Building another Windows Home Server on a Friday night – PART ONE

This article is the first of a three part series of my building and setting up a Windows Home Server for a remote location. The parental units just bought a vacation home and I am going to build a WHS to run and watch the house while they are not using it. The WHS will control the lights, sprinklers, and cameras in addition to the regular duties of a Windows Home Server.

Background

This WHS will be my fourth WHS system that I monitor and my second home build. I am choosing to build because I had previously bought an OEM WHS from Newegg that should have been used for another installation. Since I already have the software, I bought an Inspiron 530 from the Dell Outlet and will use that for the WHS. Size is of no importance on this install and the larger case will actually be of benefit as you will see later in this article series.

Since I have already written articles on each facet of this installation this series will focus on the process of working your own system and configuration. It is all about the planning and getting the good deals. Seriously.

Equipment Needed

• WHS OEM software
• New or Used PC (that meets minimum requirements)
• My Standard Six Add-Ins
• mControl Add-In
• Assorted Insteon Power Modules, PowerLinc and Irrigation Controller
• Linksys Internet Home Monitoring Camera
• Uninterruptible Power Supply (pretty much mandatory for remote locations)
• Six Pack of Beer (optional as always but preferred for this installation)

Price Considerations

The WHS I am building for this install is going to cost me $198.03 plus the cost of the WHS software I had already purchased a few months ago. The total cost for these two components is $307.77. In a normal situation I would suggest a refurbished EX470 from HP at $379 with 25% Bing current cashback putting your total at about $321. I would also suggest a LX195 when they go on sale for about $300. Honestly though, I love hardware so although I have bought the EX470 and LX195 for my family I like the bigger cases and options for my home built systems.

Options

When I built my first system last year I did not get a DVD drive. The DVD drive is required for a standard WHS install. So, this brings up the question of what are really the requirements. Being my second build I looked through the outlet to find some of my basic requirements:

• 32 bit Intel processor
• 2GB RAM
• DVD Drive
• Second SATA Bay

I have not collected any data for average Add-In memory usage but 2GB seems to be the minimum for me to run my Standard Six Add-Ins. You may want more if you plan on using McAfee or other virus software.

Mental note: The USB drive WHS installation is also an option for smaller case builds (no DVD) but will not be used in my install.

IMPORTANT: These are just my requirements but should be considered the minimum for any standard WHS build. The actual requirements from Microsoft can be found at:

How To Install And Set Up Windows Home Server

I like the larger Dell cases since they often have room for additional cards, drives and SATA cables. The large cases have plenty of room to work in but often trade off on power and fan noise. Since this is a remote location I do not care about the noise or power deltas.

If you look at the inside of the case below you can see that I can add in PCI cards, more RAM and even another SATA hard drive for little cost. In addition, since this box is a normal PC, it has the VGA outputs so I can do everything directly on the WHS. I usually use the Console or RDC but every once in a while (at home) I want to use the monitor on my home built.

Mental note: If you can get a system with a upgraded operating system you can use that license for another machine. For example, if you bought a outlet Vista Premium machine you could use that OS to upgrade an old XP Home machine that you already have. Since you are erasing the OS and the partitions you no longer need the OS.

I ordered my Dell and it arrived on Saturday morning via Fed Ex.

Other Equipment and Hardware

In addition to the WHS installation I am going to add mControl with cameras, lighting and irrigation modules. I will also consume the beers over multiple Friday nights so please do not try and drink them all in one night. Well, if they are light beers then it might be all right.

Since this install will be at a remote site I want to take everything I need with me. If I plan ahead I will not need to buy anything and play full price at a retail outlet. I have 7 more business days before the trip so I am looking around for a few more small parts before I drive up to the house. In addition, I am also going to upgrade one of my SATA drives and will use that drive as a secondary drive in the new WHS. Recycle and Reuse. Seriously.

I will be back next week with the second article where I discuss preparation of the additional equipment and provide links for detailed data on each item.

I am not ready to set the pig on fire. Not quite yet.

Viva WHS. Seriously.

See you next Friday night.

Timothy Daleo