Price : Too low to display
ASUS TS-Mini/500GB - SOHO Server - Making Home Server Easy (Storage, Backup, and Sharing) WebStorage: Free 1 year subscription for 500GB online storage. - External Backup: Directly and easily backup, synchronize and manage your files/folders (6 USB2.0 and 2 eSATA ports). ASWM: ASUS monitoring application to provide live status updates on the Home Server.Energy Saving: 25-28W, low power consumption.
This review is from : ASUS TS Mini SOHO Server (500GB Storage)
Suites my purposes perfectly in all that it offers . In searching for a server, I wanted something easy on the electricity in order to keep it on all day. If this does indeed use only 27 watts when at max operating, it's perfect.
I use it for file storage, having WinAmp running at all times to be able to remotely (via Ipod Touch) turn on to stream to an Airport Express with Airfoil (iTunes gave me problems, read below), run uTorrent all the time, and stream to a WD TV Live.
It's doing all these things for me perfectly. The only thing I don't run on it that I had planned on is PlayOn to stream Hulu to the WD TV Live. The CPU is lacking for this, so I do run PlayOn from my laptop when needed.
In installing iTunes to WHS via instructions found on the net, I got it to install, but had the "stuttering/pausing" problem with iTunes. I have this happen once in a long while on my laptop, but with the Server, it was pausing every 3 seconds or so, continuously. I found if I had QuickTime player running, this got rid of the stutter for some reason, but QuickTime then consumed 50-60% CPU constantly. I didn't want to subject the CPU to this, so I switched to WinAmp and Airfoil, and the combination is working fine for my purposes. I'm still able to remotely control WinAmp with my Ipod Touch with a iAmpRemote, although with less capabilities that the Apple Remote and iTunes gives you (sort by artist, song, etc).
My server sits in my family room, so I also installed a USB sound card with XP drivers to the server, and can route sound directly from the server to my stereo via the USB Sound card.
So far, I've been very pleased with it. The Atom Processor is capable for what I use it for (and more so if you don't intend to run things like Winamp/iTunes, etc on it). Anything that takes a CPU power, like PlayOn to process video, will run slowly and not so well on it. So consider the trade offs of the small lower power consuming CPU, versus CPU power needed.
Suites my purposes perfectly in all that it offers . In searching for a server, I wanted something easy on the electricity in order to keep it on all day. If this does indeed use only 27 watts when at max operating, it's perfect.
I use it for file storage, having WinAmp running at all times to be able to remotely (via Ipod Touch) turn on to stream to an Airport Express with Airfoil (iTunes gave me problems, read below), run uTorrent all the time, and stream to a WD TV Live.
It's doing all these things for me perfectly. The only thing I don't run on it that I had planned on is PlayOn to stream Hulu to the WD TV Live. The CPU is lacking for this, so I do run PlayOn from my laptop when needed.
In installing iTunes to WHS via instructions found on the net, I got it to install, but had the "stuttering/pausing" problem with iTunes. I have this happen once in a long while on my laptop, but with the Server, it was pausing every 3 seconds or so, continuously. I found if I had QuickTime player running, this got rid of the stutter for some reason, but QuickTime then consumed 50-60% CPU constantly. I didn't want to subject the CPU to this, so I switched to WinAmp and Airfoil, and the combination is working fine for my purposes. I'm still able to remotely control WinAmp with my Ipod Touch with a iAmpRemote, although with less capabilities that the Apple Remote and iTunes gives you (sort by artist, song, etc).
My server sits in my family room, so I also installed a USB sound card with XP drivers to the server, and can route sound directly from the server to my stereo via the USB Sound card.
So far, I've been very pleased with it. The Atom Processor is capable for what I use it for (and more so if you don't intend to run things like Winamp/iTunes, etc on it). Anything that takes a CPU power, like PlayOn to process video, will run slowly and not so well on it. So consider the trade offs of the small lower power consuming CPU, versus CPU power needed.
ASUS TS Mini SOHO Server (500GB Storage) Reviews
Fast WMS for the money also quiet and reliable Asus . I was in a market for an NAS and after a few week of reading reviews from small network builder I decided that the Asus TS Mini was the cheapest and fastest option I could afford. I was ready to pull a trigger on a Buffalo Technology LinkStation Duo, or Iomega StorCenter ix2-200, Seagate BlackArmor NAS 220. Unlike those models, Asus on average scored 2x the speed on small network builder read/write charts over those.
