The beta release of StableBit DrivePool for WS2012 Essentials has had an update.

Version 2.0.0.256 beta has the following change log:

• [D] Read striping will now take into account the speed of the disks when deciding which disk to read from. It now uses an adaptive algorithm that will passively measure the speed of each disk and select the appropriate one at any given time.
• Added "Expand >" to vertical UI to get into Horizontal UI mode (hidden after first use).
• Added pool read / write speeds and other various statistics to the performance UI.
  – Fast I/O percentage.
  – Read striping percentage, including a breakdown of disk switches vs. disk holds.
  – I/O prioritization percentage.
• [D] Made I/O prioritization be more explicit when requesting a particular priority.
• [D] I/O prioritization now allows cached reads through Fast I/O.
• Background duplication was not enabling Background I/O as intended.
• Enabling / disabling per-folder duplication will only work over that folder when performing background duplication (when possible).
• Added a pool file performance UI. This shows you the top file activities on the pool.
  (not supported in Windows Vista / Server 2008)
• [D] Fixed "Reached the end of file" error when enabling duplication on a folder that was previously duplicated, then was moved off of the pool and then moved back onto the pool (and so is no longer duplicated). (Port from 1.3.2)
• Changed the rules for horizontal UI mode. DrivePool will now go into horizontal UI mode whenever the width of the window is 2 * the minimum width (ignoring the height).

You can download this release from here.

Add-In: StableBit DrivePool v2.0.0.256 Beta is a post from: MS Windows Home Server - Your Personal Guide to Microsoft Windows Home Server!

A short 19 minute episode of The Home Server Show this week.

Episode 224 has Jim Collison live from the Drobo Meetup, which you can find here.

The Home Server Show Podcast Episode 224 is a post from: MS Windows Home Server - Your Personal Guide to Microsoft Windows Home Server!

A HP ProLiant MicroServer runs SBS 2011 which is mounted on a SSD to mitigate vibration from the car:

“Using the netbook back at the pits, we logged into the HP MicroServer via RDP and ran System Information for Windows (SIW) to keep an eye on the internal temperature of the CPU and SSD drive with the trunk closed. Since it was such cool day, all the temps stayed nice and chilly in the server. In fact, the only moving parts in the entire trunk were one cooling fan in the server and another one in the UPS. The rig doesn’t build up much heat anyway.”

If you would like to read more about the world’s fastest server, you can find the info here.

The World’s Fastest HP MicroServer is a post from: MS Windows Home Server - Your Personal Guide to Microsoft Windows Home Server!

Drive Bender for WHS2011, SBS Essentials 2011 and Server 2012 Essentials has been updated.

Version 1.8.6.0 has the following change log:

• Bug fix: Under some conditions the mount point can fail to mount.
• Bug fix: When removing a drive a message is incorrectly stating that the mount point will be unmounted.
• Bug fix: If there is an issue with the first drive enumerated at start up, it can prevent the pool from starting correctly.
• Update: High transaction I/O performance has been dramatically improved.
• Update: A number of changes have been made to the way file system security is handled.
• Update: When restoring a pool, there is no longer a prompt regarding the deleting of existing configuration.
• Update: The email notifications now reference the server name in the email message.
• Bug fix: An update in v1.8.1.0 to improve boot times can cause the pool to fail on load on some machines.
• Bug fix: The duplication scan tools will not scan recursively scan folders if the top level folder was not flagged for duplication.
• Bug fix: The additions to the Server Folders tab under the Server Dashboard (i.e. WHS 2011, SBE 2011, SBE 2012) can cause the dashboard to crash.
• Update: The delay time before the Hard Disk Sentinel engine is start has been increased from 30 seconds after mount, to 5 minutes. This is to improve overall start up performance.
• Update: The resources required when running the duplication tools has been greatly reduced.

You can download this latest release from here.

Add-In: Drive Bender v1.8.6.0 is a post from: MS Windows Home Server - Your Personal Guide to Microsoft Windows Home Server!

Media Browser 3 Server is a centralized solution. Maintain your library just once no matter how many devices you have accessing it. Manage plug-ins and everything else in one place for your whole home – all with a sophisticated but dead-easy-to-use web configuration platform.

