Archive

BYOB Podcast Episode 33 Out Now

Andrew Edney

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Feb 27, 2011

The guys over at BYOB, including our very own Tim Daleo, have just released the BYOB podcast episode 33.

Here is what they say about this weeks show:

[box style=”rounded” border=”full”]This week the BYOB tackles GPT. A quick explanation from Tim and we discuss how GPT affects backup and restore. Mike also talks about his first ever Lian-Li case he did NOT like, and Michael makes us envious with his new Dell U3011. To close we have a round table discussion on benchmarks.[/box]

You can download BYOB Episode 33 from here

Windows Home Server 2011 Email Notifications

Timothy Daleo

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Feb 25, 2011

10

Windows Home Server 2011 Email Notifications

You know that Windows Home Server 2011 monitors your WHS, but did you know 2011 can send you email notifications? Yes, WHS 2011 can email your alerts and warnings through this little application included in Windows Home Server 2011. Read on to find out more about this hidden jewel.

The Alert Viewer Email Notification application was actually in prior releases of 2011/Vail but rarely talked about.

Every thirty minutes, the ‘Alert Email Evaluation’ task runs on the server that evaluates the network for alerts. An email notification is sent out if any alert that is set for email notification occurs. A second email will not be sent if the alert is still active within the next alerts evaluation cycle

To start the Set Up open the Alert Viewer and click on the link in the lower left corner.

Fill in your server information. You can find your SMTP on your ISP’s set up page. Microsoft has a short list of popular SMTP data here. You might need to change the port so make sure you use the right port number for your ISP!

Alerts that result in email notifications

The following alerts in the Alert Viewer result in email notifications when you set up your server to send email notifications for alerts:

The Internet domain name has expired.
The Internet domain name cannot be updated.
Errors exist in a client computer backup.
The server was restarted.
One or more services are not running.
~~The Windows Server Drive Extender service is not running.~~
Your evaluation period is over.
Activate now.
License Error: Forest Trust Check.
License Error: Domain Controller Check.
License Error: FSMO Role Check.
License Error: Enforcement FSMO Policies.
License Error: Enforcement Load Policies.
License Error: AD Error.
One or more hard drives in Server Backup are not connected.
Server Backup was not successful because there is not enough free space to contain the backed up data. You must replace the existing server backup hard drive or reduce the number of items to back up.
Server Backup was not successful because of insufficient memory.
A scheduled backup did not finish successfully.
A certificate is not available for Remote Web Access.
The certificate for Remote Web Access has expired.
The router is not configured correctly.
The server is not connected to the Internet. To access websites, you must ensure that the server is connected to the Internet.
Remote Desktop Services is not configured correctly. You must configure Remote Desktop Services to remotely connect to computers in the network.
The firewall is not configured correctly.
~~One or more hard drives in a storage pool are not working or are not connected.~~
~~One or more storage pools are offline.~~
Free space is low on the system hard drive of the server.
A problem occurred with the file system for one or more folders.
The default storage pool is locked in offline mode.

Once you have completed the setup it will send you a test email.

Sweet. Thank you Windows Home Server 2011 Team for keeping this cool function!

Advanced Admin Console 2011 Beta Now Available

Timothy Daleo

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Feb 25, 2011

1

Advanced Admin Console 2011 Beta Now Available

Andreas Miceli has announced the Beta for the Windows Home Server 2011 Advanced Admin Console. This new version of of the AAC brings together the tools you will need to monitor and maintain a WHS 2011 or a Small Business Server. Video coming soon!

Directly from the website:

The Advanced Admin Console AddIn is an award-winning AddIn for the Windows Home Server platform. The first AAC beta was released in January 2008 and has since then become one of the most successful AddIns for Windows Home Server with an estimated user base of over 20,000 users worldwide.

Andreas goes on to say:

The AAC 2011 Beta has been developed from scratch in order to fully harness the new features and capabilities available in the 2011 range of Windows Server operating systems from Microsoft.

Important Note: This Beta version of the software is available now and will cease to function from August 1, 2011.

