By on December 13th, 2012

Smart Restore for Amazon Glacier with CloudBerry Backup

The latest release of CloudBerry Backup v 3.2 has Smart Restore functionality built in for Amazon Glacier, which allows you to manage your data restore in an intelligent way:

When you run a Restore Wizard for Glacier and select the data to restore it will estimate the total restore size and the associated costs. It will also allow you to allocate data restore to run for a number of hours to stay within a selected budget. This way you can significantly reduced your restore costs. We have designed a Glacier Smart Restore  step of the Restore Wizard.  On this step you can specify your peak retrieval rate in MB. 

Cloudberry Backup Glacier Smart Restore

After it is setup, the restore will run in the background retrieving the portions of data every hour. You can then monitor the restore progress on the Restore Plans tab within CloudBerry Backup.

More information on CloudBerry WHS Backup can be found here.

News • Windows Home Server
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By on December 13th, 2012

Add-In: iHomeServer (for iTunes) v2.2.23.0

The v2 BETA build of iHomeServer (for iTunes) has had an update.

iHomeServer 2 - Watch Folder View

Version 2.2.23.0 can be downloaded from here.

The current features being tested in the pre-release versions include:

•2.2.3.0: Internet metadata lookups from The Movie DB, The TV DB.com and tagChimp
•2.2.3.0: Auto-tagging of movies in watch folders (optional)
•2.2.3.0: Rapid Auto-tagging of TV series – easy to tag all episodes of a series
•2.2.3.0: Start iTunes interactively from the WHS console
•2.2.3.0: Caching Playlists is now much faster (typically seconds unless library is huge)
•2.2.3.0: Help file – in progress – DRAFT
•2.2.3.0: Performance optimisations to reduce locked iTunes
•2.2.3.0: Support for large fonts
•2.2.3.0: Date added field added to iTunes View tab
•2.2.3.0: Increased timeout on trying to start iTunes (40 attempts vs 15)
•2.2.3.0: Changing login credentials didn’t work reliably, fixed.
•2.2.3.0: Support for large fonts
•2.2.3.0: Settings form is now tabbed
•2.2.3.0: Added iTunes keep alive ping every 30 minutes
•2.2.3.0: Added Force Genre to Watch Folders
•2.2.4.0: Bug fix: Fixed regression of TV dialog in 2.2.3.0 (thanks Robbert)
•2.2.4.0: Client code-base refactored ready for multi-lingual UI
•2.2.4.0: Modified keep alive ping to add a dummy URL then immediately remove it
•2.2.5.0: Bug fix: Fixed Settings control – wasn’t launching right Dialog when pressing ‘Change Credentials’
•2.2.5.0: Bug fix: force metadata language to English if not set
•2.2.6.0: Keep alive function removed – no evidence it helped
•2.2.6.0: TheMovieDb.com handler updated to API v3 (was API v2.1)
•2.2.7.0: First cut of Dutch UI translation
•2.2.8.0: Dutch and Japanese UI v0.2 translation
•2.2.9.0: Bug fix: Improved layout of forms for localizations
•2.2.9.0: Bug fix: Added setting track number and removed autosetting Episode ID in TV series AutoTag
•2.2.9.0: Feature: Added option to get a reason for a Failed file import – right click and select ‘Check track with QuickTime’
•2.2.10.0: Bug fix: Some translations were not working properly fixed; Settings button might select wrong add-in on WHSv1
•2.2.11.0: Bug fix: Minor Japanese translation fix
•2.2.12.0: Optimisation: Stop bulk iTunes updates from affecting GUI performance / AirPlay hanging
•2.2.12.0: Optimisation: Don’t force a rescan when a file is updated from within iHomeServer itself
•2.2.12.0: Bug fix: Don’t reset the Playlist view when you switch tabs within iHomeServer
•2.2.13.0: Bug fix: Minor Japanese translation fix; added delay of 5 seconds if file write time is in past 5 seconds (was previously on modifies only)
•2.2.14.0: Bug fix: First cut German translation added; TV AutoTag Algorithm improvements; 5 second recent-file window increased to 15 seconds
•2.2.15.0: Bug fix: Configurable recent-write-delay; Movie AutoTag improvements (customisable word skip list); fixed interactive launch of iTunes when using non-default directories
•2.2.16.0: Feature: Added French translation
•2.2.17.0: Bug fix: Minor fixes to French translation; Fix for intermittent issue where episode / season number not updated after AutoTagging
•2.2.18.0: Feature: Added support for Movie/TV content ratings (with multiple content rating systems) – both in the metadata editor and AutoTag
•2.2.18.0: Feature: Added support for HD flag – both in the metadata editor and AutoTag
•2.2.18.0: Feature: Added support for extended iTunes properties (iTunMOVI), eg cast, director, producer, screenwriter – both in the metadata editor and AutoTag
•2.2.19.0: Bug fix: Dutch and French translation fixes
•2.2.20.0: Bug fix: Sometimes deleting a track from iTunes view would not remove the track from the console
•2.2.21.0: Bug fix: Bug fixes for tracking playlist modifications improved; fixed TMDBv3 handler if no release date; allow refresh of cover art if iTunes has moved file
•2.2.22.0: Bug fix: Bug fix – some users receive "Please wait while playlists are cached…’ indefinitely if they have duplicate persistent IDs in their playlists; fixed
 
