Servers aren't just for big businesses anymore. Finally they are affordable for small businesses, home offices, and even just ordinary home users. What can this little cube do for you?

• Automatically back up all of your laptop and desktop computers wirelessly and without any hassle.
   
• Allow you to easily share data among users on your network, including music, photos, movies, and more. This cube's capacity grows with you, supporting up to 8 terabytes of data storage by simply adding additional hard drives.
   
• Allow you to share non-networkable printers with everyone on the network.

Why is this little cube important?

• Studies have shown that 94% of businesses that have a catastrophic data loss never fully recover, and most go out of business within two years.
   
• If backups require effort and personal attention, generally speaking they don't get done, or only infrequently and inconsistently.
   
• Failure to back up home computers means lost financial records, precious photos, and valuable music collections. It also means last minute scrambling to recreate student's lost homework and projects.
   
• Many people have duplicate files that waste space and cause confusion. Centralizing these in group shared folders is more efficient. and cost effective.
   
• This server provides the ability for you or your IT professional to monitor the health of your network and storage on a 24/7 basis, to ensure minimal downtime.

Available for a limited time, our At Your Service program provides you with a simple, flexible server solution with a small footprint (about 8" on each side) and with low power consumption. At Your Service servers are a fraction of the size, power drain, and expense of typical server computers which require costly server software, licenses for each client, and expensive installation and ongoing maintenance services. With the At Your Service program, you get everything - hardware, software, and installation service - all wrapped into one neat little bundle.
 

FAQ

• Are other configurations available beyond what is shown in the table? Yes. The table shows typical configurations that meet the needs of most of our clients, however other storage space configurations are possible.
   
• How is this related to Microsoft Windows? The Microsoft WHS Server operating system is derived from Microsoft Server 200x, the world's leading commercial server operating system. It is a highly stable and well tested version of Windows.
   
• Do I have to give more money to Microsoft for licenses? No. These servers include everything you need. The licensed server operating system is pre-installed, and unlike other server operating systems (such as Server 2003 and Server 2008), you do not need to pay for client licenses.  Your server bundle includes client licensing for up to 10 client computers. So, for one low price, you are getting hardware, software, as well as services for delivery, configuration, and setup.
   
• I keep seeing computers with 4 or 8 GB memory. Is 1 GB enough for this server?  Generally speaking, 1 GB is more than enough for a file server. Because the server is purpose-built for a limited range of purposes (being a central repository among a group of computers) it does not need large amounts of memory to run multiple complex office applications as can happen on a desktop computer. Also, the WHS operating system is much more memory efficient than a bloated operating system such as Vista. Still, if you will have many computers connected to your server conducting backups and file streaming simultaneously, an additional GB of memory is a good idea.
   
• How much storage space is actually available?  It depends on how you want to configure it. Most people will want redundancy for protection from hardware failure. In such cases, about half of the total physical space can be used to store your backups and shared data, while the other half is used for redundant copies of files and folders. Even so, a lot of storage is possible. Although our "SOHO+" configuration includes a whopping 4 terabytes of physical storage, configurations of 8 terabytes or even more are possible.
   
• Does this solution take the place of online backups?  An At Your Service server solution provides a coordinated, centralized backup solution for your network of computers to guard against physical malfunction of the hard drives on the client computers, and provides various levels of redundancy for data stored on the server itself. In an ideal situation, we also recommend an online backup solution to protect the most valuable data in the event of catastrophic situations such as fire or theft, that could compromise the server computer as well as the clients at the same time. In short, an ideal backup strategy is multi-tier, and uses both local and online elements.
   
• How does this compare to an NAS. An NAS is a "Network Accessible Storage" device. Essentially, it is a hard drive or set of hard drives with a network connection so it can be accessed on a network. If shared storage is the only goal, then an NAS can do the trick. However, there are downsides to an NAS compared to one of our At Your Service (AYS) servers.  In an NAS, data storage can be very sluggish. By contrast, each AYS server is equipped with gigabit ethernet and fast 7200 RPM hard drives. Properly configured, an AYS server can be almost as fast as saving files on your local hard drive. Also, AYS servers are fueled by the familiar Windows operating system, making maintenance, customization, and upgrades easier. Unlike an NAS, an AYS server is also a printer server. Most importantly, an AYS server is a centrally managed backup device, while an NAS is a network device without intelligence and client awareness built into it. While prices vary widely, an NAS device by itself may be more expensive than one of our AYS servers which come complete with installation service.
   
• How do these servers compare to RAID? RAID is a means of managing multiple hard drives as a single unit. RAID can be used for different purposes, such as redundancy (e.g. "RAID 1"), space extension, or performance enhancement. The downside of RAID is that it can be complex, cannot be easily expanded, and in many configurations other than RAID 1, provides no data integrity if there is hard drive failure. Like RAID 1, the AYS servers can use multiple hard drives to provide data redundancy. Unlike RAID 1, the AYS server allows the use of multiple hard drives of any mix of sizes; it automatically pools together those drives; and the pool can be extended simply by plugging in an additional drive.
   
• What is the difference between Physical Storage, Backup Storage Pool, and Dedicated Storage for File Shares? Physical Storage indicates the total amount of storage space included in the server. This space is divided between the Storage Pool space and the File Share space. Storage Pool space is used for backing up client computers and, in simpler configurations, it is also the location of file shares. In more sophisticated configurations, file shares have their own dedicated storage space, which provides for a greater level of control and backup integrity for shared folders.
   
• What do you mean by File Share Integrity Level? In the base environment (Level 0), client computers are backed up, but shared folders are not. This is fine where the shared folders are merely a mechanism of convenience - to provide an easy way to move files between computers on the network or to store non-critical files. In a Level 1 configuration, the Storage Pool contains redundant hard drives, and the contents of shared folders are duplicated by the operating system. This provides a level of protection if one hard drive fails. In a Level 2 configuration, two dedicated hard drives are included. The first dedicated hard drive contains all of the shared folders. The second hard drive contains a backup of the shared folders. The user, not the operating system, has full control of the backup procedure, so that many sets of backups, as well as differential and incremental backups, can be scheduled. Level 2 is the best approach where the file shares contain critical data requiring multiple levels of backup and quick restoration.
   
• How many computers can be connected to one of these servers? The Microsoft-imposed limit is 10 computers. Our bundle pricing includes free configuration for a specific number of computers, however additional computers, up to 10, can be added for a nominal setup fee.
   
• Are these servers for everybody? No. These servers are ideal for a wide range of home, home office, and small office needs, but they are not ideal for all situations. For example, businesses requiring server applications such as Exchange or wishing to host web sites, or companies that are likely to need more than 10 computers in their network, would need a different type of server.
   
• Are these servers "home built"? Do they have a warranty?  Our servers are not home built. They are commercially available products selected from major manufacturers such as Lenovo (formerly IBM), Acer, and HP, based on availability. They include a one year manufacturer's warranty (with longer extensions available). We always warrant our service component as well.