Put A Server In My House... Why?

"Making it easier for consumers to manage media across a home network ... is one of the biggest challenges in consumer electronics."

- Richard Waters, Financial Times techblog

Most people own at least one desktop or laptop computer located at home, which they undoubtedly use to browse the Internet and run a handful of other "home office" type of applications. This computer is typically separate from a computer provided for them for their daily work life. It is also safe to assume that most would rather simplify their personal lives as opposed to adding complexities in the form of additional computers in the home that they must babysit and maintain, with the obvious exceptions of computer hobbyists, professionals working from their home-based offices, software developers working remotely, etc., who may have unusual circumstances causing the over accumulation of computers and IT equipment in their guest bedrooms, game rooms, kitchens, cordoned-off foyers, garages, etc. So, why would a regular person ever want to invest in and install an additional computer, whose sole purpose is to serve other computers in their house (a "computer server"), not even intended for them to use directly, in their home?

Note: I do not work for Dell, HP, or Microsoft and in no way profit from additional sales of equipment or software licenses those companies pitch, regardless of how nice that might be. Nor am I a SlashDot addict, obsessed with installing Linux on every possible computing device, be it appropriate or not.

Let me start by admitting that the following conclusions are certainly not the case for everyone, and a single computer, server-less household proves sufficient for most people today. However, times are "a change'n," and I predict that the following driving forces are likely to affect the technology in many of our homes, sooner rather than later.

"Cloud Computing" Is Here To Stay (But Needs Help)

Now that high-speed Internet connections (broadband) are practically commonplace in most homes, apartments, condos, etc., the use of inexpensive or free Internet web sites and services as replacements for what we used to use software locally on our PCs and Macs for has exploded (this method of software usage is popularly referred to as "Cloud Computing"). And even with the personal information security risks associated with accessing the Internet, using a web service instead of purchasing and installing a software "package" will continue to be a more attractive alternative for most. IT professionals have known for years that a computer whose "role" is simplified, software configuration minimized to only those applications needed to do its job, is practically guaranteed to be more reliable over the long run. And many consumers who have owned a few computers and laptops over the years understand this concept implicitly; "the more apps I install on my PC or laptop, be it Mac or PC, the more headache I'm going to have upgrading to a new one" (even with some of the migration utilities provided by manufacturers over the years, a "clean install" has almost always been the recommended "ideal" upgrade path). Even with the risks inherent to the use of an Internet browser (i.e.: "malware" and "spyware"), people understand that a computer primarily used to access the Internet is a lot simpler and easier to maintain, upgrade, recover from a disaster, and even share with trusted others than the personal computer of a decade or more ago, littered with tens or hundreds of locally installed software applications. But as the "personal Web," or Cloud, grows out of its infancy, some areas are surfacing where the Cloud satisfies consumers' desires poorly. But, as I will discuss, this first generation of Cloud services will help those best who help themselves first. In other words, Cloud services augment home networks and servers quite nicely.

One Computer To Rule Them All (In The House)

When a modern household grows kids, it grows computers (plural). And users in multi computer homes share files with each other, share printers, etc.

But I use the Cloud for that!: "My family and friends share files and documents online, using Google Docs, or Microsoft Office Live, etc."...

Granted, the traditional need for setting up a LAN (Local Area Network) in a multi-computer household is rapidly diminishing to just providing wired or wireless Internet access for all personal computers due to the introduction of low cost or free, innovative, online personal office software. But the security risks, storage capacity limitations, and risk of data loss still connected to these services causes most people to use online personal document storage in a "mixed" approach; for example, they will store commonly needed but "not-so-private" documents online (i.e.: scanned receipts, proof of insurance forms, etc.), while keeping private documents stored on their local computer (i.e.: health records). A reliable, trusted, centrally shared folder is still typically desired for this remaining private document repository, located on a file server.

