HP MediaSmart Server EX475: A multimedia server

The MediaSmart Server ex475 from Hewlett Packard is a “domestic server”. Don’t be afraid of these words, as everything will be explained! It is a compact box of similar size to a mini PC tower, but comes without a monitor. Its small dimensions allow you to place it in a small, aerated corner of the house. It is actually only 23 cm deep, 14 cm wide and 25 cm tall! The EX475 weighs in a 5.76 kg.

This file server is not addresses at companies but instead home users who are quickly starting to understand the use of such a device. A good example is if you have numerous computers connected in a network via cable or wireless, with this server providing you with five distinct functions. You will be able to centrally store all of the family’s multimedia content (audio, video, photos), provide each user with their own access rights, guarantee their privacy, complete full and regular backups of all computers on the network and authorise remote connections. If you think that a file server is a difficult to install then you are probably alsso wrong on this point.

The MediaSmart Server ex475 is a lot less complicated to install then Linux servers… Linux users are not always conscientious about other possibilities and have very little time to spend with novice users, although they will tell you otherwise, but here is an operating system in Windows Home Server that drives itself a lot making things very simple. Are you used to operating in the Windows XP or Vista interfaces? Then you shouldn’t have a problem with WHS, operating in a very similar manner to Windows. The file sharing function is operational under Windows XP, Vista, 2000 SP4 and Media Centre editions, as well as Linux OS and MAC OS X. Automatic backups and remotely accessing content on the computers though is only available to Windows XP, Vista and XP Media Centre users.

The server integrates a motherboard running an AMD Sempron 64 bit 3400+ (1.8GHz) processor and a single bar of 512 MB DDR2 memory. Four bays allow for four hard drives. In the MediaSmart Server ex475, the first two of these bays are occupied. Drive 1 containing the WHS installation is locked, while the others are hot plug bays. In this model we have 1 TB of storage space thanks to 2 x 500 GB drives. We can also extend the system by installing two other S-ATA drives. Just for your information, the drives we are using in our test are Seagate Barracuda ST3500630AS’s. Two 3.5” drives, Serial ATA II, 7200 RPM with 16MB of cache memory, making these good starting disks.

This server doesn’t have secure RAID 1, although Windows Home Server does integrate folder duplication. If this option is selected, all existing folders and those added will be duplicated on the other drives. This “mirroring” will ensure that if one of your drives fails then your data will still be safe on the other (or others).

The package includes, as well as the server, a power cable, an RJ-45 Ethernet cable, an installation and help manual, a quick install guide and technical assistance. Three CD’s are also provided. The blue disk for the installation of software, the green for system restore and while to reinstall the server.