windows home server basics - paul mcfedries

1 chapter

Windows HomeServer Basics

Are you ready to startlearning about WindowsHome Server? This chapterhelps you get started bygiving you an overview ofWindows Home Server,including its features andbenefits. You will also learnabout what you can dowith Windows HomeServer.

WINDOWSHOMESERVER

WINDOWSHOMESERVER

WINDOWSHOMESERVER

RESTORELOSTDATA!

RESTORELOSTDATA!

RESTORELOSTDATA!

RESTORELOSTDATA!

RESTORELOSTDATA!

RECOVERA CRASHEDPC!

RECOVERA CRASHEDPC!

RECOVERA CRASHEDPC!

RECOVERA CRASHEDPC!

RECOVERA CRASHEDPC!

EASILYSHAREFILES!

EASILYSHAREFILES!

EASILYSHAREFILES!

EASILYSHAREFILES!

EASILYSHAREFILES!MONITOR

NETWORK

HEALTH!MONITOR

NETWORK

HEALTH!MONITOR

NETWORK

HEALTH!MONITOR

NETWORK

HEALTH!MONITOR

NETWORK

HEALTH!

SIMPLETO USE!

SIMPLETO USE!

SIMPLETO USE!

SIMPLETO USE!

SIMPLETO USE!

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COPYRIG

HTED M

ATERIAL

Understanding Windows Home Server Basics ....................................................4

Learn About Windows Home Server’s Features ..............................................6

Discover What You Can Do with Windows Home Server....................................8

Learn About Windows Home Server’s Benefits ............................................10

Learn About Advanced Uses for Windows Home Server ................................12

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Windows Home Server is acomputer operating system thatis made for home networks. It isdesigned to make it easier to setup and manage a network.

Understanding Windows Home Server Basics

4

Home: Where Your Network Resides Windows Home Server is designed for use with homenetworks that have up to ten computers attached tothe network using either wired or wirelessconnections. If you do not yet have your network setup, see Chapter 2.

Windows: The Operating SystemWindows Home Server is a member of the Windowsfamily of operating systems from Microsoft. Anoperating system is a software program thatcontrols everything on a computer, including theinstalled devices, what you see on the display, andhow your keystrokes and mouse clicks work.

OperatingOperating

SystemSystem

OperatingOperating

SystemSystem PRE

INSTALLED

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5

Server: Providing ServicesWindows Home Server is not meant to be used forday-to-day tasks. Instead, it is a server operatingsystem, which means that it provides services,storage, security, and network management featuresfor the other computers on the network, which areoften called clients.

Powerful FeaturesWindows Home Server comes with many powerfulfeatures, including scheduled backups of clientcomputers, centralized storage, media streaming,simplified network management, and remote accessto all of the network computers. You can find moredetailed descriptions of these features in the next section.

Windows Windows Home HomeServerServer

Paul’s Paul’sNotebookNotebook

Paul’sPaul’s PC PC

KitchenKitchen PC PC

OfficeOffice PC PC

No Special HardwareAlthough Windows Home Server offers powerfulfeatures, you do not need a powerful computer torun them. Almost any new or recent PC can runWindows Home Server. The minimum requirementsare a 1 GHz Pentium III processor, 512MB of memory,an 80GB hard drive, a network card for a wiredconnection to the network, and a DVD drive.

Headless OperationWindows Home Server is not meant for everyday use;in fact, most computers that come with WindowsHome Server installed do not even include akeyboard, mouse, or monitor. You turn on WindowsHome Server and then access everything you needthrough the Console program. A computer without akeyboard, mouse, or monitor is said to be headless.

Do It Yourself

Home

Server

Do It Yourself

Home

Server

SystemRequirements

SystemRequirements

SystemRequirementsSystemRequirements

Windows Home Server Basics chapter1

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Windows Home Server comeswith several key features that aredesigned to keep your data safe,give you easy access to digitalmedia and data, makenetworking tasks easy tomanage, and give you remoteaccess to your computer.

Windows Home Server FeaturesRegular Backups

Centralized StorageStreaming Media

Network ManagementRemote Access

Data Redundancy

You can learn more about each of thefollowing features elsewhere in this book.

Learn About Windows Home Server’s Features

6

Centralized StorageAdding multiple hard drives to Windows Home Servercombines those drives into a single storage pool thatyou can use to store data from all of the networkcomputers. Windows Home Server makes this easierby offering several built-in shared folders, includingPhotos, Music, Videos, Software, and Public, as well asa shared folder for each user account on the system.