And where there are multiple computers, there are multiple backups. Most responsible computer owners backup the files that are important to them on their computer hard drive(s). Some people backup their entire hard drive contents, some just a small set of folders, some backup to USB thumb drives, some to CD or DVD discs, some to (now much cheaper) external USB hard drives, and some still to old-fashioned tape drives. But, when a household has multiple computers, the amount of data to backup can increase dramatically. Therefore, a central computer that manages and consolidates multiple computer backups over the home LAN can simplify this task immensely. Excluding photos and videos, the actual size of a family's critical documents is typically small (100MB or less). But, losing control of or losing changes to these files when they inevitably get copied across multiple laptop and desktop computers becomes a common problem in a multi computer home, which again, can be resolved by using a single, shared, regularly backed-up, virus-scanned folder on the home network.

But I Use The Cloud for That!: "I use an online backup-over-the-Internet service like Mozy or JungleDisk, and one of a hundred Internet 'file sync' services for sharing documents... "

Online backup web sites, and simple Network Atached Storage (NAS) devices as well, currently just provide file-based backup and synchronization, but do not offer the "native" full system backup and restore option, important in "disater recovery" situations, that a home server can. But, these online backup sites are a good example of Cloud-based services removing the headache from a cumbersome task disliked by many home computer owners. Almost invisibly behind the scenes, theses online services, in conjunction with a small background application, slowly trickle the files that you wish to be backed up securely to their web site (and massive data center). Gone are the worries of having to remember to change out a DVD disc, or checking if an external hard drive might be full. And because these companies are able to spread their storage costs across many users, their storage capacity is very reasonable (i.e.: 50 GB of secure, backed up space for ~ $50 per year). But, the more data you choose to backup, the slower it will take to move that data over your high speed Internet connection, especially when conducting "full" hard drive backups (i.e.: a 50GB transfer can take as long as 1.5 weeks to complete when using one of these services). Granted, after the initial transfer, only files that have changed are backed up after that making for much faster subsequent backups. But, this initial transfer size poses a dilemma when upgrading computers, restoring a crashed hard drive, and especially when considering the next trend below, "Bandwidth will increase in cost". On the other hand, these Internet backup services are ideal when combined with a home server. If setup on the home server, an Internet backup and/or file sync service can optimally create a redundant backup of all of the computers in the home with one transfer, rather than one for each computer. And an Internet file share sync'd with a home server share can securely grant access to a set of files strictly controlled across all of your home computers.

A centralized computer, provided it is more than just a file server or NAS device, can also be used to remotely access and manage other computers, laptops, netbooks, etc. in the house. It can even turn a computer on and off remotely, if the computer supports the Wake-Up-On-LAN standard.

Your Family Photographic History Is For You To Keep (And To Share At Your Prerogative)

A centralized, backed-up repository on your home network for all of your digital photographs will help insure that they will never be lost, and provide for creative in home access and presentations.

But I Use The Cloud for That!: "I use Flickr or Kodak Gallery to store all of my photos, I use Facebook to share them, and I have backup of my photos scattered across many USB Flash thumb drives and/or DVD discs. Why would I need to store them on a share on my network, much less a server?"

Internet photo sharing sites are now the de facto standard for uploading, sharing, ordering prints of, and even creating albums of digital photos. And these companies have scaled up their massive storage requirements elegantly... so far. But, with the steady increase in camera resolution, and thus picture file size, increase in users, and the sheer passage of time, these photo sharing sites are starting to show the effects. In 2009, Kodak Gallery's management announced a new policy to its users stating that the company would not be able to continue to store photographs for users unless they purchased some sort of product or services of a specific value from Kodak Gallery at least once per year. In other words, they cannot continue to justify their storage costs except for valued, active customers. But photos are supposed to be forever, regardless of your current business activity status, considered by some to be a family photographic history. And other Internet photo sites will eventually adopt similar policies out of necessity. Note: Google has yet to figure out how to make YouTube pay for itself. Which is why you should always be in control of your digital photograph and personal video originals, in their raw, full resolution quality.