Advanced Admin Console

With the AAC you can access your network devices and Remote Desktop.

You can also get information from your drives.

The AAC also has a browser interface that can allow you to access websites from within the Dashboard.

There are more features so download the Beta Add-In at:

http://www.home-server-addins.com/downloads

The Home Server Show 125 Out Now

Andrew Edney

-

Feb 24, 2011

3

Dave and the guys over at the Home Server Show have just released show number 125.

Here’s what Dave has to say about this weeks show:

[box style=”rounded” border=”full”]Another busy week and another long one for you. There are new Add-Ins to talk about as well as some updated ones. Jim parts company with his Drobo so listen in on how you can win it. I also go one on one with DriveBender’s developer, Anthony Smith.[/box]

As usual you can listen to the show from here

New WP7 Ad “Real Time Trials” challenges the competition

Jon da Silva

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Feb 24, 2011

0

New WP7 Ad “Real Time Trials” challenges the competition

Microsoft launched the all new Windows Phone, a little over three months ago. There were ads plastered all over the internet and a good number of “Glance and Go” based TV commercials to get the word out.

It seems Microsoft has been preparing a second wave of advertisements and will soon be unleashing a Windows Phone ad campaign on the Internet. Lucky for us, Winrumors was able to acquire a draft of one of the Ads. In this video ad, Microsoft shows off the snappiness of the Windows Phone device in a number of different scenarios.

Checking Xbox achievements, getting directions and telling colleagues you’ll be late, are three of the challenges.

The current video shows a place holder where devices from the competition can be placed.

Tasks are completed by the users and then they humorously make use of their free time as they wait for the rival device to catch up.

CloudBerry Backup Add-in for Windows Home Server 2011 RC and Small Business Server 2011 Essentials RC

Andrew Edney

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Feb 24, 2011

3

CloudBerry Backup Add-in for Windows Home Server 2011 RC and Small Business Server 2011 Essentials RC

Our friends over at CloudBerry Labs have just announced that their CloudBerry Backup add-in now has support for Windows Home Server 2011 RC and Small Business Server 2011 Essentials RC.

Here is the announcement:

Announcing CloudBerry Backup add-in support for SBS 2011 Essentials RC and WHS 2011 RC

CloudBerry S3 Backup is a powerful Windows program that automate backup and restore processes to Amazon S3 cloud storage.

Recently, Microsoft announced the availability of Release Candidates of Small Business Server 2011 Essentials and Windows Home Server 2011. We are glad to announce that CloudBerry Backup add-in has been successfully tested for SBS 2011 Essentials RC and WHS 2011 RC.

CloudBerry Backup add-in for SBS 2011 Essentials RC comes with all the features of CloudBerry Backup Server Edition and integrates seamlessly into SBS control panel. It costs $79,99.

CloudBerry Backup add-in for WHS 2011 RC comes with all the features of CloudBerry Backup Desktop Edition and integrates seamlessly into WHS control panel. It costs $29,99. Existing WHS v1 customers can upgrade their add-ins for free.

+++

Note: this post applies to CloudBerry Backup 2.0 and later.

CloudBerry Backup is a Windows program that leverages Amazon S3 storage. You can download it at http://backup.cloudberrylab.com/ . It comes with onetime fee of $29.99 (US) per copy.

CloudBerry Backup for WHS is a Windows Home Server add-in that leverages Amazon S3 storage. You can download it at http://whs.cloudberrylab.com/ . It comes with onetime fee of $29.99 (US) per copy.

CloudBerry Backup Server Edition. is a Windows program designed to run in server environment that leverages Amazon S3 storage. You can download it at http://server.cloudberrylab.com/ . It comes with onetime fee of $69.99 (US) per copy.

The Digital Lifestyle Show #294 – Windows Everywhere

Andrew Edney

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Feb 24, 2011

2

The Digital Lifestyle Show #294 – Windows Everywhere

Ian over at the Digital Lifestyle has just released the Digital Lifestyle Show number 294 – and this week I am kept well and truly in the box!