If you fancy public beta testing Media Browser Server, then you can find it here.

Media Browser Server Public Beta is a post from: MS Windows Home Server - Your Personal Guide to Microsoft Windows Home Server!

The chart includes WS2012 Essentials and details the different limits, server roles and features in all the Server 2012 editions.

You can download the chart in PDF form directly from here.

Windows Server 2012 Editions Chart is a post from: MS Windows Home Server - Your Personal Guide to Microsoft Windows Home Server!

The RC release of StableBit DrivePool for WHS2011, SBS 2011 Essentials and Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials has had an update.

Version 1.3.2.7551 RC has the following change log:

• [D] Fixed "Reached the end of file" error when enabling duplication on a folder that was previously duplicated, then was moved off of the pool and then moved back onto the pool (and so is no longer duplicated).

[D] = Driver was modified (reboot required after update)

You may download this release from here.

Add-In: StableBit DrivePool v1.3.2.7551 RC is a post from: MS Windows Home Server - Your Personal Guide to Microsoft Windows Home Server!

Host Jim Collison Jim was able to spend time at the Cali Lewis / Drobo meet up in Omaha recently.  He recorded several interviews from that event and they have been added to the end of this episode.

You can find this episode here.

The Home Tech Podcast Episode 113 is a post from: MS Windows Home Server - Your Personal Guide to Microsoft Windows Home Server!

XPEnology brings the DiskStation Manager to your PC/Server which also includes native support for the HP Proliant N40L MicroServer.

Interested? If so more details on how to download and install this can be found here, whilst information specifically for HP N40L MicroServer users can be found here.

Installing Synology Software onto a HP Proliant N40L MicroServer is a post from: MS Windows Home Server - Your Personal Guide to Microsoft Windows Home Server!

Its that time again for another episode of "The Home Server Show" podcast:

“Richard Gunther from The Digital Media Zone joins me to talk streaming services and devices.  We are tossing a very wide net on this show in order to come up with what might be the best hardware and services for streaming of TV and Movies whether they are rented or your own.”

You can catch this weeks episode here.

The Home Server Show Podcast–Streaming is a post from: MS Windows Home Server - Your Personal Guide to Microsoft Windows Home Server!

The article explains how to change the workgroup name using PowerShell and includes links to the relevant drivers which you will need.

The author explains that the reason he created the post is that in a short period of time we might lose access to the files he is linking too. If you try to do this with the newest version of the RST from Intel it will not work.

All the details can be found here.

Upgrading the Acer easyStore H342 to WHS2011 is a post from: MS Windows Home Server - Your Personal Guide to Microsoft Windows Home Server!

“The Play To feature in Windows 8 and Windows RT allows you to stream music, movies, and photos from your PC to Xbox 360 and other compatible devices. If you have a home server or NAS set up, you can stream digital content directly to your Xbox 360 too.”

All the setup details can be found here.

Play Videos from WHS Directly to an Xbox 360 is a post from: MS Windows Home Server - Your Personal Guide to Microsoft Windows Home Server!

Its time for another episode of the BYOB podcast:

“Haswell and Durango are, and we’re excited! Seagate central. Automatic will it improve your gas mileage and make you a better driver? We discuss RAID, HDDs, SSDs and storage configuration.”

You can find episode 120 here.

The BYOB Podcast Episode 120 is a post from: MS Windows Home Server - Your Personal Guide to Microsoft Windows Home Server!

zebNet Home Server Backup 2012 is the optimal backup, recovery and synchronization solution for professional home users, that easily want to back up, recover and synchronize their files and folders on a Microsoft Windows Home Server.

Key Features

• Creates full, incremental, differential and mirror backups
• Fast and reliable recovery with advanced options
• Synchronizes local and remote folders
• Plug and run backup feature for external drives
• Can easily be extended through add-ons
• Continuous Data Protection (CDP)
• Native 64-bit backup and synchronization components
• Intuitive user interface with advanced management options

It is currently on sale for £10 whilst a evaluation copy with limited functionality is also available.

More details are available from here.

zebNet Home Server Backup 2012 is a post from: MS Windows Home Server - Your Personal Guide to Microsoft Windows Home Server!

This latest beta release includes horizontal UI updates and disk remove options.