This brings up an old debate of "exactly what type of media should you use for long-term storage of digital files?" In other words, what should you place in that fire-proof safe in your closet, or safety deposit box, or relative's house, etc.? Rather than delve into that tangent topic, let's just assume that the recommended long-term, storage media type changes about every 10 years or so (currently, I believe popular use stands at USB thumb drives for convenience, followed by external hard drives for performance and capacity, and DVD discs declining in usage). But, if these files were consolidated and stored in a central storage area on the home network first, switching to a different long-term storage media would be easy. And having the entire library constantly available to the home network makes it much easier to stream slide-shows to nifty gadgets like wireless digital photo frames, DVRs or game consoles connected to flat-screen TVs, etc. The same technology can be used for streaming music, but is not typically, since music is not generally perceived to be owned in the same way as other personal content.

Your Home Entertainment Will Increasingly Rely On Your Internet Bandwidth, And Your Home Internet Bandwidth Will Increase In Cost

Broadcast television, as we know it today, will become obsolete well within our lifetime (not to mention the traditional telephone system as well). Current college-aged and younger generations have little loyalty to cable or satellite TV broadcasters, and do not hesitate at replacing the television screen in their living room with a large computer screen and Internet browser. Add to that the slightly contradictory trend that everyone will eventually own a home theater. For example, even people who claim that "watching too much TV is bad for you" will jump at the chance to have a commercial-free, National Geographic and educational documentary-stocked video library instantly available at their fingertips; ready to project in 61 inch, High Definition, Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound glory in an audio-insulated, climate-controlled, throw pillow dominated cocoon located just a stroll away from their bedrooms and kitchens. I believe desiring this may be related to some common primordial human instinct. A home server gives a family more instant video entertainment choices on their home theater(s) as well as their mobile computers, phones, and other devices.

But I Use The Cloud for That!: "I have a Netflix account, or iTunes, or Time Warner On Demand, which allows me to purchase and watch movies almost instantly, and I can access Hulu for archived TV shows wherever I have Internet access. Why would I need a server?"

Again, the point is not about replacing these Cloud-based video entertainment services, which practically everyone uses now, but supplementing them with something faster and cheaper in the long run. Creating a home network based video library allows near instant access (via streaming) to those video titles you choose to own. Also, downloading more and more HD movies over the Internet is placing a heavier burden on home Internet bandwidth provider networks, while taking more revenue away from cable and satellite TV providers; the problem for consumers is that these are the same companies (i.e.: Time Warner, Comcast, etc.)! So, if you think Time Warner or Comcast will sit idly by and watch their business models crumble, while consumers cancel their cable TV subscriptions and continue to download cheap movies over cheap Internet connections, I'm sorry to inform you that you will be disappointed. They will replace that lost revenue by using new financial instruments like Internet bandwidth caps and usage fees. It is just a matter of time.

But I Use DVD Discs for That!: "I have a bookshelf full of DVDs and Blu-ray discs that I can play whenever I want. Why would I need to store my videos on a server?"

The main limitation with DVD discs is that they are typically your sole copy of a given video in your house. This may be fine for a title that you watch occasionally, and only in one location (i.e.: just one flat screen), but DVDs tend to get lost when taken on vacation, scratched when handled by children, and are incompatible with some computers or laptops that might not even have a DVD or Blu-ray disc drive, etc. But, software products like AnyDVD or HandBrake can be installed on a home computer which can "rip" the movie title off of a DVD disc (even a Blu-ray HD) into a large digital file of various formats (i.e.: Mpeg4), in much the same way music CDROM tracks can be ripped into MP3 files. This process of converting the DVD movie format is referred to as "trans-coding". A user then has many more choices for distributing the video file, such as transferring it to their smart phone to watch on the road; copying it to their laptop, netbook, or Sony PSP; "streaming" it to a light-weight DVR (i.e.: Tivo), an Apple TV extended with Boxee, a game console (i.e.: XBOX 360, or PS3), or a multimedia PC directly connected to their home theater flat screen. Not to mention that it is easier to choose from an onscreen menu of movie titles than it is to fumble through a stack of discs. Unfortunately, the current limitations of the speed of wireless networks and the sheer size of video files means that the concept of "mobile computing" translates to "prep-and-go" rather than "stream-as-needed" most of the time for consumer videos. However, using an efficient, dedicated home server on which to trans-code and store your video library is an ideal setup for reasons explained below.

