Bummer. Despite calls from users to bring back Windows Drive Extender to Microsoft’s new version of Windows Home Server, it looks as though it’s not going to happen. Here’s the quick rundown …
To refresh your memory, back in November 2010, we wrote about Microsoft removing Drive Extender from the forthcoming Windows Home Server (code-named Vail.). CEO Steve Ballmer actually responding to users who were upset by the move. Well, if Microsoft did look into the debate, the company either didn’t look very hard or didn’t see much of a problem.
ZDnet has reported that users who have been lucky enough to get their hands on the release candidate (RC) of Windows Home Server Vail noticed there is no Drive Extender present, and Drive Extender has also been ripped from Windows Small Business Server 2011, a cousin to Vail specifically for small businesses that need a bit of cloud flexibility.
It seems sad that despite overwhelming user feedback, Microsoft couldn’t — at the very least — keep the existing implementation of Drive Extender and leave it officially unsupported (and/or open source it? Hah!). The whole reason behind the drop in the first place was because Microsoft felt there was enough third-party hardware and software to provide a solution to the drive expansion problem.
Bigger question: Are ISVs and hardware companies now in a better position to provide a cost-effective solution to fill the void left by Microsoft, or will this cause users to maintain an old version of Windows Home Server as long as they can?
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I will keep my existing (gen 1) Home Server running as long as possible, but I was looking forward to replacing it with a new gen device when they come out – unfortunately I am not willing to become a RAID expert, and thus will have to find another way to address my backups and file storage…
I will also keep my existing Gen1 server going for as long as I can. Being in IT I have plenty of random disks around and have liked being able to add them whenever I want no matter their size. For now no Drive Extender is a deal breaker for me.