Here is the full change log:

* Added disk remove options. SHIFT+Click on "Remove" to bypass, if you need to quickly remove many
  disks.
* Added re-balance markers and disk usage, for each disk in the pool, in the horizontal UI.
  (stretch the window wide).

You can download this from here.

StableBit has also published a blog post on the UI updates in this release, which you can find here.

Add-In: StableBit DrivePool v2.0.0.230 BETA is a post from: MS Windows Home Server - Your Personal Guide to Microsoft Windows Home Server!

Drive Bender, the QNAP TS-269L, Windows Server Status, Syncberry v1 (very much like synctoy), Cloudberry new features and StableBit Scanner Beta are all talked about on this weeks episode of "The Home Server Show" podcast.

Episode 222 can be found here.

The Home Server Show Podcast Episode 222 is a post from: MS Windows Home Server - Your Personal Guide to Microsoft Windows Home Server!

My Movies Home and Essentials Server Solution has had an update.

Version 2.13 Build 6 has the following change log:

Fix: Incorrect check could lead to icon not showing in dashboard.
Fix: Deletion of BDMV folders did still not work correct after video conversion if enabled.

This latest release can be downloaded from here.

Add-In: My Movies Home and Essentials Server Solution v2.13 Build 6 is a post from: MS Windows Home Server - Your Personal Guide to Microsoft Windows Home Server!

How can I manage Storage Spaces?
What are the recommended configuration limits?
What are the best uses of simple, mirror, and parity spaces?
What types of drives can I use with Storage Spaces?
What types of storage arrays can I use with Storage Spaces?
What types of storage spaces can I use with a failover cluster?
What properties can I change after creating a storage space?
How does Windows let me know of a disk failure?
How do I replace a physical disk?
What are columns and how does Storage Spaces decide how many to use?
     Example 1: A Two-Column Simple Space
     Example 2: A Three-Column Parity Space
     Example 3: A Two-Column Two-Way Mirror Space
     Controlling the Number of Columns
Why do I have a low capacity warning even though I still have unused pool capacity?
     A two column, two-way mirror space that uses thin provisioning in a four disk pool
How do I increase pool capacity?
What happens to Storage Spaces when moving physical disks between servers?
How do I prepare Storage Spaces for upgrading from the Windows 8 Consumer Preview to Windows 8 Release Preview?
How do I check Storage Spaces resiliency health in a failover cluster?
How do I know repairing a storage space starts and successfully completes?
What happens if I run out of physical capacity on a thinly provisioned storage space?

You can find the answers to all these questions here.

Storage Spaces FAQ on TechNet is a post from: MS Windows Home Server - Your Personal Guide to Microsoft Windows Home Server!

As you may have noticed the other day, version 2.4.0 beta of StableBit Scanner has been released which has some interesting new functionality. And to guide us through what’s new, the guys at StableBit (Covecube) have documented the details in a blog post.

Explaining file system scan, file system repair and looking at the age of the sector scan makes StableBit Scanner even better than it was before.

You can read their blog post here.

What’s New in StableBit Scanner 2.4.0 BETA is a post from: MS Windows Home Server - Your Personal Guide to Microsoft Windows Home Server!

The freeware add-in is for Windows 8 and WS2012 Essentials only, and this is what the developer had to say about it:

This is merely the start of a new app. It is not alpha software, barely beta, and is just a step or two from being considered final. This step is using you guys to test it out. Why have I not put out the Windows 7 version yet? Well, I am focusing on those Toast Notifications and some other items on the back-end. So, when I am comfortable with this, then the Windows 7 version isn’t much different and will be released.

So, what does it do?

1. Tray icon (Best used if you allow it to be shown all the time)
2. Context menu for quick access to MS Launchpad items
3. Toast Notifications for backup status. (e.g.: Successfully completed, InProgress, Failed/InComplete) – Toast Notifications can sometimes be a little slower than the client.
4. Hovering over icon will give you current backup progress in percentage and Last Status date, time, and status of backup.

 
More info including the download link can be found here.

Add-In: Windows Server Status v1.0.0.0 is a post from: MS Windows Home Server - Your Personal Guide to Microsoft Windows Home Server!

