Microsoft Windows Home Server Beta 2

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Anthony Fiti
Kurtis
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Apr. 26, 2007

Specifications

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Testing - Client Console & Restore CD

The client console was very attractive. It would ask you for the administrative password and from there it would provide you a list of four tasks along the top of the window, along with the status of the "Network" (though it really has nothing to do with the actual switches and routers - rather the network of computers that are registered with the server).

The first task is the Computers and Backup. It showed a list of computers that the server had registered, and their backup status. If a computer is not backed up every 2 days, it will flag the computer as in need of attention and the system tray icon will notify you that your computer needs to be backed up.

The next task is User Accounts. Here you can create and manage accounts for various users in your house. You can have up to 10 accounts, plus the guest account, which is disabled by default. The ability to control who has remote access is also managed through this task.

Shared Folders is the third task. This will allow you to managed the shared folders on the server, along with viewing how much space they consume and to even view the history of how each folder has grown in size in the past day, month, year or since the server was created. The ability to grant users permission to read and write files to each directory is also done through this interface. The final item is the duplication status - to make sure that each folder is properly backed up between the server's hard drives.

The final task is server storage, which will show the internal and external hard drives connected to the server. Off to the right there is a pie chart showing all the hard drive space and how it is being used.

Finally the "Network Status" item was last, and it would tell you whether or not the computers comprising your home network are healthy or at risk. Some factors that comprise the rating are last backup status, patches and up to date anti-virus signatures.

Windows Home Server also comes with a bootable CD designed to restore computers that have become unbootable, either due to viruses, spyware or some other malady. I didn't go through the restore process completely on my PC simply because I didn't break anything, and I wasn't about to trust beta software to start messing with files on my only PC.

I inserted the WHS Recovery CD and rebooted the computer, and the CD booted and took about five minutes before I got to the screen where it told me it was ready to begin. I stepped through the process up until it wanted to restore from the backup. One of the problems with the backup process that is noted by many folks on the WHS forums is the lack of Ethernet drivers for many configurations. I had mine on a USB drive and it wasn't an issue, hopefully Microsoft provides OEMs a place on the restore CD for their drivers, and a way to add the drivers to a custom CD for those who purchase the OS (if that ends up being possible).

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Page 3 of 7

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Page 1: Introduction & Hardware Configuration
Page 2: Setup - Installing Server and Client Software
Page 3: Testing - Client Console & Restore CD
Page 4: Testing - File Sharing and Backup & Windows Media Connect
Page 5: Testing - Remote Access & Running Other Applications
Page 6: Upgrading to CTP & Upgraded Remote Access
Page 7: Conclusion

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