R.I.P. Buffalo TeraStation

INTRO

So after 4 years of service, my Buffalo TeraStation finally died. It served me reasonably well, although at the end, I really would have like to have a really expensive RAID array provide me a more "graceful" recovery for my data other than "Sorry, I'm dead, I don't want to come back, and although your data is intact, good luck finding a machine with 4 individual IDE/PATA connectors that's not another Buffalo TeraStation"! So with my data now pretty much inaccessible, I decided to look into newer solutions.

AT A GLANCE

So my requirements were pretty basic as I only stored my MP3 library, my digital pictures, and a handful of ISO images for installation which meant that the only real requirement was lots of storage accessible from all my computers!

I liked the idea of the Synology line of NAS devices which was that instead of using a RAID solution, provide an automated backup of the device to an external USB device. After hearing a number of horror stories of folks that used a RAID solution to provide fault-tolerance only to find that although RAID protects from hardware failure, it doesn't protect from software data failure. In other words, if someone (like a loved one) accidentally hits delete, it propogates that deletion across the entire array! Besides that, for home use, I really didn't need fault-tolerance and during the 4 years that my Buffalo Terastation provided, it only went down 3 times, one of which required rebuilding of the array, once to update the firmware after a power failure, and this last time. My point being that RAID'ing the device provided no real advantage for my needs since I didn't need always up! The Synology line also provided "nice to haves" like a built-in iTunes server, torrent client, FTP access, and even a web server!

The unfortunate problem with the Synology line is that they aren't readily available here in Wilmington, NC. After doing a little more research, I ran across the HP MediaSmart line of "Windows Home Servers" that Newegg had on sale. After giving it careful consideration, I decided against these as the model that was on sale only had 640GB of storage and the larger sized boxes cost significantly more. Then it hit me, "These little babies run Windows Home Server and I'm still a registered Microsoft Partner, why don't I build my own Windows Home Server!"

COMPONENTS

Since I wasn't sure how this would turn out and didn't want to spend another $800 on another NAS device, I looked at buying the cheapest possible components and building the system myself. I decided on the following:

(1) Foxconn R20-S4 Barebones kit with Intel Atom 330 Dual-Core CPU

(1) Kingston 2GB DDR2 Module

(1) Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB SATA-II Hard Drive

(1) Western Digital MyBook 1TB External USB Drive

(1) Windows Home Server OEM License

The truth behind this all is that the only decision factor was price, not quality, not performance, but because all these items were either on sale, or I had lying around the house from some other aborted project.

THE BUILD PROCESS

Installing all the components into the Foxconn R20-S4 chassis was relatively easy. The Atom 330 CPU already comes mounted to the motherboard, so the only things that needed to be added were the memory module (which only required securing via the usual SDRAM clips) and the hard drive which was a little more tricky. The instructions were clear, but contained an odd mounting procedure for the hard drive which required the removal of the front panel and the drive cage, but as a whole went smoothly. Being a small form factor ITX chassis, the Foxconn R20-S4 feels like it takes up less space than my old Buffalo Terastation, although having only a single 1TB drive as opposed to (4) 250GB drives probably helps.

Windows Home Server is based off the same code as Windows 2003 Small Business Server so the installation process itself was pretty much a standard Windows server installation. The only kink I threw in was to load it from a USB stick since I didn't want to spring extra money for a CD-ROM drive and I figured it would install faster from USB anyway. (The truth is that I really was just too lazy to look for my portable external USB CD-ROM drive!).
A great article on installing WHS can be found here.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The downside of building your own Windows Home Server as opposed to buying one from HP, Acer, Asus, or the rest is that you don't get some of the bundled software. The plus side though is that you can build a better product with better quality components (although I'm not saying that the quality of my "on sale" components are better!).

Out of the box, you get a standard SMB based file server, a UPNP/DLNA compatible server, and automated backup for all your Windows PCs. Also, there's a pretty large Windows Home Server community that has produced some great add-ins including an iTunes server, FTP server, IIS server, Bittorrent client, PHP server, MySQL server, and even a TiVo publisher!

With this new setup, I was able to replace my development web server which was an old laptop that I had lying around running SUSE in a LAMP configuration, the aforementioned Buffalo Terastation, and now I could access all my MP3's and digital pictures from my all my computers, XBOX 360, TiVo, and even my iPod Touch (through a UPNP client)! In all, a good deal for around $300!

Editor's Note: Automated backup only works for Windows PCs and requires installation of a client software CD, but since all my home computers are Macs w/Time Machine, I didn't really play around too much with this feature although there are some hacks to enable Time Machine backups on Windows Home Server. Also, automated backup only works for clients, not the server itself, so I'll save those hacks for another time!

MS09-034 - Critical: Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer (972260)

This isn't the first time that Microsoft has released an out-of-band patch for Internet Explorer, but they are certainly pretty rare. I'd patch for this one as soon as reasonably possible.

MS09-034 - Critical: Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer (972260): "Bulletin Severity Rating:Critical - This security update is being released out of band in conjunction with Microsoft Security Bulletin MS09-035, which describes vulnerabilities in those components and controls that have been developed using vulnerable versions of the Microsoft Active Template Library (ATL). As a defense-in-depth measure, this Internet Explorer security update helps mitigate known attack vectors within Internet Explorer for those components and controls that have been developed with vulnerable versions of ATL as described in Microsoft Security Advisory (973882) and Microsoft Security Bulletin MS09-035. This security update also resolves three privately reported vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer. These vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if a user views a specially crafted Web page using Internet Explorer. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights."

(Via Microsoft Security Bulletins.)

MS09-032 - Critical: Cumulative Security Update of ActiveX Kill Bits (973346)

MS09-032 - Critical: Cumulative Security Update of ActiveX Kill Bits (973346): "Bulletin Severity Rating:Critical - This security update resolves a privately reported vulnerability that is currently being exploited. The vulnerability in Microsoft Video ActiveX Control could allow remote code execution if a user views a specially crafted Web page with Internet Explorer, instantiating the ActiveX control. This ActiveX control was never intended to be instantiated in Internet Explorer. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights."

(Via Microsoft Security Bulletins.)

MS09-029 - Critical: Vulnerabilities in the Embedded OpenType Font Engine Could Allow Remote Code Execution (961371)

MS09-029 - Critical: Vulnerabilities in the Embedded OpenType Font Engine Could Allow Remote Code Execution (961371): "Bulletin Severity Rating:Critical - This security update resolves two privately reported vulnerabilities in a Microsoft Windows component, the Embedded OpenType (EOT) Font Engine. The vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution. An attacker who successfully exploited either of these vulnerabilities could take complete control of an affected system remotely. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights."

(Via Microsoft Security Bulletins.)

MS09-028 - Critical: Vulnerabilities in Microsoft DirectShow Could Allow Remote Code Execution (971633)

MS09-028 - Critical: Vulnerabilities in Microsoft DirectShow Could Allow Remote Code Execution (971633): "Bulletin Severity Rating:Critical - This security update resolves one publicly disclosed vulnerability and two privately reported vulnerabilities in Microsoft DirectShow. The vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if a user opened a specially crafted QuickTime media file. An attacker who successfully exploited any of these vulnerabilities could gain the same user rights as the local user. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights."

(Via Microsoft Security Bulletins.)