Performances/Design:
You can see the charts, but from my experience when I attached an usb hard drive to copy files to the the NAS, it is very fast. When I copied large chuck of files over the wifi network to NAs and got around 3.0mbps, or bit slower. I streamed 720 video clip to other PC and there is no hiccup or dropping. Did the same thing to the PS3, no freeze or skipping. The only time it freezes is after I copy 40gb of file and then streamed to the PS3. To fix this, just turn off the Asus and restart it and all will be back. The NAS is very quiet; the only sound is when the HHD is copying and you can hear that, I find it better or quieter to lay the NAS on its side, when it spins. All my computers and laptop, with window 7 and vista can see the all the files that I allow. The netbook and PS3 can see only DLNA stuff. I didn't see any jumbo frame option, but it is still fast enough for me as a home user. There are four light on the front panel, see the guide for what they mean, usually four solid blue is good.
Spec
1.66 GHz Atom N280 CPU -Intel 82801GBM/GHM ICH7-M SouthBridge -82945G mobile graphics (yes the vga video out is covered - 1 GB of RAM -Marvell 88SE6121 SATA II controller, Realtek RTL8112L 10/100/1000 Ethernet controller, Phison PS2232 flash controller and 256 MB of flash. The single Seagate Barracuda 7200 500 GB 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/ST3500418AS-Bare Drive is fast and quite, but too small, so I added another 1TB later.
Microsoft Windows Server) (WMS)
Window Media Server (WMS) is a simple program to use. I did have problem installing it on a Window7 and Vista 64bit computer with the disc that came with the box. I had to download the latest connector software from Asus and it finally worked. I also crashed the server and the server boot cd didn't work on either of my 64bit Win7 or Vista, but I pulled out my netbook with the basic 32 bit win7 and it worked (attached an external dvd-rom to the netbook)you need the server cd if you want to add another HHD later on as your primary HHD. There is no raid 0 or 1 option like some linux OS NAS. But like a PC you can pick the 2 drives as one big hard-drive or the other option as 2 separate hard-drive to do backup . If you pick one super drive, then you can turn on duplication syncing file, which will make a copy of all files you indicted to copy onto the second drive. If you do backup as a 2nd HHD only, then your 2nd hhd will be reserved to backup only. You can back up your pc, laptop and server, but oddly you cannot do the duplicate file/ folder syncing. I have not been able to remote access my NAS from away from my home network. There are a few configurations I need to adjust on my router to get that to work, I will update this once I do that. You can add up to 5 users, I made one for myself and if I can get the remote option to work, then I will add my relatives from different states by giving a user account. So we can share photos and other files. There is free500gb of web storage the first year, and then you have to pay around 70 annual fees after that which I have no plan to do.
Hardware
This is a tad taller than most NAS, because the size of the motherboard. I wished the drive would be quick access but once you put it in it is in like a PC. Removing the HHD is not hard but there are a series of bolts and screws to detach. There is a video output that I heard is fully functional, so this can be a server not just an NAS. The bad thing is you have to cut the plastic panel out on the back with some skill knife work. Read that it consumes around 30w, I looked for any power down option and there are none.
For the specs at this price range you cannot find a faster option on NAS chart, so I went with this device. The cpu and ram are very similar to netbook hardware. There are no Raid 0, 1, 5 configuration like other NAS or home server, but WMS option to duplicate files are the same and it is fast enough for most home network. The rebate I got pushed this to around 200 so it is worth the price. I didn't like WMS at first, but after awhile it is quiet plain and simple to use.
Fast WMS for the money also quiet and reliable Asus . I was in a market for an NAS and after a few week of reading reviews from small network builder I decided that the Asus TS Mini was the cheapest and fastest option I could afford. I was ready to pull a trigger on a Buffalo Technology LinkStation Duo, or Iomega StorCenter ix2-200, Seagate BlackArmor NAS 220. Unlike those models, Asus on average scored 2x the speed on small network builder read/write charts over those.
Performances/Design:
You can see the charts, but from my experience when I attached an usb hard drive to copy files to the the NAS, it is very fast. When I copied large chuck of files over the wifi network to NAs and got around 3.0mbps, or bit slower. I streamed 720 video clip to other PC and there is no hiccup or dropping. Did the same thing to the PS3, no freeze or skipping. The only time it freezes is after I copy 40gb of file and then streamed to the PS3. To fix this, just turn off the Asus and restart it and all will be back. The NAS is very quiet; the only sound is when the HHD is copying and you can hear that, I find it better or quieter to lay the NAS on its side, when it spins. All my computers and laptop, with window 7 and vista can see the all the files that I allow. The netbook and PS3 can see only DLNA stuff. I didn't see any jumbo frame option, but it is still fast enough for me as a home user. There are four light on the front panel, see the guide for what they mean, usually four solid blue is good.
