Home Server Land

Free Windows Home Server Stickers

Matt Rap (HSL) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:11:00 GMT

If you’d like to display your commitment to the Windows Home Server and its community but not sure how, then head on over to the windows team blog and simply request your very own WHS stickers.

It’s a totally free giveaway, no hidden agendas, and all you need is a self-addressed stamped envelope. Check it out by clicking here.

Updated: HP MediaSmart iStream App for iPhone

Matt Rap (HSL) — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 21:31:00 GMT

A new update for HP’s iStream iPhone application has been released. This update comes with a very nice performance improvement and some known bug fixes. The following blurb lists all of the new changes listed on the iTunes App Store.

Performance improvements:

A more responsive user interface when starting large videos, improved music streaming, and faster browsing through the lists of items on the server.

New languages:

Spanish
Japanese

Music + Videos + Photos:

Search: Search for an item by name within any list under Music, Videos or Photos. Click the search button (magnifying glass in the lower left area) and type the characters contained in the item you're looking for.

Photos:

Send up photos via email.

Instructions: Under Photos, go to a list view or view an individual photo. Then click on the action button (circle with arrow) on the lower left. Select the action sheet menu item "Send Photo".
Limitations: up to 5 photo attachments per email; the size of the photo attachments has to be less than 9 MB. The attached photos will be resized to 1024 pixel for the longest side if they are bigger than that.
Requirements: Email account needs to be setup on the device.

Music:

Cover flow mode when viewing a list of albums or playing a song; to activate turn device into landscape mode.

Videos:

Video playback issues with iPhone OS 3.0 or higher were fixed; video playback performance has been improved.
Video playback is not allowed when connected via cellular networks to reduce bandwidth requirements; Video playback over Wi-Fi is still allowed.
Videos are filtered to show only videos converted with mq[2] or Mobile[3] Video Converter profile.

[2] = if connected to a HP MediaSmart Servers running software version 2.5

[3] = if connected to a HP MediaSmart Servers running software version 3.0

Screenshots

Leaked Version of Windows Home Server v2 has people talking

Matt Rap (HSL) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 06:36:00 GMT

We here at Homeserverland.com have never been one’s to advocate using leaked software because it can tarnish one's perspective. They are looking at what is in essence is a unfinished version of the creators vision and what they take away from it can be completely wrong. With that being said, there are those out there who recognize that it is an unfinished product and can take that into the proper perspective for analysis. One person who seems to have done this quite well is Rafael Rivera from WithinWindows.com. He has listed what he has found as the positive improvements the WHS developers have made to the OS and I couldn’t agree with him more. Here is a snippet of what he has taken away from code name Vail that we can all look forward to:

New codenames
Vail exposes some interesting codenames, including a few even Mary Jo Foley hadn't heard of. Key among these is "Aurora," which appears to be a Small Business Server version that sits somewhere between WHS and the current SBS products (Paul’s SBS + cloud services dream solution?) and “Colorado,” which appears to be remote device related. (Windows Media Connect or DLNA-based devices, maybe?)

Update: Further evidence supporting the SBS = Aurora theory can be found on various sites, such as http://bjosbs.com/. (The site is registered to a SBS ‘softie apparently.) [thanks to Daniel K. for the tip]

New features
This version of WHS Vail provides two major functional updates, Homegroup creation/integration and media streaming. Both appear to be based on the same functionality that appears in Windows 7, and the media streaming feature utilizes a sweet Silverlight-based player, through its revamped remote console, that transcodes content of virtually any kind from what I can tell, on-the-fly. (I personally tested WMV, H.264, and XviD.)

New Dashboard
WHS Vail comes with a new dashboard, which replaces the awful admin console from the current version with a new normal window that appears to be the basis for similar dashboards in future versions of Windows Small Business Server and Windows Essential Business Server. This Dashboard is customizable, more so than previous versions, enabling server makers like HP to customize it with their own look and feel – color scheme, unique Home tab content, and more.

Add-in changes
Perhaps sensing that WHS add-ins can be the source for malicious and software, or otherwise just responding to complaints that some current add-ins seem to adversely impact the performance and stability of the server, Microsoft is making some big changes to how WHS interacts with these mini applications.

Some add-ins will be “Microsoft certified” and therefore known to be safe/good, while others will be digitally signed (or unsigned) and provided by third parties. Add-ins, of which will now also reside in an online catalog, will be version controlled, preventing the user from inadvertently writing over a newer version with an out of date version, and can support subscription-based services like anti-virus. Vail will also keep a watchful eye on add-ins, intervening when they crash, allowing a user to quickly locate the source of the problem. And, if I'm reading this right, WHS Vail will support the deployment of specialized add-ins to connected PCs as well, not just on the server. (As in, install AV on the server and have it protect clients as well.)