StableBit DrivePool for WHS2011, SBS 2011 Essentials and Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials has been updated to version 1.3.2.7550 RC.

This is the Release Candidate (RC) build and has no changes, and the good news is that Release Candidate is one step away from a final build.

This release can be downloaded from here.

Add-In: StableBit DrivePool v1.3.2.7550 RC is a post from: MS Windows Home Server - Your Personal Guide to Microsoft Windows Home Server!

The beta build of StableBit Scanner for WHS2011, SBS 2011 Essentials, Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials and Windows Server 2012 Essentials has been updated.

Version 2.4.0.2908 BETA (WSS) has the following change:

• ESET’s NOD32 anti-virus was incorrectly flagging the .wssx file as a trojan.
  Only their anti-virus was doing it, and no one else’s. The problem was an EXE that stops / starts the service during the upgrade process. Recompiling the EXE with the zlib compression and no code changes resolved the false positive. Otherwise this version is identical to 2.4.0.2905.

As always this latest release can be downloaded from here.

Add-In: StableBit Scanner v2.4.0.2908 BETA is a post from: MS Windows Home Server - Your Personal Guide to Microsoft Windows Home Server!

Drive Bender have another $10 sale, but hurry as they only have 200 licenses available at this price.

The Home edition which supports Windows, WHS 2011,  SBS Essentials 2011 and Server 2012 Essentials is normally $40 saving you $30 if you hurry.

You can find the details here.

Drive Bender Only $10 – But Hurry is a post from: MS Windows Home Server - Your Personal Guide to Microsoft Windows Home Server!

Drive Bender v1.8.1.0 has been released with a bunch of improvements and fixes.

Here is the change log for this latest release:

• Bug fix: Removing the second last drive from a pool with duplication enabled can fail.
• Bug fix: Removing/swapping a drive can fail if the file being moved off contains a "%s" (issue with writing the event to the log).
• Update: During the drive removal/swapping process, the mount point is no longer taken offline.
• Bug fix: Drives not displaying correctly in the Drive Bender Manager.
• Update: Improved HDS support for certain drives.
• Update: The pool and duplication state of a folder is now display under the "Server Folder" tab (Windows Server family).
• Update: You can now manage folder duplication form the "Server Folder" tab (Windows Server family).

As always you can find the download here.

Add-In: Drive Bender v1.8.1.0 is a post from: MS Windows Home Server - Your Personal Guide to Microsoft Windows Home Server!

DVBLink has released a fixpack for version 4.5.3 which includes several important fixes and thumbnails for NAS recordings:

General:
- (all) Added: Updated "Sources" tab of DVBLink web configurator
- (all) Added: Build number information and new version availability check
- (all) Fixed: no/corrupt stream if transport stream is delivered in chunks that are smaller than a single packet
- (all) Added: log file size limit
- (qnap) build >= 8339. Fixed: upgrade overwrites recording path with incorrect value

DVBLink Connect! Server / DVBLink Server for NAS platform:
- (all) Fixed: incorrect DLNA presentation url
- (all) Added: built-in recorder periodically checks for and removes from database TV recordings without the actual file
- (all) Added: DLNA categories "by genre" and "by series"
- (all) Added: season/episode information to names visible in DLNA clients
- (all) Added: season/episode information to file names (SxxExx-name-….ts)
- (all) Added: retrieval of TV recordings list as m3u file
- (all) Fixed: streaming using m3u file or for boxee does not work with two or more clients at the same time
- (win) Fixed: unstable iOS transcoded streaming
- (win) Fixed: transcoded web and winphone streaming does not work because of missing Windows firewall rule
- (all) Fixed: Crash/no stream because DLNA function sometimes caused memory overwrite
- (all) Added: Program search on genre
- (all) Added: by genre and by series categories to display recorded TV items
- (all) Fixed: DVBLink DLNA server does not support trick modes (FF/FB) on some DLNA clients
- (all) build >= 8282. Fixed: incorrect bit value in the generated PAT packet, which caused recorded TV files not to be playable on certain (DLNA) clients
- (nas) build >= 8339. Added: thumbnail generation for TV recordings
- (syn ppc) build >= 8339. Fixed: Windows MCE network client does not work

