French Windows Home Server guru Benjamin Gauthey has posted a French webcast on how to configure different Internet boxes to remotely reach Home Server. Also available on the same page is a step by step guide too.
English translation by Google Language Tools.
Norco Technologies have been in touch about their new DS-520 Home Server NAS Appliance which is a great looking piece of kit. Storage capacity is king. Five hot swappable SATA II drive bays, three eSATA connectors and four USB 2.0 ports provide eight individual SATA II channels, allowing for up to 8TB of storage space (using 1TB drives). Also added is a legacy IDE port for those of you with a IDE hard drive or optical unit.
One DDR SODIMM Socket provides up to 1GB of RAM and network connectivity is handled by two built-in Ethernet ports.
Available as two separate models the DS-520F provides Dual 10/100 Ethernet and a 600MHz Processor whilst the DS-520G has Dual Gigabit Ethernet and a 1GHz Processor. In both instances the processor is an Intel ULV Celeron M.
Although Microsoft’s minimum spec for Windows Home Server is a 1 GHz Pentium 3 (or equivalent), in reality this does not provide enough power when Home Server is doing two things at once like streaming media and copying files. In these circumstances I have found at least a 1.6GHz processor is needed and dual core is handy also.
The package comes complete with the DS-520 home server appliance, Five SATA II drive trays, 3 adapter cables, screws for mounting the hard drives and a Utilities CD-ROM with User Manual. The Windows Home Server software and memory module are NOT included. The MSRP is $649.
Available at Microsoft’s Download Center is the Windows Home Server Toolkit V1 which is three tools rolled into one install package which will help you troubleshoot issues with WHS.
The download comprises the following components:
– Error Reporting
The Error Reporting command-line tool gathers diagnostic log files from your home computer and sends them to Microsoft in a compressed Dr Watson report. These log files are useful to Microsoft Support when troubleshooting problems which you may encounter with Windows Home Server.
After installation Error Reporting can be found in the Start Menu under Windows Home Server Toolkit.
– Windows Home Server Connector Troubleshooter
The Windows Home Server Connector Troubleshooter is a program that runs on your home computer to help troubleshoot problems you may encounter while installing the Connector software. The Connector Troubleshooter runs a series of tests to check the most common Connector Setup problems, and then recommends possible solutions.
When started from the Start menu, the Troubleshooter runs in “simple mode.” It runs tests and displays a summary of the results in a web page. It also provides suggestions to help you successfully install and configure the Connector software.
After installation the Windows Home Server Connector Troubleshooter can be found in the Start Menu under Windows Home Server Toolkit as the Connector Troubleshooter.
You can also start the Troubleshooter in “advanced mode.” Some of the functionality of the Troubleshooter is available only in advanced mode. To start the Troubleshooter in advanced mode:
1. In Windows Vista, Click Start, run and then type cmd in the open text box. In Windows XP, Click Start, run and then type cmd in the open text box.
A command-prompt window opens.
2. At the command prompt, type “cd %ProgramFiles%\Windows Home Server\Toolkit” (without the quotation marks) to change the current directory.
3. Type ConnectorTroubleshooter.exe -a to start the Troubleshooter.
The Troubleshooter starts and finds all of the home servers on your home network. To start the tests, click Run all tests. The Troubleshooter asks you to select a server that you want to test, and then you must provide a user name and the Windows Home Server password. If your home server is not in the list, you can type its name. Type Administrator for the server admin name, and then type the Windows Home Server password for the password. The Windows Home Server password is the password that you created during Windows Home Server Setup. If you never created a Windows Home Server password, leave the password blank.
– Windows Home Server Toolkit Add-in
You can also install a Windows Home Server Toolkit Add-in on your home server. With this Add-in, you can run troubleshooting tasks from the Windows Home Server Console Settings page.
To install the Add-in on your home server, open the Windows Home Server Connector Troubleshooter in advanced mode (see above) then on the menu, click Server, and then click Publish Server Add-in. You are prompted for the name of your home server and for a user-account name and password. Either you can use your own Windows Home Server user-account name and password, or you can use the Administrator user account and password that you used when you ran the Troubleshooter tests.
The Add-in is now copied to the \\ServerName\software\add-ins shared folder. Use the Windows Home Server Console to install the Add-in from the Add-ins, Available tab.
