Fujitsu Siemens Scaleo Home Server 1900 review

We all know the importance of keeping backups.

And if you've got more than one PC at home, it's handy to be able to share files between them. Enter the Home Server, a new class of sophisticated storage device that connects to your router and handles all your file sharing and backup.

Several companies make Home Servers, but the Scaleo 1900 is particularly elegant. It's nearly as big as a desktop PC, but looks sleek, and will either lie flat or stand on end, so it'll fit neatly into most spaces. It's quiet, too: we could barely hear it running, even with both hard disks whirring.

Yes, the Scaleo comes with two hard disks.By default, the Windows Home Server system combines them into one big storage area, but important files can be automatically copied onto both. That way, even in the unlikely event of one disk failing, your data will still be safe.

If you need more space in the future, the top slides off, making it easy to plug in two more standard SATA hard drives. You can also plug an external drive into one of the Scaleo's four USB ports or two faster eSATA ports.

In use, the Scaleo works like any Windows Home Server appliance: it'll automatically make backups of whichever files you specify, and provides shared folders for music, pictures and so on, which any PC on your network can access from within Windows Explorer. It can also optionally make your files available over the Internet, with password protection, of course.

One special feature of the Scaleo is the ability to automatically sleep and wake up according to a schedule. It's an effortless way to save power, and if you do want to use the server out of hours, you can wake it up from any computer on the network.

At £470, the Scaleo is far from cheap. If you don't mind a bit of tinkering, you could set up your own backup and file sharing system for a lot less. But if you have the cash to spare, it's a simple way to get the most out of your home network.