I had been hearing about Windows Home Server (WHS) from various sources for some time, and finally decided to take a look.
In reviewing the Main WHS website, I ordered the DVD media and paid the Shipping & Handling (nothing is free), and got the kit in about a week.
Not having any spare hardware to run a “Full” WHS on, I setup a VMWare VM, and was able to take it for a “Test Drive” for a couple of days.
In general, I was rather impressed with how easy it was to setup. Boot from the disk, and a few questions, sit back and wait.
You will need at least 70GBs of disk space, and once done, that disk will be split into (2) partition: OS and Data.
For any family that is really going to use this, they should seriously consider getting at least 1TB of HD,especially considering the cost of such drives, and if you really want to protect your data, consider getting a second HD to backup the primary.
The main concept of WHS is the ability to connect (wired & wireless) a household of computers to a centralized server for File and Music sharing, then initiate backups of those machines and publish a Family website, which should be a real interest to technically savvy Home SysAdmin.
Acer and HP seem to have embraced this market space, and if you happen to have some extra hardware laying around, you might consider creating your own “Frankenstein” server. The requirements are surprising low.
From what I have been told, if you already happen to have a Active Directory Domain setup at home, in about 45 days, WHS will start to warn you that it has detected your AD, and will start to shut itself down.
So for the price, an OEM (Acer or HP) machine or a “Frankenstein”, and you already do not have a AD,the WHS is worth considering.