Server health
In keeping with broader efforts across other Windows Server products, WHS Vail includes a number of server health technologies, many of which leverage the pre-installed PowerShell. It supports scheduled cleanups and backups of both clients and server and checks clients for both anti-spyware and anti-malware protection. While at work, Vail may find the need to generate an alerts or report, both of which can either be printed on-screen or emailed, much like the SBS product.

~~You can also find a screenshot gallery that he has created on Flickr here.~~

Based on everything I've seen, Windows Home Server version 2 will be one of the most exciting releases to come out of Microsoft in a while. I am going to keep looking around and will report back anything else I find.

Vote for the HP MediaSmart as Home Entertainment Device of the Year

Alexander Kent (HSL) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 03:41:00 GMT

Popular web magazine Engadget are running their sixth annual Engadget Awards. The HP MediaSmart Server (running Windows Home Server) is one for the finalists for the "Home Entertainment Device of the Year 2009".

Last year, the HP MediaSmart Server EX487 won Editors Choice in the Storage Device Technology of the Year 2008 category. This year, the Playstation 3 (PS3 Slim) is already in the lead by a significant margin, however, the MediaSmart is hot in pursuit for this award.

Vote Now

To cast your vote for the MediaSmart WHS, head over to the Engadget website and scroll down to the Home Entertainment Device of the Year category, select the "HP MediaSmart Home Server" radiobutton and click on Submit.

Voting closes Monday February 20th, 11:59PM EDT. Please take a moment to vote.

Das Home Server Blog 3rd Birthday

Alexander Kent (HSL) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:36:00 GMT

Over the past three years, the German Home Server Blog (HSB) has brought us the latest news, HOWTOs and vast amount of Windows Home Server centric information. Time surely flies when you are having fun and in celebration, Martin Rothschink and HSB are offering a 15% discount coupon code for the popular LightsOut Add-in.

The coupon: HSBBIRTHDAY is valid at checkout from Friday, February 5th 2010 all the way to midnight on Sunday, February 7th, 2010.

This is particular exciting for all folks who are still on the fence about whether or not they should purchase the LightsOut Add-in. Consider heading over to the HSB website this Friday (February 5th) to extend birthday wishes: "Einen Frohen dritten Geburtstag... " and then grab the LightsOut add-in while you are there =)

More information

MSS EX495: An Almost-Perfect Home Server

Jeff Daniels (HSL) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 06:20:00 GMT

The popular PC Mag. has a first looks article about the retooled HP MediaSmart EX495 and calls it "An Almost-Perfect Home Server".

Once again, HP has retooled the MediaSmart Server EX490 and EX495 with new capabilities, including faster hardware and better MAC support. That makes it all the better to connect to your home network to serve as your personal backup center and media server . Additionally, HP changed the Windows Home Server (WHS) styled user interface (UI) available on the MediaSmart Server EX487 and EX470 to a Web style UI logon. HP could have done a better job improving the software before launch, as bugs were encountered, even with the new Windows 7 . So, while the $699.99 MediaSmart EX495 is an improvement over previous generations, it's still not perfect.

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Sneak Peek at WHS v2 (Codename 'Vail')

Jeff Daniels (HSL) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 05:07:00 GMT

Pre-release information about WHS v2 (codename 'Vail') has been leaked and the home server community is buzzing.

Was this a ploy by Microsoft to test interest in the next generation of WHS? Well, Microsoft is keeping quite, so you will have to decide for yourself. Below are some of the items being talked about in the community.

System requirements for Vail are listed as:

available in a 64-bit edition only (code is based on Windows Server 2008 R2)
a 2GHz x64 processor and 1GB of RAM is the minimum needed
a minimum 120GB storage device (NTFS is the only supported file system)

Speculation is that these are some of the features Microsoft will add or enhance:

"on-premises and cloud technologies" for both home networks and small office/home office (SOHO) environments
application store
expand entertainment "capabilities"

Does this wet you appetite? Read what other blogger's are saying and check out the photo gallery:

Give us your feedback and share your thoughts about WHS v2.

Regarding WHS overall, what has Microsoft done well? What could Microsoft do better?

Manageability Add-in for WHS (open-source)

Andy Belon (HSL) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 21:26:00 GMT

Ylian Saint-Hilaire, a Senior Architect at Intel, ventured into Windows Homer Server (WHS) development with his new, Manageability Add-in for WHS. The add-in, which is an experimental open-source tool, is an offshoot from his peer-to-peer mesh networking project, and is intended to perform remote computer monitoring and management via the WHS medium.