Nightly BackupsWhen you connect a Windows Vista or Windows XPcomputer to the Windows Home Server network, theserver automatically configures that computer forregular backups. This means that Windows HomeServer backs up all of the computer’s data — itsdocuments, files, programs, and settings — every night.

AM

Graphic

Apps

WordProcessingProcessing

AppsApps

PhotoPhoto

Editing

Editing

AppsApps

ColorColor

PrintersPrinters

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7

Streaming MediaStreaming media involves broadcasting a digitalimage, audio file, or video file so that othercomputers and devices on the network can pick upthe broadcast and play it. You can configure WindowsHome Server to stream the contents of its Photos,Music, and Videos folders.

Data RedundancyTo help keep your data safe, you can configure theWindows Home Server shared folders with a featurecalled folder duplication. This means that if you havemultiple hard drives on the server, Windows maintainsa duplicate copy of each file. If a server hard driveshould fail, you do not lose any data because copiesexist on another hard drive.

FoldersFoldersFoldersFoldersFolders

FolderFolderDuplicatesDuplicatesFolderFolder

DuplicatesDuplicatesFolder

Duplicates

Windows Home Server ConsoleYou can use the Windows Home Server Consoleprogram to easily manage the most importantaspects of your network. The Console enables you toconfigure and work with computer backups, manageuser accounts, configure the Windows Home Servershared folders, add and remove hard drives, andconfigure many other Windows Home Server settings.

Remote AccessWindows Home Server comes with a Remote Accessfeature that enables you to log on to another networkcomputer and operate that computer as though youwere sitting in front of it. You can use the RemoteAccess feature either while you are logged on to yournetwork or from outside your home through anInternet connection.


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With Windows Home Serveradded to your network, you canperform a number of tasks. Themost common tasks are setting upuser accounts, creating sharedfolders, storing data on the server,playing media, and adding morestorage.

You can learn more about each of thesetasks in this section and elsewhere inthis book.

Discover What You Can Do with Windows Home Server

8

Create Shared Folders

Windows Home Server comes with several predefinedshared folders. However, you do not have to use justthose folders. If you want, you can create your ownshared folders on the server. This enables you tocreate different folders for different types of files, suchas letters and recorded TV shows.

Set Up Family AccountsThe Windows Home Server Console has a UserAccounts tab that allows you to create useraccounts. This enables you to create a separateaccount for each family member that you want togive access to the server’s shared files. You cancreate up to ten accounts in Windows Home Server.

Andy RoidAndy RoidAndy Roid

Add User Account

Username

Andy Roid

Password********

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Play MediaOnce you configure the Photos, Music, or Videos sharedfolder to stream, you can then play those streams on acomputer or device that is connected to the network. Fora computer, you can display or play a stream by usingWindows programs such as Media Player and MediaCenter. You can also access a stream using devices suchas the Microsoft Xbox 360, a digital media player, or adigital picture frame.

Increase StorageWindows Home Server’s storage consists of all of the harddrives attached to your system, minus a 20GB area for theWindows Home Server system files. If you attach anotherhard drive to the Windows Home Server computer — forexample, an external hard drive plugged into a USB port —you can add that drive’s capacity to the storage pool.

Store FilesYou can copy or move files from your computer to oneof the Windows Home Server shared folders. Thisprocedure is similar to copying or moving files from onepart of your system to another. Copying a file to theserver creates a second copy in case you need it, whilemoving a file to the server is useful for freeing up diskspace on your computer.

e-maile-mail

ATTACHMENT

ATTACHMENT

ATTACHMENT


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Windows Home Server offers you anumber of benefits. These include thecapability to restore both individualfiles and entire PCs, easy file sharingover the network, monitoring thehealth of home computers, and thecapability to work with your owncomputer from remote locations.

WINDOWSHOMESERVER

WINDOWSHOMESERVER

WINDOWSHOMESERVER

RESTORELOSTDATA!

RESTORELOSTDATA!

RESTORELOSTDATA!

RESTORELOSTDATA!

RESTORELOSTDATA!

RECOVERA CRASHEDPC!

RECOVERA CRASHEDPC!

RECOVERA CRASHEDPC!

RECOVERA CRASHEDPC!

RECOVERA CRASHEDPC!

EASILYSHAREFILES!

EASILYSHAREFILES!

EASILYSHAREFILES!

EASILYSHAREFILES!

EASILYSHAREFILES!MONITOR

NETWORK

HEALTH!MONITOR

NETWORK

HEALTH!MONITOR

NETWORK

HEALTH!MONITOR

NETWORK

HEALTH!MONITOR

NETWORK

HEALTH!

SIMPLETO USE!

SIMPLETO USE!

SIMPLETO USE!

SIMPLETO USE!

