By on September 22nd, 2013

Video: HP N40L MicroServer with a Sans Digital Attached

A couple of videos for you courtesy of the Home Server Show.

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The first is a demonstration on how to add 3TB HDD’s in WHS-2011 with Disk Management on a N40L MicroServer with the Sans Digital attached. During the video a RAID1’s with the 3TB drives in the MicroServer and the Sans Digital is also created:

The second video is a tear down oft the Sans Digital TR4M+BNC which is then put back together attached to the N40L, the same N40L demonstrated in the above video, and powering the whole system up:

More details on these configurations can be found here.

video • Windows Home Server
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By on September 19th, 2013

The Home Server Show Podcast Episode 237

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Episode 237 of the Home Server Show this week is a pre-show meetup special:

“If you are interested in #meetup2013 this is the episode for you. If you are not interested at all you should probably skip this one. I apologize to those expecting a show this week but Meetup is very important to me and this is the Pre Meetup Show. Otherwise, we will be back to regular storage content soon! I have a lot of things to tell you after #meetup2013 is over!”

You can get episode 237 here.

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By on September 18th, 2013

Add-In: StableBit DrivePool for WHS2011 v1.3.5.7571 RC

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StableBit DrivePool for WHS 2011 has been updated to version 1.3.5.7571 RC

This release has the following change log:

  • Only allow installation of add-in on Windows version 6.1.
  • Clicking "Re-index" from any tab will now consistently show you an informative error message if the Windows Search service is disabled.
  • Changed how DrivePool detects server backup disks in the "Pool" tab list. It now uses the WSS API to monitor when server backup disks are added / removed instead of looking for a special backup folder on each disk. This is more accurate.
  • Fixed the entire pie chart disappearing when a slice was too small (for all pie charts).
  • Got rid of the "BETA Expires" text in DrivePool settings. This is no longer applicable.
  • The "Folders" sub-tab under the StableBit DrivePool tab (separate UI) was not being updated with the correct data if it was started before the DrivePool service was running.
  • The "Pooled" and "Duplicated" column in Server Folders and Hard Drives was not being refreshed properly as the DrivePool service was started / stopped.
  • Ignore disk updates from disks that have no media. This was causing the service and UI to refresh too often. Observed this with a DELL USB flash card reader. (port from 2.X)
  • Added retry logic for disk enumeration.
  • [D] Fixed race condition causing a system crash.

You can download version 1.3.5.7571 RC from here.

add-ins • Windows Home Server
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By on September 17th, 2013

Install and Configure the Windows Server Essentials Experience Role

The Windows Server Essentials and Small Business Server Blog have posted an article on how to install and configure the Windows Server Essentials Experience role.

Install and Configure the Windows Server Essentials Experience Role

This post looks at the multiple options for deployment depending on your environment, remote installation using Windows PowerShell and deploying WS Essentials on virtual machines.

You can find the details here.

Tutorial • WS2012e
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By on September 16th, 2013

Learn Windows Server 2012 R2

Would you like to learn more about Windows Server 2012 R2?

Microsoft’s Virtual Academy have a What’s New in Windows Server 2012 R2 Jump Start:

View this demo-rich Jump Start showing IT pros the new capabilities and features of Windows Server 2012 R2. Microsoft Senior Technical Evangelist Rick Claus and Lead Architect and President of holSystems Corey Hynes demonstrate these new capabilities via numerous scenarios and demos.

What's New in Windows Server 2012 R2 Jump Start Course Modules

Also of interest is the following live event which takes place on September 24, 2013 / 9:00am – 5:00pm (PDT):

Windows Server 2012 R2 Storage Jump Start: New Choices

IT leaders struggle with the costs and complications associated with data growth and are looking for new solutions and tools to help them scale and keep costs down. Come to this Jump Start to find out how the new tools in the R2 release of Windows Server 2012 can help you move workloads to less costly and more robust and scalable storage solutions. Learn more about Automated Tiering, Data Deduplication, Scale-Out File Server, shared VHDX files and Hyper-V live migration over the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol (SMB Direct and SMB Multichannel).

NOTE: For this course a free MVA account is required.

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By on September 14th, 2013

Add-In: KeepVault v4.20

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KeepVault have released version 4.20 which now adds support for Windows 8, Windows Server 2012 Essentials and Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials. This release also allows users to manage their devices from the web console.

You can download version 4.20 from here.

add-ins • Windows Home Server • WS2012e
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By on September 13th, 2013

Create a Dashboard UI in WS2012e

If you would like to know how to add a new tab on the Windows Server 2012 Essentials Dashboard or add a new page into the Add a User Wizard so that you can integrate your service with the new user creation flow then The Windows Server Essentials and Small Business Server Blog has a post which may be of interest to you.

Using Visual Studio the post takes you through the necessary steps to complete these tasks.

Using Visual Studio to Create a Dashboard UI in WS2012e

Go on we know there is an add-in developer in you, trying to get out!

Tutorial • WS2012e
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By on September 13th, 2013

Home Server SMART Classic Beta v3.1.9.11

Home Server SMART for version 1 of WHS v1 has been updated, re-named and a beta is available.

Home Server SMART Casic Box Shot

Home Server SMART is now known as Home Server SMART Classic now  has support for SSDs, has mobile notifications, disk self-tests, exporting of results plus more.

Installing Home Server SMART Classic: HSS Classic now uses version 3.5 of the Microsoft .NET Framework. Version 3.5 is really just an extension of .NET 2.0, unlike .NET 4.0 which is a whole new version. Before installing HSS Classic please be sure you’ve applied the Microsoft .NET 3.5 update. Otherwise the add-in will not function properly and may cause the Console to crash when you open it.

Next, the WHS Console will see HSS Classic as a separate add-in from HSS, so it is possible to install HSS Classic without uninstalling the older version. Do NOT install them side-by-side! Please UNINSTALL Home Server SMART before attempting to install Home Server SMART Classic. Also, if uninstalling HSS or installing HSS Classic prompts you to reboot, make sure you do so. If you don’t reboot, HSS Classic won’t work correctly until you do.

The free add-in is currently available in beta form and can be downloaded from here.

add-ins • Windows Home Server
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By on September 12th, 2013

The Home Server Show Podcast Episode 236

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Episode 236 of The Home Server Show podcast is this week about WS2012 Essentials R2:

We’re talking Essentials R2 tonight with a large panel of folks.  John Zajdler is back with Christopher Courtney with him…  We cover Windows 8.1 issues, Essentials R2 issues and come back to the topic of whether or not Essentials is right for the home.

You can find episode 236 here.

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By on September 11th, 2013

WS2012 Essentials R2 Install on a HP MicroServer Fixed

If you try to install WS2012 Essentials R2 onto a HP MicroServer with the integrated network card then the install will fail, well that is up to now.

HP have released an updated driver and firmware which should now hopefully address this issue.

WS2012 Essentials R2 Install on a HP MicroServer Updated Network Fixes

Thanks to David McCabe for the update.

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