as yourfamily.com, yourbusinessname.com, etc. This TZO.COM custom domain name service isn’t free, but is also offered at a discounted rate to the HP customer at only $24.95 per year. If you don’t have your own domain name already, TZO also offers domain registration services as well as other value added services you can select.
The screenshots above show the new Comodo SSL Certificate and TZO Remote Access on the new HP MediaSmart Home Servers
HP has updated this remote access in the HP MediaSmart EX485 and EX487. When you purchase one of these newer models, you now get a free 5-year SSL certificate when you activate the remote access using the HP Personal option. This is something that was missing in the first generation MediaSmart servers. This free 5-year 128-bit SSL certificate is provided free of charge by HP by Comodo, a leader in SSL and Internet Security. This Comodo SSL certificate authenticates the domain name on the server and ensures you are connecting to YOUR server, and as an added bonus it makes those scary SSL security warnings in your browser go away. If you share photos on your MediaSmart server, having one of these SSL certificates pre-installed means that grandma won’t call you asking why she has a big red X on her browser warning her about your site. Cheers to HP, Comodo and TZO for getting this integrated!
The TZO powered DDNS also offers several other features that the free Microsoft powered homeserver.com domain does not offer, mainly telephone and email support from TZO if you have problems. You also get http to https web forwarding free with the TZO offering. HP and TZO offer this service at a discounted rate at only $9.99 per year. For more information and pricing on the TZO powered remote access features, there is a link provided at the end of this review to an informative thread at MediaSmartServer.net
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