MS Windows Home Server

I have been hearing a lot of good things about Microsoft’s new security suite for a while now and have been waiting to get my hands on it for some time.

First thoughts were that I would have to keep an open mind and not let Windows One Care cloud my judgment; I can honestly say that I have.

Installing was quick and easy 6 simple next boxes and it was done, there was no way of getting lost or installing it in advanced mode, there isn’t an advanced mode just a simple install.

I have installed it on Windows 7, Vista and XP and all went through without a hitch. I used the Vista installer for Windows 7 it doesn’t say that it supports Windows 7 but I haven’t found a problem with it as yet, but will let you know if I do.

The installation is below:

Just an information screen really, the only thing you can do is click next.

Standard software agreements nothing to report about, click accept if you want to install.

Read the rest of this entry »

The first thing to notice when on ESET’s website is that there is no mention that this version is available to be installed on WHS, it is only when going through the knowledge base does this become apparent, this I am sure will be rectified shortly, you can find the knowledge base article here.

Following the instructions in the above knowledge base article was easy and concise the only thing to mention is when it talks of opening a Remote Desktop Connection the list isn’t always populated like it implies so you may have to just type in your servers name by default this is server.

The installation is easy and you can find installation instructions on ESET’s website here.

I would strongly advise you head the warning to uninstall other Anti-Virus programs before installing NOD32 or any other for that matter. During the install it asks about “Detection of potentially unwanted programs” I opted to disable this feature as I felt it could possibly stop some future add-in working, while it would be prompting you for a decision about a particular program/add-in when many don’t even have a monitor attached to their WHS, although I would strongly recommend enabling this feature for use on a Desktop/Laptop.

Once you click finish there is nothing else to do other than sit back and relax.

The one thing I do find increasingly frustrating is the lack of integration NOD32 have with the Windows Home Server Console in my mind the NOD32 panel should be displayed in side the WHS console and I am sure NOD32 are addressing this as it would make things easier to administer.

Conclusion:
Overall a good easy to use program, simple and easy to install, probably the best on the market for WHS at the moment as some still try and make you use there expensive business editions not to mention any names. The one thing that does make this program well worth buying is the little resources it needs and uses allowing your server to get on with the things you want it to, but the lack of integration with Windows Home Server Console for me just doesn’t go far enough to be easily administered by the average home user.

NOD32 Antivirus from makers ESET is one of 2 antivirus products which I recommend to clients on a day-to-day basis, as it both has one of the best detection rates and has a small footprint to it too.

And what has this got to do with Windows Home Server?

Well the good news is that version 4 of NOD32 Antivirus Home Edition can be installed on our Home Servers but it has to be done by using the client computers Remote Desktop Connection and thankfully ESET have put up a Knowledgebase article explaining how to do so.

Read it here.

If you are using JungleDisk Windows Home Server Edition to backup your shared folders to Amazon’s S3 service, you would have heard of buckets which is a folder where your backup files reside.

The following list of S3 utilities enable you to delete buckets and to search through S3 buckets for files. You can view them here.

WHS Doctor is a  utility which gathers and displays selected information about your Windows Home Server. Giving at a glance information on your Network configuration, WHS console log entries and installed WHS add-ins among many other items to help with troubleshooting or support purposes.

WHS Doctor is not an add-in put a standalone utility that requires no installation or makes any system changes. Future additions will also have the ability to fix common problems.

More information is available from here.

Thanks to Ron Demedash for the details.

IT Manager Jim Collison of the website "PC Stuff for the Average Guy! (or Gal!)" has just posted a review of Avast! 4.8 for Windows Home Server.

Jim looks at the various purchase options for this antivirus solution for the Windows Home Server, and takes us through the installation and the features of the software finishing of with the pros and cons of this 4.8 version.

You can read it here.

The AV Science Forums have a post for Windows Home Server users about a new tool that helps with drive balancing.

The utility balances all the data on your drive pool equally, the main purpose being that when a person adds a drive to the pool, it doesn’t necessarily start getting used for a while. While Microsoft has made changes to the usage of the Landing Zone (as in it doesn’t exist anymore), some people’s systems might still be in a non "evened out" state and wish to correct this. On the authors own system, he routinely gets within 2% of perfect balancing on all pooled drives.

NOTE: Usage instructions are available in the following forum post. Make sure you download the latest version, which at the time of publishing is version 1.01 and remember it can take a few hours to balance some systems.

Raxco Software today announced the release of PerfectDisk 10 for Windows Home Server. The disk defragmentation software has a significantly improved interface, faster defrag engine and new features:

Improved performance:
Saving you time and resources, PerfectDisk’s engine now runs up to 30% faster.

Exclusive to PerfectDisk – Smart automatic StealthPatrol:
Working in background of your system, StealthPatrol now intelligently self-adjusts to conserve valuable Windows Home Server resources.

Exclusive to PerfectDisk – Complete space management reports:
PerfectDisk for Windows Home Server offers a host of new reports that enable you to quickly analyze space distribution of file and folders.

Enhanced User Interface:
Easier to use than ever before, PerfectDisk 10 for Windows Home Server’s user-friendly interface includes tabbed navigation, setup wizards and graphics of your Windows Home Server’s fragmented files.

PerfectDisk 10 for Windows Home Server is priced at $49.99 for a single license ($24.99 upgrade available) and $99.99 for a up to 10 site license ($49.99 for upgrade).

More information including a trial copy for download is available from here.

SCALEO Power Management Viewer is a new German language tool for those of you that own a Fujitsu-Siemens Scaleo Home Server. The tool enables you to see the Power Management details in a simple list.

More details are available in German or translated via Google translation into English.