A Desktop PC or Simple Hard Drive Does Not A Good Server Make

Installing a dedicated computer server on your home network (a home server) not only allows you to remotely manage other household computers, and create online photo and video libraries; it is also an optimum location to host a handful of services or applications that may need to constantly run, even when you are away from home.

But I Can Use My Current Computer For That!: "My home office desktop PC, or Mac, or Network Attached Storage (NAS) device could perform most of the tasks mentioned above; Why should I bother with a dedicated computer server?"

As explained above, simplifying a computer's software configuration is a proven method of making that computer more resilient and perform better over the long run. Separating the typically interactive roles of a home office PC (i.e.: browsing the Internet, working remotely / VPN, email, social networking, instant messaging, photo / video / music editing, word processing, personal finance, game playing, etc.) from the typically background roles of a home server (i.e.: rock solid network file share service, local computer backups, scheduled backup-to-Internet tasks, shared file virus scanning, video streaming, print server, home automation applications, etc.) makes for both a better desktop and server. Dedicated home server products are also typically designed to easily add additional storage to, which not only differentiates them from desktop PCs, but multimedia PCs connected directly to televisions as well. While Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices specialize in providing simple to use storage to a home network, they lack the ability to run applications and thus cannot relieve a desktop PC of server typical roles.

Do I Really Need Yet Another Appliance Raising My Home Electric Bill?!:

Professionals and consumers alike have become more concerned with "Green Computing," or minimizing the energy consumed by their computing devices. The good news about running a separate home server from a desktop PC is in how differently those computers can be designed and operated. A desktop PC or high-end laptop typically features higher power consuming components like faster, multi-core microprocessors, high-performance graphics cards for 3D gaming and desktop publishing, larger power supplies, and extra or larger fans for cooling. But, if configured optimally, a desktop PC should typically be turned OFF (or at least placed in "power stand-by") when it is not being used by a person. And it's hard to get "greener" than a device which is powered down. Although home servers are always running, they are typically designed with lower power consumption components, such as low-power processors, (i.e.: Intel Atom processors, commonly powering netbooks, are popularly used in home server products as well), minimal graphics, smaller power supplies, smaller fans, minimal peripherals, and sometimes even lacking a monitor and keyboard and accessed exclusively remotely. Some server products draw less power than a 40W light bulb when idle. And, in some cases, home servers can be used to monitor the energy consumption of other appliances in the home, helping make the entire house "greener."

So What Does One of these Home Servers Look Like Anyways?:

Home server equipment can take many forms; some good, some not as good. Although there are plenty of products available from reputable manufacturers like HP, ASUS, Acer, Dell, and others; this field is very popular amongst computer hobbyists and Do-It-Yourselfers. Some individuals see the minimal hardware specifications of a dedicated home server as an attractive option to repurpose leftover personal computer equipment. As in all DIY projects however, knowledge and experience should be relied on heavily in order to construct a reliable system, as opposed to something that will break down and jeopardize important data. I've included some general categories, with their main trade-offs, below:

• A shared home office desktop computer in the office
Pros: Cheap
Cons: Mix of software will most likely grow to be unstable and system will develop issues and/or crash over time

• An old, hand-me-down, "used to be a" home office desktop computer shoved into a corner under some magazines and boxes
Pros: Cheap, and software more stable than a shared desktop computer
Cons: Hardware possibly unreliable, higher power consuming (hot), not necessarily designed to run efficiently for long periods of time

• A "Multimedia PC" product connected directly to your television, acting as both a pseudo-DVR and file server
Pros: Software stable
Cons: Not necessarily designed for easily expandable hard drive storage. If expanded to more of a "server" role, rather than just a streaming device, could become loud, hard to cool, and unwelcome in a home theater environment.

