Windows Home Server RC1 on the Book Server

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Introduction

When I first heard about the new Windows Home Server I was Skeptical regarding its value. After reading more on what it has to offer, the value became more apparent. This article reviews the install, features and performance of WHS Release Candidate 1 running on the Book Server .

Purpose:

WHS is built on Windows Server 2003, which is a robust and secure environment that found its home in the business world. Windows Home Server adds consumer friendly enhancements to the OS which are:

• Software RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks) with the ability to turn on and off folder replication.
• Simplified user setup.
• Remote administration interface run from a PC connected to the network.
• Internet access to shared folders and user folders on the Server.
• Access to PCs on the network from anywhere.
• Automated health check for the server, disks and networked computers.
• Automated backup of networked PCs.
• DNLA compliant for streaming video, music and pictures to any DNLA compliant device such as XBox360, PlayStation 3, Wii and Broadband Media Receivers (BMR)

Requirements:

Home Server

Home Computer requirement to use WHS Connector software

Installation:

The Book Server contains one 100 GB Hard-drive that will be used for initial testing. After configuration, a 750 GB external USB 2.0 hard drive will be added to the pool.

The installation comes with DVDs for the WHS installation, WHS Connector and PC System Restore. The install took a while a required several reboots. After the install was completed, I had to locate NIC drivers since the system needs a Windows Server 2003 compatible network driver. It was fortunate that the driver CD for the Jetway motherboard had compatible drivers.

Only one network card is supported per Microsoft since Network Load Balancing using multiple NICs is not supported. Wireless connection to the network is not recommended by Microsoft and requires that the server have a wired connection to the network. Other computers on the network can access WHS via wired or wireless access provided you have a wireless router. They also warn not to use the Windows Server 2003 Admin tools that are installed with the OS since they may break the interface.

Windows Home Server is meant to reside on a computer and be remotely administered. This means a monitor, keyboard and mouse are not needed on the unit. The Book Server can be a somewhat discrete little decorative box without having a display, keyboard and mouse to give it away. Of course the fan and cords will make it noticeably different from your average wood box.

Configuration:

The Connector software is installed on a remote computer that can administer the server. The connector allows one to manage users, backups, storage, view network health and access advanced settings for the server via a management console. The console window cannot be resized on the desktop in RC1.

1. User Setup

All passwords applied to the system (user and Admin) require 7 character strong passwords, which means that people may not be able to use their favorite password. You can change the password strength, but even at the 'weak' setting I still had to use the strong password since I had set the users to allow remote access.

Each user can be allowed to remotely access the server using the web interface.

Each user can be applied access rights to the shared folder as well as to other users private folders.

2. Computers and Backup

When the connector software is installed on the remote computers, the management window displays the computers found and whether they have been backed up or not. The backups are defaulted to be between 2am - 5am, but can be changed or manual backups can be set to done immediately.

3. Shared folders

The folders on the server include the users personal folders and shared folders (music, photos, video, software and public). Each of these folders can be setup for duplication. This requires multiple drives since the data from the specified folder will be duplicated on another physical drive, thus allowing fault tolerance.

4. Server Storage

Windows Home Server allows one to add any number of internal or external (USB 2.0, Firewire, eSATA) drives limited only by your hardware. It will add each drive to a shared pool of storage.

When a drive is added to the pool, it is reformatted and configured for use with the system. One cannot add files to their external USB 2.0 drive and then add it to the system as shared storage since the drive will be reformatted. If a drive is added and not assigned to the pool, it will just show up as a normal non-shared drive. This drive won't be accessible to the storage pool.

5. Network Health

The network health button shows you if any the server or any computers registered with Windows Home Server are having hard-drive issues or network issues.

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