You can use this Add-in to do the following:
· Send log files from Windows Home Server to Microsoft to investigate problems.
· Check the health of your server storage.
· Open a command prompt on your home server.
· Open Event Viewer.
· View the Windows Home Server log files.
· Change the trace levels for the log files to record more or less information.
· Change the settings for the backup-health notification.
· And more….
We have updated our Knowledge Base with KB943393, Data files that contain NTFS alternate data streams are corrupted on a Windows Home Server-based computer. This Microsoft article explains how some files with alternative file streams in them, will not be recognized or be able to be opened when in a shared folder on the home server.
The document recommends using the command-line tool Streams 1.56 utility to determine whether a file contains an alternate data stream but I find the freeware ADSTools 2.2.5 better as it has a graphical interface.
We have posted video content on this site in the past on Windows Home Server that has been available in French or German only. Now that’s fine if you can speak either of these languages, but if like me you can only speak English then I may have some information that may interest you. Mango Languages have launched Mango Beta where language learning courses are free to learn online and two of their courses are French and German. As the name suggests Mango Beta is in beta stage, but I have experienced no problems. So if you fancy learning a new language give then a try. For now au revoir or auf Wiedersehen.
Microsoft employee Ian Thomas has details on how he is using the software TVersity to download television from the Internet to his Windows Home Server and then being able to watch it on the TV in his living room on his Xbox, where he can also view Podcasts, RSS feeds and Internet radio stations.
The short answer is yes, there is nothing in the Windows Home Server Licensing terms of use that prohibit WHS from backing up Domain Joined Machines. There is also nothing in the Small Business Server Licensing terms of use that prohibit a Windows Home Server from participating in an SBS Network. Home Server does not join the domain, but can run within the network by simply using “Pass through authentication”.
More Information:
The BIG Question at SMB Nation 2007. “Microsoft, can I run Windows Home Server on my SBS Network?”
The buzz at SMBnation ..part two
The buzz about “Stuff” Server… I mean “Home Server” at SMBnation
Having your cake and eating it too with the Windows “Stuff” Server
We first announced Intel’s entry into the Windows Home Server market here with their Entry Storage System the SS4200-E. Also known as the Home Server Concept we have the specs and accompanying pics for you to enjoy.
Powered by a 64-Bit low voltage passive cooled Intel Celeron 420 1.6 GHz processor, the unit is housed on a Intel 945GZ/ICH7R chipset mainboard with integrated graphics.
The board provides four internal SATA connectors and one IDE connector with room for up to four drives to be housed together.
Two external eSATA devices can be connected thanks to the integrated Silicone Image 3132 controller. An Intel 82573 Gigabit Ethernet controller provides the network interface and up to 2GB of memory can be added to the single DDR2 DIMM slot.
The front panel has the usual power switch as well as an LED block which gives information on the current status, network activity, non removable disk activity or can warn the user over the loss of a non removable disk. Also included is a recovery button.
Four USB2.0 sockets are provided, two on the front and two at the rear alongside the two variable speed 70mm exhaust fans. The PSU offers an output of 180W and has a single 40mm exhaust fan.
It can be mounted vertically, horizontally, on the wall or under a desk.
Thanks to the German Homeserver Blog for the link to the pictures @ Computer Base.
Website “We Got Served” had reader questions answered by Todd Headrick, Charlie Kindel and Joel Sider of the Windows Home server team, which can be read over on Terry’s blog. Some of the highlights which I am sure you will be interested in include:
The Windows Home Server Reviewer’s Guide has been updated. Now at revision 1.0a the Reviewer’s Guide provides a detailed overview of the features and functionality of Windows Home Server.
Available from the Microsoft Download Center.
Paul Thurrott has posted the first three parts of his Windows Home Server RTM Screenshot Gallery. The first part is entitled Server Install and includes 30 screenshots from his server installation. Next is the 10 screenshot Connector Install and then finally Part 3 entitled Configuration, comprising 25 pics of configuring the connector software.
Further galleries in the series can be found at Paul Thurrott’s SuperSite for Windows.
Well it’s taken a while but our MS Windows Home Server Forums are now open for business. Feel free to browse and have a look, but to post you will have to go through a quick registration process.
For future reference the forums can be reached by clicking “Forum” at the top right of any page here on the blog.