Spec
1.66 GHz Atom N280 CPU -Intel 82801GBM/GHM ICH7-M SouthBridge -82945G mobile graphics (yes the vga video out is covered - 1 GB of RAM -Marvell 88SE6121 SATA II controller, Realtek RTL8112L 10/100/1000 Ethernet controller, Phison PS2232 flash controller and 256 MB of flash. The single Seagate Barracuda 7200 500 GB 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/ST3500418AS-Bare Drive is fast and quite, but too small, so I added another 1TB later.
Microsoft Windows Server) (WMS)
Window Media Server (WMS) is a simple program to use. I did have problem installing it on a Window7 and Vista 64bit computer with the disc that came with the box. I had to download the latest connector software from Asus and it finally worked. I also crashed the server and the server boot cd didn't work on either of my 64bit Win7 or Vista, but I pulled out my netbook with the basic 32 bit win7 and it worked (attached an external dvd-rom to the netbook)you need the server cd if you want to add another HHD later on as your primary HHD. There is no raid 0 or 1 option like some linux OS NAS. But like a PC you can pick the 2 drives as one big hard-drive or the other option as 2 separate hard-drive to do backup . If you pick one super drive, then you can turn on duplication syncing file, which will make a copy of all files you indicted to copy onto the second drive. If you do backup as a 2nd HHD only, then your 2nd hhd will be reserved to backup only. You can back up your pc, laptop and server, but oddly you cannot do the duplicate file/ folder syncing. I have not been able to remote access my NAS from away from my home network. There are a few configurations I need to adjust on my router to get that to work, I will update this once I do that. You can add up to 5 users, I made one for myself and if I can get the remote option to work, then I will add my relatives from different states by giving a user account. So we can share photos and other files. There is free500gb of web storage the first year, and then you have to pay around 70 annual fees after that which I have no plan to do.
Hardware
This is a tad taller than most NAS, because the size of the motherboard. I wished the drive would be quick access but once you put it in it is in like a PC. Removing the HHD is not hard but there are a series of bolts and screws to detach. There is a video output that I heard is fully functional, so this can be a server not just an NAS. The bad thing is you have to cut the plastic panel out on the back with some skill knife work. Read that it consumes around 30w, I looked for any power down option and there are none.
For the specs at this price range you cannot find a faster option on NAS chart, so I went with this device. The cpu and ram are very similar to netbook hardware. There are no Raid 0, 1, 5 configuration like other NAS or home server, but WMS option to duplicate files are the same and it is fast enough for most home network. The rebate I got pushed this to around 200 so it is worth the price. I didn't like WMS at first, but after awhile it is quiet plain and simple to use.
ASUS TS Mini SOHO Server (500GB Storage) Opinions
Great low-power backup server. Customer support is lacking. . My family uses the TS Mini to backup one desktop and two laptops, run SqueezeCenter for our Squeezebox internet radio, host our music collection, and perform off-site backups (via CloudBerry). It's run without a hiccup since we got it.
That said, it's a great device as long as you don't need to communicate with ASUS support. I upgraded the version of WHS that came with it, and once upgraded, one of the ASUS extensions stopped working. I contacted ASUS about the issue and after about two weeks, they responded that my TS Mini didn't come with the extension I had issues with. Even after pointing them to the documentation on their own website that shows that the TS Mini *did* come with this extension, ASUS support wouldn't help me to fix/reinstall the extension. I've since uninstalled the extension and everything is working fine.
Great low-power backup server. Customer support is lacking. . My family uses the TS Mini to backup one desktop and two laptops, run SqueezeCenter for our Squeezebox internet radio, host our music collection, and perform off-site backups (via CloudBerry). It's run without a hiccup since we got it.
That said, it's a great device as long as you don't need to communicate with ASUS support. I upgraded the version of WHS that came with it, and once upgraded, one of the ASUS extensions stopped working. I contacted ASUS about the issue and after about two weeks, they responded that my TS Mini didn't come with the extension I had issues with. Even after pointing them to the documentation on their own website that shows that the TS Mini *did* come with this extension, ASUS support wouldn't help me to fix/reinstall the extension. I've since uninstalled the extension and everything is working fine.