"With this add-in you can discover and monitor the power state of all of the computers on a network along with performing many management operations. You also get added benefits if the computers on the network support Intel AMT, but this is not required."

A few screenshots of the project:

and a brief media overview:

(Please visit the site to view this media)

Additional information about this project is available here.

Remote Wizard for WHS (Beta)

Matt Rap (HSL) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 17:07:00 GMT

Remote Wizard, a remote management add-in for the Windows Home Server, is available to willing beta testers for the next two months. The Remote Wizard web site lists the beta as expiring on March 31, 2010, and is apparently available to US testers only. The beta is free, but the production version will be available for a "modest fee", so give this a test drive before it'll cost you!

Here is some more information on the add-in, from the Remote Wizard web site:

What's it for?

With the demise of the late, lamented WebGuide (http://www.asciiexpress.com/webguide/),

there's been no easy way to remotely manage your Windows Media Center when you're not home. Worse, even the beloved WebGuide could only manage one computer at a time. Worse still, WebGuide only worked with the original Vista version of Media Center; if you had a TV Pack system, or Windows 7, you were out of luck.

Enter the Remote Wizard.

What's it do?

Remote Wizard for Windows Home Server gives you full control of all your Windows Media Center systems from one convenient web interface. Running on Windows Home Server, it provides the same convenient, secure remote access as WHS itself. And it works just fine with Vista, Vista with TV Pack, or Windows 7 - 32-bit or 64-bit.

Visit this page to sign up for the beta

Add-in Update: DA Document Manager 2010 formerly Digital ArcHound

Alexander Kent (HSL) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 06:56:00 GMT

An old add-in is back under a new name. Formerly known as Digital ArcHound, this digital document archiving program is back for the WHS under the name DA Document Manager 2010. Features of the newly improved add-in include a new user interface, new features for PDF files, improved category management, and more.

Here is the full press release from Group Seven Technology:

OVEIDO, Florida – January 7, 2010 – Group Seven Technology today announced its release of DA Document Manager™ 2010 Edition which will be available to download on January 26, 2010. The new DA Document Manager, formerly known as Digital ArcHound™, will be available first for the increasingly popular Windows Home Server.

Originally developed in 2004 for private corporations, Digital ArcHound™ Document Manager redesigned for Windows Home Server users since 2007. The new release takes on the new name DA Document Manager as it embraces the latest ribbon technology. Ribbon technology has been made popular by Microsoft Office 2007 including streamlined features with quicker response time and a whole new level of intuitiveness.
Nearly a year of design and new feature enhancements will prove this release to be the most relevant to the general public’s new embrace of “going paperless” and a “green lifestyle”. “We listened in detail to our current client base”. The 2010 release will boast many enhancements that users have requested.
DA Document Manager provides businesses and individuals both with a well thought out and versatile document archiving software application that makes a nice compliment to DA Document Manager Internal Viewer, Adobe’s FREE Acrobat Reader or any other PDF viewer setup for the Internet Explorer Browser.

Some of the new features include:

Completely redesigned user interface featuring new Office style ribbon technology

Ability to append or add to an existing PDF file

Password protection for individual PDF files

META Tag embedding for PDF files

Improved management for categories and subcategories

Smart category selection with the familiar auto fill feature

Direct Import Tool for large numbers of PDF files

Recovery Tool to allow users to recreate their Digital ArcHound Vault database

“We don’t want to just provide users with another way to archive similar to all those currently available, we wanted to reinvent the process solely with the end-user in mind.”

Founded in 1998, Group Seven Technology has pioneered a number of the software innovations, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
Digital ArcHound is a registered trademark of Group Seven Technology, Inc. in the United States of America and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Screenshots

Ribbons

More Information

New Add-in: Redec's Syslog Beta 1

Alexander Kent (HSL) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 05:21:00 GMT

Syslog by Redec is a syslog receiver which integrates nicely into the Windows Home Server console. This add-in is currently in beta and supports the Syslog standard which us supported by a wide variety of devices, hardware and software across multiple platforms.

Installation

Save the Syslog MSI installation file in the Software\Add-Ins folder on the Windows Home Server. The folder path will look like \\<ServerName>\Software\Add-Ins, where <ServerName> is the computer name of your WHS. The addin is installed the traditional way: log on to the WHS Console and click the "Settings" option. The Windows Home Server Settings window appears. Do the following.

