Hey everyone, my EX470 has reliably worked for me over the last few years and I only use it for file storage, backups and MyMovies.

I have the TRM4 esata expansion as well as the USB version 8 bay and love both of them...

I have 16TB of storage currently and am getting concerned about the 470 staying reliable (it's acting up but still functioning) and thought the x310 might be a good idea to get me through the next few years with WHS V1 and still use disk duplication.. (I like Disk Duplication)

Seeing that I only use my movies and my 470 currently has the Sempron 3400 with 2gb ram PP3 (and works well at streaming movies to each of the HTPCs I have ), I am thinking I should see a minimal performance gain from the Atom Dual core and get the HP v3 facelift.

At $350 after rebate, it seems like a bargain to move over with equal features, and newer hardware, but I have a few questions and assumptions:

1- Have both on the network, WHS and WHS1, I plan on keeping client backups only on the 470 until the movie migration is finished and then be able to add the client computers as I complete the process.

2- I am assuming I just need to create the same users on the new WHS, do not install the client software on the computers (to maintain backups on the 470) and just access the shared storage by \\WHS1\ and access the shares on the new WHS1 that way.. I think that will work and not screw up the console on the existing computers.. I'd like to migrate my 16TB over to the new WHS and have access to both Shared storage on each server and it seems to me this is about the best way?
Do you see any problems with communicating with both WHS units?

3- I don't need any more drives, as I am only using 10TB of the 16 and thought I could remove 2 of the 2TB drives and begin migrating data over after I install them into the x310, yes that means removing drives from the pool, (time consuming) installing them on the x310 and moving more data, and removing drives from the pool.. It will take some time.. but I could turn off duplication on the new WHS while I am copying and it shouldn't take much space..

Do you see any gotchas here or am I wrong in assuming the x310 will be equivalent to the EX470?

Keep the EX470 for backups, or non critical shared storage... ?? Suggestions here would be good, how would you manage it? I could just retire the 470..

I just want to be sure I am not missing anything and wanted to see what the experts thought.. Thanks in advance!

The price looks great! I am not certain how the performance would be but Alex did a write up on that unit that if you have not taken the time to read may be worth looking into. http://www.mediasmartserver.net/2010/06 ... ata-vault/

There are many ways to migrate your data. Last year when I upgraded my primary server from an EX470 to an HP ProLiant I simply copied the data over time and then moved drives as you are planning to to. I also let the EX470 continue to perform my client backups.

I even upgraded to the 3.0 software just to see what it could do and offer me but it was not long before I decided that the 3.0 had little to offer me because my primary server was handling all my needs quite well. I continue to run EX470's for various tasks and testing both onsite and offsite because I still believe they are wonderful machines.

Its not my intention to talk you out of the x310 and I am not certain how long the rebate offer will be in effect but I would urge you to also consider the possibility of building your own server. Just putting that on the table will help you determine if the x310 is the right choice for you and so if you do purchase the x310 you will feel much better about doing so.

I love WHS v1 as do many others yet the thought of many wanting to migrate over to WHS 2011 on there HP MediaSmart or HP DataVaults and doing it on a headless system poses some challenges but it can be done. The task becomes easier with a debug cable. The point here is if in the near future you decide to install WHS 2011 would the EX470 or x310 be the easier path or going with a unit you built? If your even thinking of WHS 2011 then you should factor that into your decision making process or you could look at the HP ProLiant Microserver which I believe does have a VGA Port.

The one thing about the x310 is I believe the 3.0 software on it is a scaled down version with the media functions removed. This will not prevent you from streaming your media as you have HTPC's to do the heavy lifting there but if you desire to stream your content online I am uncertain of how well the x310 will perform. I did this with the EX470 and for the most part was able to do it but demigrator kicked in and would cause intermittant issues with the stream.

What ever you decide to do I wish you best. If you do go with the x310 I would be very interested in hearing how it works out for you. I do see the value in the x310 in a file sharing capacity and wanted my employer to place on at work to backup their computers. I got sick of waiting for them to realize how important this is so I decided to show them and placed on of my EX470's there which is doing a great job and has come in handy a few times.

_________________
Exploring the possibilities!

Migrated from WHS2011 to WS2012E: HIGHLANDER

~ Norco 4220 Enclosure
~ Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5
~ AMD Phenom II X4 995 3.2 GHz
~ 8 GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
~ 3 Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8

I have been debating.. I can build one based on the Shuttle SA76G2 V2 AMD Phenom II platform and use a 95W x4 Phenom with 4 GB ram, Home server, and a 2TB drive and DVD for $581.. I was hoping for smaller footprint, but this will kick the crap out of the X310 in performance and allows a monitor and keyboard...

Of I can do the Chenbro route with the mITX.. Server class...

Decisions decisions...

Yeah, I would keep the 470 for backups.. and move the TR4M to the new computer.

Thanks for your opinions.. Greatly appreciated.