TVSource:
- (all) Fixed: no detection of sat>ip receivers if more than one network adapter is present in the system
- (all) Fixed: unstable streaming for some models of sat>ip receivers
- (all) Fixed: incorrect tuner type after importing settings from another TVSource instance
- (Synology/QNAP/NetGear x86 NAS models) Added: support for TBS5680CI tuner
- (Synology x86) Fixed: tuner driver incompatibility with DSM4.2
- (all) Fixed: incorrect Czech symbols in EPG and channel names
- (win) Added: support for diseqc and CI of DVBSky tuners
- (win) Fixed: Elgato DVB-S2 EyeSat does not work with TVSource v4.5
- (all) Fixed: NA Bandstacked DP (DSS) setting does not work
- (win) Fixed: Gigabyte U8300 tuner does not work with v4.5
- (win) Fixed: channels are found during scan, but never work in normal operations (PAT scanning has timed out)
- (nas) Added: support for Hauppauge WinTV-NOVA-TD (dual DVB-T) tuner
- (nas) Added: tuner insert/removal autodetection after the DVBLink package start-up
- (win) Added: Unicable support for TeVii tuners (others may start working as well as generic mechanism was implemented)
- (win) Fixed: crash during background ATSC EPG scan
- (all) Fixed: incorrect characters in EPG for CYFRA+ Polish channels
- (all) build >= 8339. Added: user interface for transponder file editing
- (all) build >= 8339. Fixed: incorrect Polish symbols in EPG (codepage 0×10)

From the DVDLogic forums.

DVBLink Fixpack for version 4.5.3 is a post from: MS Windows Home Server - Your Personal Guide to Microsoft Windows Home Server!

StableBit DrivePool are hot on their releases this week, this time with an update to the beta build for users of Windows Server 2012 Essentials.

Version 2.0.0.227 BETA has the following change log:

• Added check box to per folder duplication that hides hidden folders.
  Defaults to whatever the OS is set to.
• Added DrivePool_VerifyAfterCopy advanced setting (off by default).
• [D] Fixed MDL based Fast I/O calls. (port from 1.3.2)
• [D] Added support for file IDs. (See CoveFs_OpenByFileId advanced setting) (port from 1.3.2)
• [D] Fixed volume information query.
• Duplicated files that were not yet duplicated were not being selected for re-balancing. (port from 1.3.2)

[D] = Driver was modified (reboot required after update)

This latest release can be downloaded from here.

Add-In: StableBit DrivePool for WS2012e v2.0.0.227 BETA is a post from: MS Windows Home Server - Your Personal Guide to Microsoft Windows Home Server!

What’s new in version 1.5.4 Build 2033 (Service Pack 4):

New Platforms

Added support for Windows 7, 8 running as a "Home server" or standard Windows Server.

Differences between Lights-Out on WHS and Windows 7/8

• There is no WHS Connector and therefore no working communication infrastructure on Windows 8
• Lights-Out uses a special (TCP/IP based) communication protocol on port 7679
• Port 7679 is opened during installation on the Windows 7/8 "Server", if you use another personal firewall you have to open port 7679 by yourself
• Client computers are joined during setup to their server, server discovery is handled by sending a multicast on port 7679
• There is no pre-configured SSL infrastructure on Windows 7/8
• There is no client backup handled by the server
• There is no WHS Console on the client

Known issues:

• No backup support for clients
• Mac and Mobile support only in LAN (local), not in WAN because SSL infrastructure is missing

Changes from last Beta

• New 30 day evaluation period
• Improved support for multiple network cards (server)
• Client software can wake additional devices (registry key required)
• Client software is now installed into a different folder to avoid conflicts with server software
• Server installer uses a different ID to avoid conflicts with client installer

License upgrade

If you change platforms and require a new license you can now read in your existing license to obtain your personal discount code.

More information can be found in topic Licensing Lights-Out.

You can evaluate Lights-Out for a period of 30 days. After that period, Lights-Out changes into a Community Edition with a limited feature set.

To enable all features after the trial period you have to purchase a license.
A personal license starts at 15€ + VAT = 17.85€ in Germany (VAT if applicable).

More information is available from here.

