Windows Home Server Part 5 - Administration and Add-In’s

Posted by HyperLithium

May 17, 2009

Finally, the long awaited part 5 and final installment of our Windows Home Server series here at DeviantKnowledge. This chapter will go over administration tasks and Add-In’s for your server. To really get the most out of your server it is important to really understand what it is that you’re working with and get some good tools to help. While Home Server is very capable by itself there are some things that we can do to make it easier.

What is this Thing?
I’ve mentioned it already but I want to REmention it as it’s very important. Windows Home Server is a specialized install of Windows Server 2003. Why do you care? Well, first, it’s not going to be recognized to software programs quite the same as Windows XP. This is important because a lot of programs will halt installation when they detect the Windows 2003 kernel present. Programs that do things like virus protection, disk management, or other “system” utilities are common things that will stop installation after that check. Some might think this is a bad thing but it’s actual very good overall. Basically, the operating system is very powerful and overall rock solid. Microsoft says to stay away from doing “Normal Windows 2003″ things due to Home Server being stripped down but I say, if you’re familiar with Server 2003, just try something out and see if it works!

Remote Administration
I introduced everyone to the Home Server Console but now it’s time to learn about the regular Windows Remote Desktop program. While Microsoft might want people to stick with the Console the Remote Desktop opens up a bit of another. First, if you haven’t figured out by now you’ll be able to basically throw this server anywhere connected to the network. Mine sits without a keyboard, monitor, or mouse attached and it’s simply managed remotely. As long as the computer is connected to the network and powered up it can be managed through the network.

If you’re using Windows XP you can start the Remote Desktop program by going to Start –> Programs –> Remote Desktop. In the prompt put in the name or your server or its IP address and hit connect. This will forward you to a Windows login screen where you can put in your username (Administrator) and password. Once logged into the server you have an XP like desktop.

The first thing to do is probably install Google Chrome. There are extra security settings that will limit Firefox and Internet Explorer but Chrome doesn’t bother to enforce them. Chrome can be downloaded at www.google.com/chrome. I would recommend downloading the install files you use onto one of your shared folders. One “gotcha” is Windows Server 2003 stopping the executable from running. If a program won’t execute Right Click on it, go to Properties, and then hit “Unblock” on the lower right.

Next, let’s make some notations here. First, you’ll notice if you hit Start –> Programs –> Administration Tools there are a fairly large amount of “normal” Server 2003 tools in there. One program that it would become good to be familiar with is NTBackup. NTBackup is actually a great yet simple backup utility. To start NTBackup just do Start –> Run –> type in “NTBackup.” If you’re new to the program just follow the wizard to setup your backup! It’s a good idea to backup your server data for redundancy to some type of media like an external hard drive.

This is also our first spot to install some file sharing software. uTorrent is my Torrent client of choice due to it being light weight, easy to setup, forcable encryption, and it seems to work on everything. Now, there is an “Add-In” for uTorrent but it did not work for me and I’d rather work with the full program anyway. You can get uTorrent from filehippo.com and save it onto your server. I’m sure some people would prefer the Add-In that installs and is used through the Windows Home Server console but this way you get a full screen view of uTorrent and that makes it easier to work with to me. There are a lot of guides for uTorrent if you might need some help with that.

There is a lot more to be done using the Remote Desktop tool since it’s just like being actually working on the server. I really just wanted to show everyone that this is a computer outside of the Home Server Console as well. If you’re thinking of setting up a certain program in that manner I recommend searching on it first to see if other people have used it and been problem free since it’s not really the recommended usage.

Home Server Console Add-Ins
Just think of an Add-In like a Plugin for Firefox. Basically, it’s a download that extends the ability of the console in some way. Installation is a breeze. With each Add-In just download the installer to your \\Server\software\Add-Ins folder. After that launch the Console and click “Settings” in the upper right. From here there is “Add-In’s” on the left which shows the “Installed” and “Available” Add-In’s. Just click “Available” and pick the Add-In you have downloaded. A small annoyance is having to login and out of the Console but so it goes.

diskman1 Windows Home Server Disk Management is the first Add-In that I’m recommending. It will expand the view of the physical disks to see more informaiton. A couple of nice things is that it shows how much room is each physical disk. Also, it’s interesting to watch when transferring a lot of data because you’ll get to see how Home Server dumps and then divides data while it’s transferred. This also tells you the temperature reading from each disk and how fast they are moving data. Extended information about each disk (serial number etc) is also just a matter of highlighting it and then clicking “Details.”

Next, for administration, snag up Advanced Admin Console . This basically brings the control panel options into the Console for greater control of the server.

For most people this is all they need but I’m going to also recommend spending some money here. There isn’t any Anti-Virus included with the server so I’d say pick your, ahem, anti-poison and pony up the cash. Avast makes a version that runs about $40 or snag up their “Family Pack” which has 10 Professional licenses plus 1 Home Server license for $80 total. F-Secure also makes a plugin but it was much more expensive when I checked it out. For any admins out there I have not yet tried any of the Server 2003 Anti-Virus programs on the server. My guess is that they would work just fine though.

That’s about all I want to spend on the Add-In’s. The important part in this is to see how easy they are to install and how functional they can be. Microsoft has a decent list of Add-In’s to get you started at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/windowshomeserver/add-ins.mspx and WeGotServed (http://forum.wegotserved.com/) is really good place to find what you’re looking for. Keep in mind, Add-In’s range from administration to home automation so if you’re looking for something particular there is a good chance it is out there!

Remote Access
rac21 I actually can’t spend a ton of time with this only because I haven’t actually used it yet. I will, however, get you started! First, you need users that have remote access enabled on their account. Next, you need to enable the remote access on the server. From the Console click “Settings” and then on the left click “Remote Access.” At the top you have the option to “Turn On” the access and a wizard will pop up. I recommend letting the Wizard do it’s work with the router. Basically using UPnP Home Server can automatically setup the ports on the router for you to be able to access it. At the end of that wizard is another that asks about setting up your own domain name for easy access. This requires a Windows Live account but I’m sure you can also just use any other Dynamic DNS service.

Like I said though, I have not had the chance to test it out fully myself but this should be mostly what you need. Once you are logged in you should have a nice secured web page to grab your files from.

Wrapping Up
That does it for our Home Server series. I sure hope you liked it and will be back for more in the future. As usual, if you have anything specific you would like to talk about or ask just pop on into our forums!

bookmark Technorati Del.icio.us StumbleUpon Digg Facebook Mixx Reddit