SIMPLETO USE!

Learn About Windows Home Server’s Benefits

10

Recover a PCWindows Home Server backs up all of a computer’sdata, including the important system files thatWindows uses to operate, and the files that run yourprograms. If a home computer crashes and cannot bestarted, you can use the Home Computer Restore CDto restore the entire computer from one of itsbackups on Windows Home Server.

Restore Lost DataWindows Home Server’s nightly backups ensure thatif you lose or damage an important file, you can openthe backup and restore the file. Windows HomeServer maintains several backups for each PC, so youcan also restore a previous version of a file.

LOST &LOST &FOUNDFOUNDDEPT.DEPT.

LOST &FOUNDDEPT.

HOME COMPUTER RESTORE HOSPITALHOME COMPUTER RESTORE HOSPITAL

You can learn more about each of these benefits inthis section and elsewhere in this book.

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Monitor Network HealthWindows Home Server uses an icon in the taskbar’snotification area to let you know if a problem exists withthe network, with the server, or with one of thecomputers. For example, if a Windows Vista user hastheir security settings lowered, the icon displays amessage to let you know.

Simple to UseNetworking can be very complex, but Windows HomeServer avoids this complexity by requiring very little initialconfiguration, and by hiding the difficult parts ofnetworking tasks so that you do not have to deal withthem. Instead, you can accomplish most things by usingthe Windows Home Server Console.

Share FilesYou can use the Windows Home Server shared foldersto collaborate with other people. You can store a file ina shared folder and then give other users permission toview and make changes to that folder. Those users canthen access the folder and view or edit the file.

The FirewallOn Katy’sComputer

Is Turned Off!

Configuringautomatic backups...






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The Windows Home ServerConsole makes it easy to perform alarge number of basic tasks.However, Windows Home Serveris also a powerful system thatenables you to perform moreadvanced tasks, such as setting upfolder security, installing add-ins,and making remote connections.

Advanced

To-Do Listo Set Up Security

o Install Add-Ins

o Connect to

the Server

o Work Anywhere

o Connect Via

the Internet

o Get a Domain

You can learn more about each of the followingtasks elsewhere in this book.

Learn About Advanced Uses for Windows Home Server

12

Extend Windows Home ServerAlthough Windows Home Server has several usefulfeatures, Microsoft has also made it easy forprogrammers to add new features to Windows HomeServer. These features are called add-ins and they canadd new tabs to the Windows Home Server Console,new Windows Home Server settings, and newWindows Home Server programs.

Set Up SecurityWindows Home Server enables you to specify whichuser accounts have access to which shared folders.In each case, you can specify whether the accountcan make changes in the folder, or only view thecontents of the folder. You can even prevent a userfrom accessing a folder altogether.

JILL’SJILL’SFILESFILES

DAVE’SDAVE’SFILESFILES

KAREN’SKAREN’SFILESFILES

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Connect to Windows Home ServerMost of your interaction with the server occursthrough the Windows Home Server Console program,particularly if you run the server as a headless device.However, you may sometimes need to use WindowsHome Server, and not just the Console. In such cases,you can use a home computer to connect toWindows Home Server and operate it remotely.

Work Anywhere in Your Home

With Windows Home Server’s Remote Access feature,you can connect to your own computer fromanywhere else in your home. For example, if you havea computer in the den, you can use it to access thecomputer in your home office. Similarly, you couldtake a notebook computer outside and access yourmain computer using a wireless network connection.

Den PC Paul’s PC

WINDOWSWINDOWSHOMEHOMESERVERSERVER

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WindowsWindowsHome Server!Home Server!

Welcome toWindows

Home Server!

Connect through the InternetWith Windows Home Server’s Remote Access feature,you can connect to your network through the Internet.For example, you could use your workplace Internetconnection to run the Windows Home Server Console.Similarly, you could access a wireless hotspot in acoffee shop and use the Internet to log on to yournetwork and then connect to your computer.

Get a Custom Subdomain NameA domain name is an Internet address, such asmicrosoft.com or google.com. A subdomain is a morespecific address, such as support.microsoft.com.Windows Home Server enables you to create yourown subdomain using the homeserver.com domainname — for example, smithfamily.homeserver.com.You can then use this address to connect to theWindows Home Server Remote Access pages.

CustomSubdomainNames

CustomSubdomainNames

HTTP

MARTIN

FAMILYH

OMESERVER

COM

:/

.

.

HTTP

SMITH

FAMILY HOMES

ERVER

COM

.

:/ .

HTTP

GRU

BBS HOMES

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ER

COM

:/

.

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windows home server basics - paul mcfedries

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