Add-In: Lights-Out for Windows Server v1.5.4 Build 2033 is a post from: MS Windows Home Server - Your Personal Guide to Microsoft Windows Home Server!

This latest release has lots of changes:

FTP/SFTP server support

Cloudberry Backup now supports FTP and SFTP servers. With the new version users can backup their data to FTP and SFTP servers that are widely used for data storage. You can find more details in post covering backup to FTP and post coveringbackup to SFTP.

Master password

We added an ability to set master password in CloudBerry Backup. It may become very useful for IT administrators and users who need to lock software from unauthorized access. Once specified, master password will be required to access Cloudberry Backup, even if it’s already running in background.

Local backup speed improvements

Local backup is an option in CloudBerry Backup that allows backup to local drives, NAS, mapped network drives and network shares. Most of our users found local backup very useful feature but some complained on the low backup speed. In the new version we have improved local backup performance to allow users backup their data locally much faster.

Multiple emails notification

In previous versions Cloudberry Backup users were able to specify only one address for email notifications. From the new version users can set multiple email addresses to receive notification messages on backup completion status. You just have to write email addresses to proper line and separate them from one another with commas.

Clone backup plan

Also we introduced an ability to clone existing backup plans. Now instead of creating new backup plan from scratch users can copy an existing plan and modify it as required.

Ignore self signed SSL certificate

In previous versions backups to online storage with outdated SSL certificate were aborted by the software. Now your backup will run even if an issues with SSL certificate occur. This may be necessary for example for the local OpenStack Swift storage implementations.

Backup files < XX MB

We have also added new file filter based on a file size. Now users can specify the maximum size of the files to backup. For example you can set the application to backup only files that are less than 500 Mb, 1000 Mb, 5000 Mb or any other size that fits your requirements.

More information of this latest release can be found on the CloudBerry blog here.

Add-In: CloudBerry Backup for WHS v3.4 is a post from: MS Windows Home Server - Your Personal Guide to Microsoft Windows Home Server!

The beta release of StableBit DrivePool has another release for the drive removal fix.

Version 1.3.2.7548 BETA has the following changes:

• [D] Fixed system crash after the last drive was removed from a pool.
• After a drive was removed, the size statistics might be reported for the wrong pool.

[D] = Driver was modified (reboot required after update)

This latest release for users of WHS2011, SBS 2011 Essentials and Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials can be downloaded from here.

Add-In: StableBit DrivePool v1.3.2.7548 BETA is a post from: MS Windows Home Server - Your Personal Guide to Microsoft Windows Home Server!

Similar to SyncToy and Robocopy, SyncBerry uses the power of the Microsoft SyncFramework. It use the build-in functionalities from the Server Dashboard and clearly displays the most important synchronize functionalities.

The synchronize workflow is broadly similar with SyncToy. To synchronize files and folders from different sources, you initially need to create a “folder pair” that represents the two folders (“left” and “right” folders) and one of the following action:

• Synchronize
• Echo
• Contribute

Here’s a run down of what each actions does:

The synchronize function mirrors two folders and makes sure they have exactly the same files. New and updated files will be copy in either direction . Rename and deleted files will be deleted also on the other side.

Example: You use a Windows Server and the server has a access to a remote  network folder. The files on the network folder should be exact mapped on the server side and the changes on the server should also be updated on the network folder. The network folder  is a image of the local server folder and vice versa.

Notice: Every deleted file will be moved by default to the recycle bin. You can change this in the options.

The echo (one way sync) function looks for changes in the left folder and execute them in the right folder. File modification in the left folder (new files,updates,renames and deletes) will be modificated also on the right folder.

Example: You have a Microsoft Server and a external hard drive. You want to make a daily Image from one Server folder to the external hard drive. The Echo function search for changes in the Server folder and execute the changes on the eternal hard drive. Notice: Every deleted file will be moved by default to the recycle bin. You can change this in the options.

The function Contribute looks for changes in the left folder and execute them in the right folder. But it does not delete any files on the right folder that may have been deleted in the left folder. Contribute is like Echo without deletion of files.

Example: You have a Microsoft Server and a external hard drive. You want to make a daily Image from one Server folder to the external hard drive.File modification in the left folder will be modificated in the right folder but for the History without deletion of files.

