But the HP Media Vault isn't bound by the limitations of your wired or wireless network. With its powerful remote access features, you can create a URL that authorized users can access via a Web browser to download files. And with Photo Webshare, you can create your own online photo albums from images stored on the Media Vault.

Add another 1 TB of storage to the HP Media Vault thanks to one SATA expansion bay.

The Media Vault provides access to all your networked PCs as well as to remote users via the Internet.

Media Vault Design
The redesigned Media Vault now shares the same black chassis design and glowing blue hard drive indicators as its bigger HP MediaSmart Server sibling. Measuring 5.5 x 9.6 x 5.4 inches (WxDxH) and weighing 7.1 pounds, the MV2120 is smaller than its predecessor (the MV2000 series Media Vault), and it switches to a horizontal orientation for storing its hard drives.

Opening the front grille reveals a slide-out expansion bay on top, which can be fitted with an optional SATA hard drive. The front of the Media Vault also includes blue backlit icon indicators for power, network connectivity, and health of the integrated and optionally installed hard drives, as well as a USB 2.0 port. The back of the device includes an Ethernet jack (10/100/1000 Gigabit), an additional USB 2.0 port, and the power button. You can connect additional USB hard drives to the Media Vault for additional storage and backup options. Note, however, that printers won't work with the Media Vault as it does not include a print server. The MV2120 is powered by the Linux 2.6 kernel operating system and includes 128 MB of internal RAM memory.

A Central Hub for All Your Files
Great for the home, home office or small business that requires a central location for files that devices on the network can share, setting up and using your HP Media Vault is simple. A few quick steps get you up and running 24/7, and it's ready to work for you no matter how many desktop or notebook PCs are on your home network.

For music lovers, you can centralize your iTunes music library and playlists on the Media Vault for playback on any computer running iTunes on your network. And you can stream media files from the Media Vault to your networked TV and other digital devices for high-quality playback. You can access your media files from Windows-, Mac-, and Linux-based computers.

The HP Media Vault also enables direct remote access to your files when you're away from home, or to others connecting from far-flung locales. You can create an online connection to your Media Vault from any computer with access to the Internet. Use it to access your media files while on vacation, a multimedia presentation from a client site, or to share your media with others. You can also authorize visitors to access your Media Vault remotely so they can view the file folders you have designated for sharing. And you can grant permission for visitors to add their own files to designated folders on your Media Vault.

With HP Photo Webshare, it's easy to set up groups for sharing different photo albums. For instance, set up a photo Webshare so friends can view an album of your latest vacation; or allow family from near and far to add photos from your family reunion to create one blockbuster album.

Protect Your Data
The HP Media Vault keeps your digital life organized, accessible and most importantly, more protected. With its 500 GB installed capacity, it stores and protects important media and files on computers throughout your home or small office. And with customizable backup options your files can be automatically protected weekly, daily or continuously. In addition, for ultimate protection, attach a USB hard drive to your Media Vault and backup the most important Media Vault files to take to a separate, secure location.

The innovative new design lets you easily increase your storage as your needs evolve. Use the expansion bay on the HP Media Vault to add an extra hard drive for greater storage or the additional protection of a second mirrored copy of your data (RAID 1). For enhanced data security, use the expansion drive for creating a full backup copy of your most important files to store in a separate location.

The HP Media Vault Control Center provides easy management and configuration.

User accounts can be created on the HP Media Vault for enhanced security and to provide remote file access. Security is increased on shared folders by requiring passwords and setting read/write permissions for each user.

The HP Media Vault can also be utilized as an iTunes Music server, which will aggregate iTunes libraries from the systems on the local network and make one complete library with all music and playlists available to all iTunes clients. When enabled on a PC, the iTunes library on the PC is periodically polled to discover newly added music or videos. When new media is discovered, the files are copied to the iTunes library on the HP Media Vault where they are added to the aggregated iTunes library. (Note that only music files that are not DRM-protected can be streamed from the Media Vault.)