By Philip Churchill on July 15th, 2008
Windows Home Server Remote Access
Australian Atomic magazine online has a great 5 part article on Windows Home Server remote access. From setting it up to accessing your Home Server via the net. You can find all the details here.
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The one issue I have with WHS Remote Access is that they couldn’t find some way to enable Remote Desktop access for Windows XP Home or Windows Vista Home edition computers, when the Home Server Connector is installed. The Remote Desktop access is an advertised feature of WHS that I suspect most people won’t be able to take advantage of, being, y’know, home users.
I did submit this as an enhancement request to Microsoft, I hope they take it seriously; in my eyes it is the most serious shortcoming of the product (feature-wise, not including bugs).
Other than that, I love everything else it does.
I am going to be installing a WHS server next week to a small business. It is perfect for what they are doing and their size right now and it can grow with them. I will be Using the HP Home Server that comes with the WHS as an operating server. From the technical information it will allow you to log in, as you thought. Says in the spec, I have read it, I have called to make sure, because this will be extremely important, as you say. The customer is using windows XP and Vista for the laptops, I will need to service their system remotely, and the details show remote desktop access to each computer as long as it is XP or Vista and Higher is the O/S. Try this and see if it helps you, I will know for sure next week, when I install it.
http://download.microsoft.com/download/2/7/2/272d14a7-eb96-4dde-a90e-3e5b4bc388af/WHS%20Technical%20Brief%20-%20Remote%20Access.pdf
All the best,
Richard
Even that document specifically says:
“You can connect only a computer that is Available for connection and that is running one of the following operating systems:
– Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2 (SP2)
– Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005
– Windows XP Tablet Edition with SP2
Windows Vista Ultimate, Windows Vista Business, or Windows Vista Enterprise”
Aside from MCE and to a far lesser extent the Tablet edition, how many home users are going to be using these OS flavours? Unscientifically, I would suspect the majority of home users will be running Windows XP Home Edition, or Windows Vista Home Basic or Premium.
For your small business client I’m sure it will work fine if they are using business editions of Windows, but for the casual home users, this functionality will be missing completely, and that is where I have a problem: why advertise this feature that only a small number of people will be able to take advantage of? Either it should not have been advertised as a major selling point, or they should have found a way to enable this functionality for WHS users.
Hey.
Home server is a very nice server OS for the masses, especially backup, media/sharing and other server services like remote desktop – all in a package with a acceptable price.
I stumbled over this issue with rdp with xp home edition. I can understand why rdp isn’t enabled in xp home edition by default. With the Home Server, aimed at -homes-, where most xp home edition are located, I saw a reason that it should now be enabled through the connector.
Home server team might have been into this issue internally, wishing MS would let the HS connector turn on services for rdp, only so rdp could work through the HS. I can imagine MS thought it was too much hazzle to make this happen, considering Vista as the present OS, while XP is fading out.
My home PC’s have 2x Vista 64 and 2x XP home edition. Backup was not supported on Vista 64 before pp1, to my huge disappointment, but acceptable as it is supported now. Disappointment changed to a happy relief.
Small things can make a huge difference for buyers. As an server OS is complex and have a huge amount of properties buyers need to take into consideration before actually buying the product, can a small thing like lacking rdp possibility for xp home edition can be an disappointing experience.
I found a solution in ; http://www.mydigitallife.info/2008/06/14/install-and-enable-remote-desktop-in-windows-xp-home-edition/. So far Im helped, but I dont feel good about solving a problem I don’t feel should be there in the fist place, by a “workaround” that violates the product license of terms and conditions, especially when the product marketing remote desktop for my home PC’s, without mentioning exceptions in the same marketing. Wrong of me or wrong of MS?; satisfied customers are always worth more then whats right or wrong.
Please don’t forget; MS Home Server is a very nice product and potentially an important OS server software for homes in the future.
Regards,
Thomas