•2.2.26.0: Feature: Support for Windows Server 2012 Essentials added
•2.2.26.0: Feature: Added support for automatically setting cover art if a Watch Folder contains folder.jpg or folder.png (Watch Folder setting)
•2.2.26.0: Bug fix: Fixed metadata tagging for files with extended characters (eg umlauts)
•2.2.26.0: Bug fix: Fixed German ratings text
•2.2.26.0: Bug fix: Allows forward-compatibility with .Net 4 and .Net 4.5
•2.2.27.0: Bug fix: Truncate most metadata fields to 256 characters because otherwise metadata changes may not save
•2.2.28.0: Bug fix: Some movies from TheMovieDB return genres with null ids – this hung metadata searching
•2.2.29.0: Bug fix: Video file types were not being set for files that were automatically added to iTunes
•2.2.30.0: Bug fix: Video file types were not being set for files that were automatically added to iTunes; refix

add-ins • Windows Home Server
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By on December 12th, 2012

HP N40L ProLiant MicroServer

HP have published the specs of the new N54L ProLiant MicroServer, in a 21 page PDF file. Here’s the overview:

HP ProLiant MicroServer

Processor:
AMD Turion™ II Neo N54L (2.2GHz)
AMD RS785E/SB820M chipset
Memory:
Two (2) DIMM slots
2GB (1x2GB) Standard or 4GB (1x4GB)/8GB Maximum, using PC3-10600E DDR3 Unbuffered (UDIMM) ECC memory,
operating at max. 800MHz
Storage Controller:
Embedded AMD SATA controller with RAID 0, 1
Embedded AMD eSATA controller for connecting external storage devices via the eSATA connector in the rear of the server
Internal Drive Support:
4 Internal HDD Support
Maximum internal SATA storage capacity of up to 8.0TB (4 x 2TB 3.5" SATA drives)
Network Controller:
Embedded NC107i PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Server Adapter
Expansion Slots:
Slot 1: PCI-Express Gen 2 x16 connector with x16 link
Slot 2: PCI-Express Gen 2 x1 connector with x1 Link
Slot 2-2: PCI-Express x4 slot for optional management card
USB 2.0 Ports:
Seven (7) USB 2.0 ports: 4 front , 2 rear, 1 internal (for tape)
Power Supply:
150 Watts Non-Hot Plug, Non Redundant Power Supply
Management:
Optional MicroServer Remote Access Card
Operating System:
Supports Windows and Red Hat Linux
Form Factor:
Ultra Micro tower

The N54L is available starting at $389 for the 704941-001 model.

Hardware • News
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By on December 11th, 2012

Update Rollup 4 (UR4) for WHS 2011 Available

Update Rollup 4 (UR4) for Window Home Server 2011, SBS 2011 Essentials and Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials has been released, and is being distributed via Windows Update.

UR4 for WHS 2011 - KB2757011

So what’s new? Well for WHS 2011, Microsoft KB Article 2757011 lists the following 10 major issues which have been fixed in this release:

Issue 1

When you try to log on to Launchpad on a computer that is running Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, you receive an error message that resembles the following:

Failed to load server configuration file.

Issue 2

The installation of the client connector is blocked when you turn on Gatekeeper and enable installation from the AppStore or trusted developers on a computer that is running Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion.

Issue 3

Assume that you have Update Rollup 3 for Windows Home Server 2011 installed on a Windows 7-based client computer. In this situation, you cannot start the TV Archive service from Windows Media Center on the client computer after you connect the client computer to a Windows Home Server 2011-based server.

Issue 4

When you try to use client connector to join different client computers that are running Windows 7 or Windows 8 to a Windows Home Server 2011-based server, the operation fails. Additionally, you receive error messages from Windows Media Center during the installation.

Issue 5

When the Apple Bonjour service is running on a Windows Home Server 2011-based server, client computers cannot connect to the server by using the client connector.

Issue 6

When a security identifier (SID) is empty in a computer configuration file in Windows Home Server 2011, the client backup database corrupts and the client backup service fails.

