Windows Home Power Pack 1 Review

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Microsoft has released the first major update for Windows Home Server. This update is called Power Pack 1 and it comes with a slew of enhancements and bug fixes.

Installation:

1. The WHS update can be found here.
2. Download the file to the WHS shared folder called 'Software'.
3. Remote Desktop to the server hosting WHS.
4. Navigate to the 'Software' folder and launch executable to install.

The WHS Connector software requires an update for all the client PCs that have the previous version installed. The clients will prompt for you to update the software. There was an issue where the link to the Connector software on the WHS PC was not found. For some reason the connector software was not placed in the download location on the server during install. I remedied this by by remoting into the Home Server and copying the files in the \WHS directory (contains the connector installer and recovery ISO) to the shared 'software' folder and installing from there. The installer will deinstall the old version and install the new.

Fixes and Enhancements were:

• Fixed the data corruption bug which may occur under certain circumstances when one is working on files directly from WHS shares. The issue didn't occur on archival backups and only when files were opened in certain applications. I haven't seen any issues personally related to the corruption bug, but then again the WHS is currently used solely for archival backup.

• Added the ability to view files as thumbnails. This was a much needed addition since it allows friends and family to view the pictures and open/download the ones they want. The previous WHS require a photo to be downloaded and opened to view it.

• The WHS Connector software now supports installation on 64 bit operating systems (XP x64 and Vista x64).

• The performance uploading and downloading files from the intra and internet was considerably improved from the previous tests that were done. The table below shows the marked increase in performance after installing Power Pack 1.

  City,State	Provider	Original Download Speed kb/s	Power Pack 1 Download Speed kb/s
  Oceanside,CA	T3 (DS3)	73.6	270
  San Marcos (intranet to internet)	Cox	364	4370

• Performance increase is very noticeable on the Windows Home Server web page. The connector software logs into WHS much faster than before.

• Windows Home Server now has tech ability to backup all shared directories to an external USB drive for archival backup. You may wonder why this would be necessary since WHS is supposed to have folder duplication. The folder duplication on only works if you have 2 drives capable of holding all your files.

I have a video folder that I had folder duplication setup. The system had 3 drives 100 GB (OS with data partition) and two 750 GB drives. One of the 750 GB drives failed and WHS attempted to duplicate onto the 60 GB partition on the OS drive which was too small for the files. I turned off folder duplication to prevent the drive from being filled and after getting warnings about the backup failing due to drive space. After putting in the new replacement drive and turning on Folder Duplication again, I found that I had lost access some of the videos and also kept getting file conflict errors. If I had the external USB backup capability on the original WHS I would still have all my videos. Please note that the issue above could have been avoided had I turned off the folder duplication prior to removing the failing drive.

• Remote Desktop using the web portal to a WHS client PC was very usable. I was able to work on Word, Excel and VS.Net application development fairly well. Adobe Photoshop was harder to use since manipulating graphics was a bit slower due to the rate of screen refresh.

Conclusion:

The Windows Home Server Power Pack 1 adds some very nice enhancements and performance to a great product.

WHS Review

WHS OEM Review

WHS Tips and Tricks

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