Serves its purpose . It's basically a small, low power file server. So long as that's what you're looking for this will certainly do the job. The wealth of USB ports is nice, as is the 2x internal and 2x external SATAs. I can't really speak for WHS as I wiped that immediately and installed Arch Linux :)
Pros:
-Cheap
-Low Power
-Small
-Lots of USB ports
-2 internal and 2 external SATA ports
-Gigabit Ethernet
Cons:
-Runs rather a bit warm - upwards of 60C.
-Undersized, underpowered, noisy fans - I had to put it in a different room
-Fingerprint Magnet
-CPU is every bit as underpowered as I expected it would be
-Plastic case
-Marvell e-SATA controller failed some months after I purchased it ... go figure.
Notes:
-Has a VGA port hidden under the IO panel's plastic bezel.
Bottom Line: So long as you don't have any delusions of grandeur about what you're going to do with it, it'll do the job. 8/10
Other thoughts:
-I decided not long ago to try out software RAID-5 with it, using 4 usb connected drives, but the performance was disappointing, presumably due to the parity calculations? Anyhow, I was getting about 6-7MB/s Write, 18-20MB/s Read. I tired quickly of the poor speed and have since undone this. I think I'll file this in the delusions of grandeur category now. I just didn't know RAID-5 was that expensive calculations-wise.
-If I could redesign the case, I would probably rework it such that it would be cooled by a single 14cm fan on the side. It could probably cut temps in half while only running at 800RPM, effectively silencing the case. Alas though, this is not to be.
Pros:
-Cheap
-Low Power
-Small
-Lots of USB ports
-2 internal and 2 external SATA ports
-Gigabit Ethernet
Cons:
-Runs rather a bit warm - upwards of 60C.
-Undersized, underpowered, noisy fans - I had to put it in a different room
-Fingerprint Magnet
-CPU is every bit as underpowered as I expected it would be
-Plastic case
-Marvell e-SATA controller failed some months after I purchased it ... go figure.
Notes:
-Has a VGA port hidden under the IO panel's plastic bezel.
Bottom Line: So long as you don't have any delusions of grandeur about what you're going to do with it, it'll do the job. 8/10
Other thoughts:
-I decided not long ago to try out software RAID-5 with it, using 4 usb connected drives, but the performance was disappointing, presumably due to the parity calculations? Anyhow, I was getting about 6-7MB/s Write, 18-20MB/s Read. I tired quickly of the poor speed and have since undone this. I think I'll file this in the delusions of grandeur category now. I just didn't know RAID-5 was that expensive calculations-wise.
-If I could redesign the case, I would probably rework it such that it would be cooled by a single 14cm fan on the side. It could probably cut temps in half while only running at 800RPM, effectively silencing the case. Alas though, this is not to be.
Pretty good. . I am pretty tech savvy so a WHS (Windows Home Server) was a natural evolution to my upgrade to Windows 7 Home Premium. My computer, originaly running Windows Vista, included a feature to backup my computer to a NAS (Network Attached Storage) (an external hard drive that plugs into a router to be used by all computer in the same network or for simpler terms, in the same house). Windows 7 Home Premium Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premiumdoes not include this feature and requires an Anytime Upgrade to Windows 7 Pro Microsoft Windows 7 Anytime Upgrade [Home Premium to Professional]to regain this feature. So I weighed the price of upgrading all my home computers (and laptops and netbooks) to Windows 7 Pro against the cost of getting or building a WHS computer. WHS was cheaper to build or buy so then the choice was reduced to those two options.
While a advanced user can build a similar product for about the same price as it is being sold as I write this I had read reviews that indicated that the bundled Asus software was helpful. So I decided on buying the Asus TSMini 500GB.
After getting my unit I immediately removed the 500GB hard drive, I never even used it once and I don't even know if it worked or not, with two 1TB drives. People who complain about it being difficult to change the drives I suspect also complain about opening a carton of milk. It was only slightly more involved than a traditional computer case (removing both sides of a traditional case) the difficult part was only the finding and using of a slotted screwdriver to remove and install the screws. In my 20 years if computers I do not remember slotted screws on any other unit. I then plugged the unit in, pressed the small little reset button, moved to another computer and ran the Restore DVD. In less than an hour my TS Mini was ready to use.
With two drives installed you can "mirror" your files saved directly to she share and user folders on the WHS.
You can have a daily backup up of 10 computers and have up to 10 users.
A user that has an account set up in their login name will be automatically logged into their folder on the WHS when they log into any windows computer using their login name. This can be set to keep kids out of your folder on the TS Mini while giving you access to your files from any computer you use your same login on.
You can, if you are lucky and want to run the inherent security risk, set up WHS to be available on the internet so you can access your shared folders and user folder from anywhere that has internet access.