Using the built in wizard you have a clear overview of the Sync Type, where you can select the folder pair, except files and files extension and choose the schedule type and before the synchronization starts, you can preview changed and updated files.

The preview function is always available in the Dashboard, to easy validate if a synchronization is necessary, if so you can automatically schedule the synchronization for daily, weekly or monthly.

SyncBerry is priced at €5.95 and a 30-day trial is also available.

Add-In: SyncBerry v1.0.0.1011 / 1012 is a post from: MS Windows Home Server - Your Personal Guide to Microsoft Windows Home Server!

The beta build of StableBit DrivePool has had an update.

Here is the change log for this latest release for users of WHS2011, SBS 2011 Essentials and Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials:

• Fixed sporadic error when DrivePool_VerifyAfterCopy was enabled (disabled by default).
  Files were failing verification, even when they were identical.
  Some files were not getting re-balanced as a result.

Version 1.3.2.7547 beta can be downloaded from here.

Add-In: StableBit DrivePool v1.3.2.7547 BETA is a post from: MS Windows Home Server - Your Personal Guide to Microsoft Windows Home Server!

The beta release of StableBit Scanner has had an update and now adds support to automatically check the health of your file systems.

Here is the full change log for version 2.4.0.2900 / 2901 BETA:

• SMART Failures were not being reported in the Dashboard. (WSS only)
• Drive letter assignment is now refreshed properly.
• Added support to automatically check the health of your file systems.
  – File system scanning is streamlined into the existing scanning process and is automatically performed after a surface scan.
  – chkdsk is used, but with some additional features.
          – Ability to scan using Background I/O, which also lowers the paging priority (since chkdsk tends to use a lot of RAM).
          – Ability to suspend a scan if a drive overheats.
          – Support for temperature equalization.
          – Scan progress is reported in percent.
  – File system health is reported when you expand a disk and in the "Status" panel at the bottom.
  – You will get a notification if a problem is found (Email, System tray, Speech and WSS).
  – File system scans can have a separate re-check interval and can be suspended globally or per disk
• Scanned sectors will now slowly turn from green to yellow, to indicate the "age" of the last scan. If a sector has not been re-scanned in 2x the scanning interval, it will turn fully yellow. This gives you a quick visual indication of how log ago the last scan was performed over those sectors.
• Fixed SMART Warning vs. SMART Failure notification mix-up.

You can download this beta release from here.

Add-In: StableBit Scanner v2.4.0.2900 / 2901 BETA is a post from: MS Windows Home Server - Your Personal Guide to Microsoft Windows Home Server!

But you can also configure the DHCP Role on the Windows Server 2012 Essentials instead, and the Windows Server Essentials and Small Business Server Blog describes how to accomplish this.

A great post which you can find here.

Running DHCP Server on Windows Server 2012 Essentials is a post from: MS Windows Home Server - Your Personal Guide to Microsoft Windows Home Server!

Microsoft MVP John Zajdler talks WHS 2011, Windows Server 2012 Essentials and Western Digital Sentinel DX4000, on the Home Tech podcast.

Jim (@jcollison) is joined this week by long time Home Sever Show host and Microsoft Windows Home Server MVP John Zajdler (@Dieharder) for Home Tech episode #113.  John spend some time talking all things Windows Home Server, the Western Digital Sentinel DX4000 running Windows Storage Server 2008 R2, Stablebit DrivePool, his own Windows Home Server that he runs, the leaked version of Windows 8.1, Antivirus and much, much more.  I very packed hour and 30 minutes of content.

You can find episode 113 of the Home Tech podcast here.

The Home Tech Podcast Episode 113 is a post from: MS Windows Home Server - Your Personal Guide to Microsoft Windows Home Server!

It’s time for another episode of the BYOB podcast:

“Short show this week. Troubleshooting Intel Rapid Start, Windows Blue rumors of boot to desktop and the return of the start button. Last we discuss Durango from the opposite perspective from last week.”

You can find episode 119 here.

The BYOB Podcast Episode 119 is a post from: MS Windows Home Server - Your Personal Guide to Microsoft Windows Home Server!

So keep September 21, 2013 clear and head on over to The Home Server Show website for all the details.

