

Then install the backup and restore software and the Media Vault utility from the included CD. Power it up and wait to see that the power and network lights are properly lit.

Installing the Media Vault is a simple process: Plug the drive in and connect it to one of your router's LAN ports using an Ethernet cable. The maximum capacity for the Media Vault, including secondary SATA drives and external USB hard drives, is 1.2TB. (RAID 1 also reduces your overall capacity.) The Buffalo TeraStation Home Server offers RAID 5 capability, which is better for data security, though transfer times take a hit. Keep in mind, though, file errors and bugs are also copied, so while RAID 1 is better than nothing, it's not the most secure solution either. Should one drive fail, you have everything copied onto the second drive. RAID 1 simply copies what's saved to the first drive to the second, so you have redundancy but not increased write-speed. You can add a second SATA drive to the empty drive bay-IDE drives are not supported-to increase your capacity or to set up a RAID 1 array. And even better, the HP Media Vault is quick with data transfers, making it an excellent option for the networked home user with tons of digital data and the desire to share it. Still, since the HP Media Vault lets you choose what drive to put in the second bay, you could easily create a 1TB drive for less than $900 by finding a good deal on a hard drive.

Though both Media Vault models represent a reasonable per-gigabyte price, the Buffalo TeraStation Home Server is slightly less expensive per GB, with a 1TB drive retailing for about $900, and there are larger sizes available. The Media Vault can stream audio and video to any UPnP-compliant digital media adapter and comes with backup and restore software, a pre-installed full-length movie, and two free movie downloads from CinemaNow. Both drives ship with a single hard drive and an empty bay to add a second drive for more capacity or a RAID 1 array. The drive is available in two capacities: the 300GB Media Vault mv2010 costs $380, and the 500GB mv2020 costs $550. Despite its consumer-friendly name, the HP Media Vault is essentially a network-attached storage (NAS) drive with media-streaming capabilities.