Click "Add-ins" in the left frame.
Click the "Available" tab in the Available Add-ins frame.
Click the "Install" button for the Add-in you have downloaded.

The "Installation Succeeded" dialog appears after the Add-in has completed its install. Click the "OK" button to close the WHS Console.

Configuration

Note that the Syslog standard uses the port number 514 and the addin should have automatically configured the built-in Windows firewall on the Windows Home Server accordingly.

If you are using a different firewall you must configure it to allow inbound traffic on port 514. The next step is to configure the software or hardware to transmit log data to the Windows Home Server.

During our testing of this add-in we used a SonicWall TZ210 security appliance but any software or hardware device supporting the Syslog standard as defined by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)should be supported. To do so simply specify the private IP address of the Windows Home Server on the network and optionally (if applicable) specify the log granularity.

Screenshot

Download the Redec Syslog Beta 1

Add-in Update: P80 Version 2.6.6 Released

Matt Rap (HSL) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 01:59:00 GMT

The popular WHS Add-In P80 that allows you to access useful information from any computer at any location has come out with a new update.

Here are some of the useful benefits of using this application:

Server Health
Displays information about your Hard Drives
Displays information about your WHS Users
Communicates with Asoft’s Auto Exit
Displays information about your shares and your running services

Here are the updates/changes for this release:

Security Options:

Public information about your WHS is now available to anyone if you chose to allow it
Private information blocks access to anyone other than who you specify

Other Features:

German Language is now available.
Associated graphics for specific keywords such as Laptop, HP, Server, etc.
Torrent Downloader section now available so you can monitor folders through P80

We highly recommend this add-in but be careful if you do decide to allow public access to your home server! Even the P80 team does not recommend doing this. Keep up the good work on this add-in because it just keeps getting better and better!

More Information | Download

New Add-in: Home Server SMART

Alexander Kent (HSL) — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 15:49:00 GMT

Home Server SMART is a new Windows Home Server add-in by Dojo North Software to help you monitor your hard drive health. As its name implies, the add-in makes extensive use of the Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology or S.M.A.R.T for short. Relying on this standardized monitoring system, Home Server SMART is able to gather various indicators of reliability and possible failures from any IDE(PATA)/SATA/eSATA and SMART supporting disk drives.

Screenshots

Disks that are connected via IDE (PATA) and SATA (including eSATA), support Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology (S.M.A.R.T.) and report that S.M.A.R.T. data via the standard Microsoft storage driver (most modern PATA/SATA drives do), are fully supported. Unfortunately, since neither USB nor IEEE 1394 (FireWire) attached disks report S.M.A.R.T. data in a standardized manner, Home Server SMART cannot read S.M.A.R.T. data from them. However, it can read the standard Microsoft storage driver "failure predicted" flag, and USB/IEEE 1394 expose this, so if the storage driver detects a potential problem, Home Server SMART will alert you to it. Simply log into the WHS Console, select the Home Server SMART add-in and immediately see all installed/connected disks. Click on a disk to see more details about the disk.

Feedback

Need help? Find a bug? Want to see a new feature? Check out the Dojo North Software forum!

S.M.A.R.T. Details

For any given S.M.A.R.T. attribute, the fields that contain the most important data are:

Threshold (integer, 0-253)
Value (integer, 0-253)
Raw Data (hex)
Critical (true/false)
Status

Threshold
If an attribute’s S.M.A.R.T. threshold value is nonzero (1-253), the attribute is a health monitor. If the value of the Value field ever falls below (or equal to) the threshold value, the attribute is said to have failed, and the disk health becomes critical. Per the S.M.A.R.T. specification, failure is said to be imminent (within 24 hours).

If an attribute’s S.M.A.R.T. threshold value is zero, the attribute is an age monitor. The Value can never fail; if the Value falls to zero, the disk is considered to be Geriatric (old age).

Value
The Value field is a normalized value that the disk manufacturer calculates based on the raw data. Different manufacturer’s use different numbers, so you should not concern yourself with why on one disk an attribute’s value is 200 but on another it’s 100. You should only be concerned with it falling closer and closer to its threshold. If you see a disk, over time, slowly falling towards its threshold, it should be taken as an indicator that the disk may be getting ready to fail.

Raw Data
The raw data is typically used as a storage area for the S.M.A.R.T. attribute data. Many attributes, such as bad sectors, pending bad sectors, end-to-end errors, etc. are “counters” of events, so if a disk has encountered 23 bad sectors and 8 end-to-end errors, you will see the values stored as 17 and 08, respectively. Raw data is always shown in hexadecimal.

