Has anyone tried to upgrade their HP Smart Server with the new Microsoft Home Server 2011? I wanted to know the pros and cons of an upgrade.

I can't speak for the EX47x server, but it is certainly possible to put WHS 2011 on it. You should consult this posting here to make sure you've performed the necessary upgrades (i.e. 2 GB RAM) before proceeding: http://www.mediasmartserver.net/2010/04 ... rt-server/ The guide does refer to WHS as Vail (the beta/RC name for 2011), but the steps are equally valid for WHS 2011.

That said, some pros out of the gate are you get a 64-bit OS that can leverage the full 64-bit capabilities of the processor, you get many features of Windows Server 2008 R2 (including BitLocker Drive Encryption - a personal favorite of mine), you get an OS that will be supported beyond 2014 and, if you're not a DE fan, there's no Drive Extender (seen as a plus for pro hardware RAID folks).

The cons are a much smaller selection of add-ins and, if you're a DE fan, there's no Drive Extender--although there are two third party add-ins out there that seem to do a darn good job. Since it would also appear that WHS 2011 isn't as heavily adopted as WHS v1, community support may be more lacking.

However, there are huge number of folks here at MediaSmartServer.net who run both, and we're certainly happy to help out!

_________________
Matt Sawyer
Owner, Dojo North Software, LLC

HP EX490, 4GB, E5300, 15TB - Server 2012 - Sharing and Streaming
HP EX487, 4GB, E5300, 13TB - Server 2012 Essentials - Backups