• A dedicated home server product, stored in a clean, out-of-the-way, cool location of the house, *wired* to the home network
Pros: Ideal

• A home-built home server
Pros or Cons: It depends on how well it was built (of course)

A handful of operating systems software choices are available for home servers depending on the personality and preferences of the user. Computer hobbyists and individuals comfortable with operating Linux-based systems can choose from several freely-available supplemental software tools like MediaTomb or MythTV to add multimedia management features to the native file server services of Linux. For mainstream users, I recommend a product based on Microsoft Windows Home Server (WHS). WHS comes with a built-in graphical console for managing the system, computer backups, user accounts, etc., and automatically makes itself securely accessible via an Internet URL during setup (i.e.: http://myserver.homeserver.com/), allowing you to easily remotely access and manage your home server while on the road.

A Smart Home Has a Brain

In addition to the basic, "bread and butter" uses for a dedicated home server described above, these general purpose application and file servers are being creatively used for many other purposes in the growing area of the digital "smart home." Since these systems are typically always running, and considered "part of the house," some enthusiasts install software and interfaces on them to monitor energy usage of home appliances, automatically turn lights on and off (see Home Automation), view remote cameras and record surveillance pictures, stream fun photos and videos to wireless picture frames, etc., etc. I believe this area of creative use is one of the strengths of the Windows Home Server (WHS) product. Similar to the Apple iPhone's wildly successful "there's an app for that" approach to expanding usage beyond just a cell phone, the WHS "Add-In" feature has enabled developers to create clean, professional-looking, easy to install graphical extensions to the management console for all kinds of purposes (i.e.: Disk Management Add-In, D-Link D-View WHS Video Camera Console). Granted, there are higher-end products that specialize in many of the same niches as these Add-Ins but, these free or inexpensive software modules typically enable users to experiment with less expensive equipment and software versions of digital home technologies.

My (Unique) Home Server

Let me preface the following with the explanation that I personally would qualify as a computer hobbyist / enthusiast, not really a mainstream user. So, I did choose to go the "build it yourself" route, as opposed to purchasing one of the many excellent home server products available on the market. But, I did a fair amount of research, used a brand new computer system and components, and I am pleased with the results.

I went with a rack-mounted 1U Dell R200, for a couple of reasons. I had a half rack left over from an office. I have a high ceiling in my master bedroom closet, which happens to be air conditioned and has a lot of wasted space high up, so... I built a custom deck / platform. The base Dell R200 system cost less than a laptop, and it was hard to beat that 3-year hardware warranty. Then I just added a special eSATA 2 controller and some external eSATA drives. The processor, being an Intel Dual Core Xeon, does not exactly qualify as low-power, like an Atom processor but, I had other development uses planned for this machine (again, the hobbyist exception :-).

Processing specs: Dell PowerEdge R200 1U rack mounted server; Intel dual core Xeon E3110 @ 3.0GHz w/ 1333MHz front side bus; 8GB memory DDR2 of 800MHZ 4X2G dual ranked DIMMs; 3yr Dell warranty

Storage and I/O specs: 500 GB SATAII hw RAID1 mirror (Primary SYS:) controlled by an LSI PCI-Express SAS6iR; ~2 TB eSATAII JBOD WDC drives (DATA:) controlled by an Addonics 4-port PCI-X ADS3GX4R5-E

Purpose: Hybrid file/app server, media server, DVD transcoding, home appliance automation, etc.

Clients: 2 kids' netbooks, 1 laptop, 1 gaming PC (currently dead), 2 iPhones, 1 Tivo S3, 1 PS3, 1 Wii w/ Wii Fit, D-Link GB switch & Gamer Lounge GB router

Software: Microsoft Windows Home Server + various Add-Ins

My Home Theater

Resources:

We Got Served
WGS WHS Hardware product Reviews

Microsoft Windows Home Server