Introducing the 2009 Windows Home Servers

While Microsoft neglected to reveal details about any forthcoming revisions to Windows Home Server at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2009 this week, the company does have a number of interesting WHS developments to discuss. Key among these are the new HP MediaSmart Servers (see my review) and a few important new OEM partners, including Shuttle and VIA in the US. Here are some shots of the new 2009 Windows Home Server devices from these and other companies.

Acer Aspire Easy Store Home Server

Manufacturer's description: Acer will be entering the home server market with the Aspire Easy Store Home Server, powered by Windows Home Server. They plan on providing Add-ins to enable easily copying of data from external USB hard drives, a Power Saver Scheduler and a DLNA complaint media streaming server.

Market: Japan, Tawain and Europe initially

Availability: March 2009

HP MediaSmart Server ex485/ex487

Manufacturer's description: The HP MediaSmart Server ex485/ex487 can stream photos and music to any internet connected PC or Mac and includes the ability to backup Macs to the MediaSmart Server through Time Machine. The new MediaSmart Server has smart power management capabilities, and the user can schedule times for the Server to go to sleep and wake up saving on energy costs.

Market: Worldwide

Availability: February 2009

Shuttle Home Server

Manufacturer's description: The Shuttle Home Server will be available in a basic 500GB version ? the SH-4500 ? and a 500GB version with hot-swap hard drive capability ? the SH-K4800. Both editions offer limitless expansion with space for two hard drives and four USB ports for external hard drives.

Market: United States

Availability: March 2009

VIA NSD7800

Manufacturer's description: The compact 8-drive VIA NSD7800 server supports Windows Home Server to provide up to 12TB of secure, manageable storage for the whole family or home office.

Market: United States

Availability: March 2009