Third Home Server Show Meetup is a post from: MS Windows Home Server - Your Personal Guide to Microsoft Windows Home Server!

The add-in for WS2012 Essential users has been updated and can be downloaded directly from here.

A reboot might be needed if you don’t have the Visual C++ redistributable installed because it requires the server to reboot. After reboot, please launch the add-in installer again.

If you already have an old version of the Add-in software installed, then you need to:
1.Uninstall the old Add-in from the Dashboard;
2.Uninstall the Windows Azure Backup agent from the Control panel;
3.Reinstall the new Add-in

NOTE: During step #3, we’ll automatically reinstall the new Windows Azure Backup agent.

Known Issue

If you update the Windows Azure Backup agent before uninstalling the previous Windows Server Essentials Integration module for Windows Azure Backup, the Dashboard will crash. This is because of the compatibility issue between the old add-in and the new Windows Azure Backup agent. To fix this issue, follow the steps below:
1.Open the Dashboard in safe mode.
2.Disable the online backup add-in.
3.Go to Dashboard to uninstall the add-in.
4.Reinstall the new add-in.

Additional help and support is available in the Windows Azure Backup forum.

WS2012e Integration Module for Windows Azure Backup is a post from: MS Windows Home Server - Your Personal Guide to Microsoft Windows Home Server!

Episode 221 of "The Home Server Show" podcast is up:

Jim Clark from wegotserved.com joins the podcast to discuss his new book, Windows Server 2012 Essentials Step by Step. We talk about the book, writing it, and it’s content. Jim Collison and I wrap the show up with a few news tidbits and I share my cable pulling adventures and the pain that it is. Literal pain. Third annual meetup and more! Enjoy.

You can find episode 221 here.

The Home Server Show Podcast Episode 221 is a post from: MS Windows Home Server - Your Personal Guide to Microsoft Windows Home Server!

We Got Served has a new eBook for Microsoft’s all-new server platform, Using Windows Server 2012 Essentials – Step by Step is available to buy at just £14.99.

Using Windows Server 2012 Essentials – Step by Step is our comprehensive guide to Microsoft’s ideal “first server” platform. Written specifically for home and small business owners new to servers, or those migrating from Microsoft’s Windows Home Server, Using Windows Server 2012 Essentials provides easy to follow steps for installing, configuring and extending Windows Server 2012 Essentials – at home or at the office!

Fully illustrated with hundreds of colour screenshots, this 586 page eBook (available to download in both PDF and ePub formats) is designed to provide a friendly deep dive into the features and workings of Microsoft’s server platform – no IT degree required! Author and Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Jim Clark walks you through first steps with your server – from the computer hardware you’ll need to host Windows Server 2012 Essentials, through installing the software, configuring user accounts and security settings, connecting client PCs, mobile devices and Apple Macs.

We take a look at backing up and restoring your vital data, sharing files and folders across multiple users and devices, accessing the server remotely via the web or VPN, streaming music, video and photos and a whole lot more. The eBook wraps up with a high level guide to additional software you could consider installing to extend the Windows Server 2012 platform as well as an introduction to advanced server management tools and features.

The chapter list including a link to download chapter 1 (in PDF format) for a taste of what the eBook is like, can be found here.

Using Windows Server 2012 Essentials – Step by Step eBook is a post from: MS Windows Home Server - Your Personal Guide to Microsoft Windows Home Server!

The beta build of StableBit DrivePool for WHS 2011, Windows SBS 2011 Essentials and Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials now has NFS Server support.

Here is the change log for version 1.3.2.7545 BETA:

• [D] Enabled File ID support by default.
        This enables compatibility with the NFS Server, and has a memory usage and performance impact.
        The file system only consumes extra resources if there is a service that is actively querying it for file IDs.
        (Controlled by CoveFs_OpenByFileId)
• [D] File IDs are now recycled when a file is deleted or renamed.
• [D] Fixed MDL based Fast I/O calls (used by NFS Server).
• Duplicated files that were not yet duplicated were not being selected for re-balancing.

[D] = Driver was modified (reboot required after update)

This latest beta build can be found here.

Add-In: StableBit DrivePool v1.3.2.7545 BETA is a post from: MS Windows Home Server - Your Personal Guide to Microsoft Windows Home Server!