You can backup the WHS (shared folders only, not system backups) to an external hard drive, remove the hard drive (follow the instructions or this will not work!), store the hard drive off site if you wish, and later restore (the shared folder only) from the external hard drive if need be.
Drawback of WHS: There is no way to make a backup copy of your computer's backup images that are created daily to the WHS. That is if you have a catastrophe and loose your computer and WHS, even if you have an off site backup on external hard drive, you can only restore the shared folders from the WHS and not the data that was backed up daily.
I ended up uninstalling all the extra Asus software because it was not useful to me, I found it to be redundant to the software that comes with WHS.
In closing I wish I would have built my WHS instead of buying this unit, but I have 20 years of working inside computers. For those who think they may not be as comfortable with a build but want WHS, seriously consider this unit.
While a advanced user can build a similar product for about the same price as it is being sold as I write this I had read reviews that indicated that the bundled Asus software was helpful. So I decided on buying the Asus TSMini 500GB.
After getting my unit I immediately removed the 500GB hard drive, I never even used it once and I don't even know if it worked or not, with two 1TB drives. People who complain about it being difficult to change the drives I suspect also complain about opening a carton of milk. It was only slightly more involved than a traditional computer case (removing both sides of a traditional case) the difficult part was only the finding and using of a slotted screwdriver to remove and install the screws. In my 20 years if computers I do not remember slotted screws on any other unit. I then plugged the unit in, pressed the small little reset button, moved to another computer and ran the Restore DVD. In less than an hour my TS Mini was ready to use.
With two drives installed you can "mirror" your files saved directly to she share and user folders on the WHS.
You can have a daily backup up of 10 computers and have up to 10 users.
A user that has an account set up in their login name will be automatically logged into their folder on the WHS when they log into any windows computer using their login name. This can be set to keep kids out of your folder on the TS Mini while giving you access to your files from any computer you use your same login on.
You can, if you are lucky and want to run the inherent security risk, set up WHS to be available on the internet so you can access your shared folders and user folder from anywhere that has internet access.
You can backup the WHS (shared folders only, not system backups) to an external hard drive, remove the hard drive (follow the instructions or this will not work!), store the hard drive off site if you wish, and later restore (the shared folder only) from the external hard drive if need be.
Drawback of WHS: There is no way to make a backup copy of your computer's backup images that are created daily to the WHS. That is if you have a catastrophe and loose your computer and WHS, even if you have an off site backup on external hard drive, you can only restore the shared folders from the WHS and not the data that was backed up daily.
I ended up uninstalling all the extra Asus software because it was not useful to me, I found it to be redundant to the software that comes with WHS.
In closing I wish I would have built my WHS instead of buying this unit, but I have 20 years of working inside computers. For those who think they may not be as comfortable with a build but want WHS, seriously consider this unit.
Works as advertised . Ive had it for about a month now. Very pleased with the build quality. I swapped out the internal harddrive before I set it up and it took awhile for me to figure out how to pull the existing drive out. I initially unnecessarily unscrewed the drive brackets then realized that there was a release latch. I installed two 1gb drives, then followed the directions to set the system to factory default and it has been working nicely since. It defaults to mirroring your share folders and I set up web access to the server which was fairly easy to do. I'd give it 5 stars if it was easier to swap out the internal drives.
Fantastic Home Server . This is a great Windows Home Server - one of the best! Doesn't use very much power and backups up your computers without having to manually do anything. Nice!
EASY TO USE . I LOVE THIS HOME SERVER. ITS EASY TO USE AND SO SMALL, IT SAVES SPACE AND LOOKS ELEGANT. IT SERVED ITS PURPOSE. THANKS ASUS!
Product Image
Feature ASUS TS Mini SOHO Server (500GB Storage)
- Excusive 500GB Web Storage for important data redundancy
- Easy Data Backup and Restore of Home Computers
- Online Access of Files from Anywhere Globally
- Convenient Media Streaming at Home
- Powered by Microsoft Windows Home Server
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Product Details
EAN : 0610839079094UPC : 610839079094
MPN : TS-Mini/500GB
Brand : Asus
Weight : 11 pounds
Height : 7 inches
Length : 15 inches
Width : 13 inches
Binding : Electronics
Hardware Platform : PC
Manufacturer : Asus
Model : TS-Mini/500GB
Operating System : Microsoft Windows Home Server
Publisher : Asus
SKU : MCE88-SY2599969
Studio : Asus
Where To Buy
You can buy ASUS TS Mini SOHO Server (500GB Storage) on Amazon . Click here to Read More
