Since getting rid of the Drive Extender everyone lost hope in the new Windows Home Server iteration, the Vail Edition. I was waiting for so long for that edition that I am somewhat saddened by their decision. Luckily for me I got a ReadyNAS 3200 alternative which I shifted everything over to and rebuilt quite a bit of my collection since a lot went missing due to hardware crashing. I even went to the extent of shutting down my Windows Home Server as it wasn’t performing the way I wanted it to, and I started cannibalizing the hardware for other uses.

One of my first alternatives is the ReadyNAS line from Netgear because they have proven themselves to be extremely durable and probably the best warranty service I have seen.

• Network Oriented
• Works with all different platforms (Windows, OSX, and Linux)
• Choices of Hardware from 4 TB up to 24 TB, Consumer Level to Professional Level
• Reasonable prices and more expensive for the higher level hardware
• More complex options available depending on your requirements
• Lots of redundancy
• Excellent Forum Support
• But has to be specific drives to work with the ReadyNAS

My second choice being the Drobo S or Drobo Pro S. My preference for all kinds of storage is for rackmounted because its easier and cleaner to setup so I would go for the Drobo S. Now the Drobo is an even easier solution and they have had years to improve on it and perfect it, and they have really done a good job with it. Initially it was just a storage device without any network options, but they have added a network connection but it had a few flaws and gradually improved. There are still some skeptical reviews about this product but its a simple product

• Simple
• Easy setup
• Any type of drive can work with it
• 8 Bays is more then enough
• Works with All types of Operating Systems
• Varying pricing depending on the which Model you choose