Diskeeper 2011 for WHS 2011 Available Soon

Diskeeper have announced that their defragmentation utility for Windows Home Server 2011 and for SBS will be available soon and that the Dashboard has now been integrated.

Diskeeper 2011 for WHS

More details from Diskeeper soon.

Add-In: StableBit DrivePool Build 3026

StableBit DrivePool has another build available for those of us looking for a Drive Extender replacement.

Stablebit_drivepool_logo2

Here is the build 3026 change log:

  • Folder reconciliation. Resolve conflicting share names by making the folder name unique.
  • Guest mode fix migration.

More details on StableBit DrivePool are available here.

BYOB Podcast Episode 53

BYOB-Logo3

Episode 53 of the BYOB podcast is available and this week the guys talk with Thomas B about his hardware and touch on a new Corsair power supply series and talk briefly on the EX-503B.

You can catch episode 53 here.

Add-In: Advanced Admin Console 0.9.5

The Release Candidate of the add-in Advanced Admin Console 2011 is now available which includes a number of fixes, changes, new functionality and most importantly, AAC 2011 will no longer be free.

AAC_2011_RC

Here’s all the details:

Licensing changes

AAC 2011 will remain free for use on Windows Home Server 2011 and Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials if it’s not domain joined. However, on Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials and domain-joined Windows Storage Server 2008 Essentials (=business users) the latest version of AAC 2011 can only be used until December 1, 2011. After that date, business users must either purchase a license (pricing to be announced) or uninstall the AddIn. On Windows Home Server 2011 and non-domain-joined Windows Storage Server 2008 R2, AAC 2011 will work until after that date but switch to reduced functionality mode. In reduced functionality mode the Favorites Tab is disabled which means you can no longer access custom links and shortcuts. By purchasing a license you can keep using the full functionality of AAC 2011 on these platforms as well.

Summary of licensing changes

To sum it up, in regards to licensing the latest version of AAC 2011 includes the following changes:

  • Users are categorized in two groups: Home and Business. Users of Windows Home Server 2011 and non-domain-joined Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials are regarded as home users. Users of Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials and domain-joined Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials are regarded as business users.
  • AAC 2011 has a trial period of 30 days (extended to December 1, 2011 for the Release Candidate). During the trial period the full functionality can be used on all platforms.
  • When the trial period expires, AAC 2011 will switch to reduced functionality mode for home users and cease to function for business users. In reduced functionality mode the Favorites Tab is no longer available.
  • Home and business users can purchase a license to use the full functionality of AAC 2011 for an unlimited time.
  • Pricing is to be announced shortly.

Changelog for release 0.9.5:

  • FIXED: When running the Dashboard from a client PC resizing the Dashboard window may result in improper drawing of the AAC portion of the Dashboard window.
  • FIXED: Update notification didn’t work for some users.
  • FIXED: An exception occurred when a favorite was created via the web page context menu.
  • CHANGED: User interface polished (Removal of MS Office style context menus, other minor changes).
  • ADDED: IE ESC notification can now be disabled.
  • ADDED: Open, Open in new window and Properties now available for folder in Favorite Tree.
  • ADDED: Support for Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials.
  • ADDED: German localization.
  • ADDED: About dialog.
  • ADDED: Licensing system, Activation wizard.

You can download this release from here.

RC of WHS 2011 Expires Monday 1st August

Windows Home Server 2011

As fellow WHS MVP diehard reminded me, don’t forget that this Monday 1st August the RC of WHS 2011 will expire and reboot the server every hour.

So if you have a copy installed on some hardware or within a VM make sure you upgrade to the released version of Windows Home Server 2011 and now is a better time than any with the pricing currently being extremely low.

Add-In: StableBit DrivePool 2.9.8.4

Another build has been made available of the Drive Extender replacement software StableBit DrivePool.

Stablebit_drivepool_logo

Here is the change log for Build 2984:

  • Win32 file time parsing fixed.
  • DrivePool is now more aggressive when closing handles to open files.
  • Addressed folder moving reliability issues (access denied, HomeGroup support, roll-back not working sometimes).

More details on StableBit DrivePool are available from here.

DVBLink Version 4 Beta 2

Version 4 beta 2 of DVBLink has just been released.

DVBLink TV Source Networked Installation

And for those of you wondering what has changes since beta 1 then here are the details:

General

  • 8 DVBLink tuners are now available in MediaCenter
  • Removed FirstRun page from DVBLink tuner TV Setup in MediaCenter
  • Fixed subnumbers not appearing in MediaCenter
  • Fixed channels not removed from MediaCenter upon source removal
  • Added cross links between sources/channel configurator pages and main landing page
  • Added shifting channel numbering (e.g. when existing channel number is entered all existing channel numbers are shifted up)
  • Added shortcut to DVBLink configuration to Windows Start menu

DVBLink TVSource

  • ATSC support
  • EPG scan configuration page
  • Fixed incorrect default DVB codepage handling

DVBLink Home Server

  • Fixed having to restart dvblink server after server standby

Beta 2 of DVBLink v4 products can be downloaded here:

Additional notes plus installation instructions are available from here.

Add-In: Home Server Status 1.04

The add-in Home Server Status has been updated to version 1.04

Hers the change log for this latest release:

1. Rewrote the entire connectivity and backup checkers. I am now using an even better multi-threading routine than before. This makes the application very responsive and just plain faster.

2. Icons added, by user request, to the context menu when using WHSv1 classic tray icons.

3. Once again, I have changed the settings interface. I was looking for something and just hadn’t found the right spot yet.

Home Server Status 1.04

4. The installer is a little better, detects previous version, will uninstall previous for you, and allow you to start application at end.

5. I replaced in-app settings with registry settings. I got tired of being told this is my first time running the application. However, you will get this message when running v1.04 for the first time, and not after that.

The developer has stated that he will be adding the following features in later releases:

  • Backup Progress – Something that is actually a little more difficult since Microsoft chose to remove the facility all-together. I must say, I really miss my WHSv1!!
  • Looking at adding the ability to add your own Jumplist / Context menu items, for those who wish to add a little more to there menu.

You can download this release directly from here.

That’s it for now, unless you guys have some suggestions?

Seagate 2TB Barracuda Green Reviewed

HotHardware reviews the Barracuda Green 2TB hard drive from Seagate and compares it to its direct competitor, WD’s Caviar Green.

Seagate 2TB Barracuda Green

From the review it appears that the Seagate Barracuda Green has a performance advantage over WD’s Caviar Green:

Seagate’s drive reached 124 MB/s and WD’s hit 125 MB/s. On the other hand, the Barracuda Green held a significant advantage in write speed (109 MB/s vs 76 MB/s). Overall, it proved to be the superior drive in a head to head comparison to WD’s 3TB Caviar Green. 

The full review can be found here.

The Home Server Show Podcast Episode 145

home_server_show_small

The latest weekly episode of "The Home Server Show" podcast is available, and episode 145 has a lot of great stuff:

This show started out as a news cast and ended up with a discussion on Windows Home Server 2011, Windows Home Server with Drive Extender, NAS boxes, and Drive Extender replacements.  Have the add-in authors missed the boat?  What is riskier RAID or drive extender type add-ins?  What is keeping you on Windows Home Server in the first place?  Great discussion, weather outages, and more.  Enjoy episode 145.

You can listen or download from here.