Critical
If an attribute is showing Yes for its Critical value, that does not mean that the drive is ready to fail. A Critical attribute is one that can be seen as “more critical” than others. Attributes are either critical or non-critical. A warning or failure status on a Critical attribute is generally much more serious than a warning or failure status on a non-critical attribute. While a failure of a non-critical attribute can certainly indicate a drive is ready to fail, a failure on a critical attribute is much more significant and much more likely to result in imminent data loss.

Status
Status is a value determined by Home Server SMART, which is calculated based on the values of the Threshold, Value and Raw Data fields. Home Server SMART will report one of the following possible statuses for each attribute:

Healthy - No abnormalities detected for this attribute.
Fail - The attribute value has fallen less than or equal to the Threshold value. Per the S.M.A.R.T. specification, failure is imminent (within 24 hours). This hour figure is not exact or a guarantee, but it should not be taken lightly. You should replace the disk as soon as possible.
Degraded - For some Critical attributes, there is a nonzero value in the Raw Data. This indicates that there have been some problems on the disk that could soon become serious problems. You should keep a close eye on the disk and replace it if the problems become more numerous or serious.
Geriatric - The attribute value has fallen to zero, and the Threshold value is also zero. This is not a failure or even a problem. It simply means the drive is aging. Manufacturers often regard this as an indication the disk has reached the end of its useful life per its design specifications.

More Information | Download

New Add-in: AdminiMe 2010

Alexander Kent (HSL) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 06:07:00 GMT

A new add-in has been released by fellow Microsoft MVP - Nick Asseloos from ASoft. AdminiMe 2010 constantly monitors the Windows Home Server, hardware, software, notifications and more.

The AdminiMe add-in includes shortcuts to common commands and programs such as the task manager, command prompt, remote desktop connection client and shutdown. Easy to read, real-time CPU usage and network usage charts, storage charting with disk activity and temperature readouts, session and logging information and many other configuration options.

Screenshots

Features

Multilingual UI (supports German, French, Japanese).
A console that shows a lot of information:
CPU Usage (in total or per processor)
Upload & Download speed of the network traffic
Memory usage
Total Disk usage
Current Time
System Uptime
Longest Uptime
Total Uptime
# of starts, First start, Last start
Detailed information on the storage (activity, temperature, disk space)
All the files that have sessions open by users
The logging of all events that occurred
Ability to create shortcuts to applications
Shortcuts to important system tools: Event Viewer, Performance Monitor, Task Manager, Remote desktop
Run box (like the Run dialog functionality in the Windows Menu)
Automatically shut down the server when no clients are connected
Send a mail in case of problems
Monitoring:
CPU (monitors the average usage over a certain amount of time)
Memory (Memory usage)
Harddisks (Disk space monitoring, disk temperature monitoring)
System Event Log (Problems reported in the Event Viewer are monitored)
WHS Events (Warning / Errors)
Failed Remote Access
Attempts System (warns if the system has been running non-stop for x amount of days, improper shutdown)

Pricing and Registration

The unregistered version displays a short nag-screen and any email notifications by AdminiMe do not include the full details -one would have to open the Windows Home Server console to see the complete details.
Registering the add-in is fast and at $8 (8Euro,8GBP, 800Yen) a license is extremely affordable.

FOR THE EARLY BIRDS!
FROM 21/01/2010 TILL 04/02/2010 THE PRICE WILL ONLY BE 6$/6Euro/6 gbp/600Yen!

More Information | Download

Add-in Update: Conflict Resolver 1.1

Alexander Kent (HSL) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:08:00 GMT

An updated version of the Windows Home Server Conflict Resolver Add-in has been released by undercoverblogger.be.

This add-in scans your backed up files and their “tombstones” to identify any potential file conflicts, based on file availability and readability. If a file is found that is considered unsafe, missing or corrupt, Windows Home Server Conflict Resolver will try to fix it.

Shortly after the initial release of the Conflict Resolver add-in, a number of possible issues and improvements were being discussed in the forums. The author scrambled to address these and as a result version 1.1 is now available. (Please make sure you first uninstall the 1.0 version prior to 1.1)

Changes

v1.1

Implemented 'The Stamp Icon' by JasonMFC from http://www.homeserverland.com
(Hopefully) fixed bug where very large files were being marked as corrupt
Improved user experience with checkboxes
Implemented debug mode that is accessible by pressing F3

v1.0

Support for One, two and multiple disk(s) setup
Changed name from Windows Home Server Risk Assessment to Windows Home Server Conflict Resolver

Download | More Information