Issue 7

When you run the Remote Web Access Setup Wizard to configure a Windows Live domain, an error occurs. Additionally, you may also be blocked when you try to remotely browse a Remote Web Access (RWA) page. This issue occurs because the Windows Live ID Sign-In Assistant component is unexpectedly uninstalled.

Issue 8

Assume that you set up a remotely administered server from a client computer. You set the time zone to Pacific Standard Time (US & Canada) in the Time Zone Settings dialog box. In this situation, the time zone is incorrectly set to Baja California on the server after you finish the server deployment.

Issue 9

When the XML convert module handles invalid files in Windows Home Server 2011, you receive error messages that state some services cannot be started.

Issue 10

This update fixes the Server Backup service exception issue that occurs when the backup service tries to retrieve backup history from event logs. For more information about the Server Backup service exception issue, go to the following Microsoft website:

How to fix the Server Backup Service exception "One or more services are not running” for SBS 2011 Essentials, WHS 2011 and WSS 2008 R2 Essentials

The KB article also lists 2 known issues, which can be found here.

News • Windows Home Server
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By on December 11th, 2012

Add-In: Drive Bender v1.4.5.0

Drive Bender Logo

Drive Bender has released version 1.4.5.0 of their Drive Extender type add-in for users of WHS 2011, SBS Essentials 2011 and Server 2012 Essentials.

Here’s the change log:

  • Update: The Getting started wizard now offers to add more drives to a newly created pool.
  • Bug fix: When adding a pool, it was possible that the new pool would not start.
  • Bug fix: The Getting stated wizard has a number of text issues.
  • Update: New icons have been added to some of the themes.
  • Bug fix: When moving a folder, the destination folder’s modified date is not being updated correctly.

You can download this release from here.

add-ins • Windows Home Server
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By on December 10th, 2012

How To Rejoin a Client Computer to WS 2012 Essentials

If you are using WS2012 Essentials you may experience a problem when trying to rejoin a client computer to a WSE 2012 Domain:

The NETBIOS name of the client computer was left the same and the client could communicate with the server in order to download the connector software but the connector installation would fail with the error message, “Cannot connect this computer to the network: An unexpected error has occurred. For more information, See troubleshoot connecting computers to the server”, which is not very helpful when trying to trouble shoot. For each workstation or server that is a member of a domain, there is a secure channel with a domain controller. The secure channel’s password is stored along with the computer account on all domain controllers. If, for some reason, the computer account’s password and the LSA secret are not synchronized, the Net logon service will log an error.

WS2012e Active Directory Users and Computers

Thankfully the following post explains two ways of fixing this problem, which you can find here.

Tutorial • Windows Home Server
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By on December 09th, 2012

Microsoft Online Backup Service Setup

"Microsoft Online Backup Service", may be a old post, but its a good one.

The post on the Windows Server Blog explains in detail how to setup and configure the Microsoft Online Backup Service.

Recover Data Wizard in the Microsoft Online Backup Service

From registering for the service, setting up the backup schedule to recovering your data. Its a comprehensive tutorial which you can find here.

Other Software • Tutorial
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By on December 08th, 2012

Making a UEFI Bootable USB Drive for WS 2012 Essentials

ServeTheHome have an article on making a UEFI Bootable USB Drive for Windows 8 or Windows Server 2012, which will equally work with WS2012 Essentials.

Make a UEFI Bootable USB Drive via Diskpart

Since most UEFI motherboard’s can only boot from FAT32 and not NTFS, this guide can come in handy to getting your USB drive setup for Ws2012e installation.

You can find the guide here.

Tutorial • Windows Home Server
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By on December 07th, 2012

The Home Server Show Podcast Episode 207

home_server_show_small

Its time for another episode of “The Home Server Show” podcast, and this week it’s episode 207:

…We are going to go over a few things about CES but we also have a deal to make with you. It is the season for CES so we have to talk a little about it. We promise to stop talking about it when it’s over. We do a wrap up show and we are done! We did this for 2012 and it worked out great. Give it a listen because we are planning some fun stuff for CES this year.

You can find the audio here or you can watch the video below:

News • Windows Home Server
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By on December 07th, 2012

Update Release 4 for WHS 2011 Next Week

Microsoft KB Article 894199 lists what updates are coming from Microsoft in the following weeks for "Patch Tuesday".

Of interest to us, is that an Update Release is listed for SBS2011 Essentials, WHS 2011 and Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials as being available next Tuesday, December 11th.

Doing the maths this will be Update Rollup 4 (UR4), and we look forward to what will be included – But we will have to wait till next week.

UR4 for WHS 2011 - KB2757011

Thanks to Susan Bradley aka the "SBSDiva" for the heads up.

News • Windows Home Server
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