This is what Ian says about this weeks show:

[box style=”rounded” border=”full”]Welcome to show 294. This week Garry and I mull over the weeks digital lifestyle news including, Windows Phone 7 updates, we talk about iOS v Windows Phone development, Plex for Windows, DVBLink, new addins and whether Microsoft have a Windows Everywhere strategy.[/box]

As usual, you can listen to the show from here

Apple Update MacBook Pro Range to include Thunderbolt Technology

Andrew Edney

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Feb 24, 2011

4

Apple Update MacBook Pro Range to include Thunderbolt Technology

Today Apple finally updated their MacBook Pro range to include Thunderbolt technology. There have been lots of rumours floating around about this, so now the truth is out there.

Also in the Apple news world is a press event on the 2nd March, which is supposed to be announcing the new iPad 2.

I just want to see an update to my MacBook Air now!

Here is what Apple have said in their Press Release:

CUPERTINO, California—February 24, 2011—Apple® today updated the industry-leading MacBook® Pro family with next generation processors and graphics, high-speed Thunderbolt I/O technology and a new FaceTime® HD camera. Featuring the very latest dual-core and quad-core Intel Core processors, the entire MacBook Pro line is up to twice as fast as the previous generation.*

“The new MacBook Pro brings next generation dual and quad Core processors, high performance graphics, Thunderbolt technology and FaceTime HD to the great design loved by our pro customers,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “Thunderbolt is a revolutionary new I/O technology that delivers an amazing 10 gigabits per second and can support every important I/O standard which is ideal for the new MacBook Pro.”

Starting at $1,199 the new 13-inch MacBook Pro offers amazing value and performance in a compact design. The highly portable 13-inch MacBook Pro features Intel Core i5 and Core i7 dual-core processors up to 2.7 GHz and Intel HD Graphics 3000. The powerful 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro models feature quad-core Core i7 processors up to 2.3 GHz and AMD Radeon HD graphics processors with up to 1GB of video memory for high performance gaming, pro video editing and graphics intensive applications.

MacBook Pro is the first computer on the market to include the groundbreaking Thunderbolt I/O technology. Developed by Intel with collaboration from Apple, Thunderbolt enables expandability never before possible on a notebook computer. Featuring two bi-directional channels with transfer speeds up to an amazing 10Gbps each, Thunderbolt delivers PCI Express directly to external high performance peripherals such as RAID arrays, and can support FireWire and USB consumer devices and Gigabit Ethernet networks via adapters. Thunderbolt also supports DisplayPort for high resolution displays and works with existing adapters for HDMI, DVI and VGA displays. Freely available for implementation on systems, cables and devices, Thunderbolt technology is expected to be widely adopted as a new standard for high performance I/O.

The MacBook Pro now includes a built-in FaceTime HD camera with triple the resolution of the previous generation for crisp, widescreen video calls. With Apple’s innovative FaceTime video calling software, the new camera allows high definition video calls between all new MacBook Pro models and supports standard resolution calls with other Intel-based Macs, iPhone® 4 and the current generation iPod touch®. FaceTime is included with all new MacBook Pro models and is available for other Intel-based Macs from the Mac® App Store℠ for 99 cents. The MacBook Pro lineup continues to feature its gorgeous aluminum unibody enclosure, glass Multi-Touch™ trackpad, LED-backlit widescreen display, illuminated full-size keyboard and 7-hour battery.**

As the industry’s greenest notebook lineup, every Mac notebook achieves EPEAT Gold status and meets Energy Star 5.0 requirements, setting the standard for environmentally friendly notebook design.*** Each unibody enclosure is made of highly recyclable aluminum and comes standard with energy efficient LED-backlit displays that are mercury-free and made with arsenic-free glass. Mac notebooks contain no brominated flame retardants, are PVC-free and are constructed with recyclable materials.

Every Mac comes with Mac OS® X Snow Leopard®, the world’s most advanced operating system, and iLife®, Apple’s innovative suite of applications for creating and sharing great photos, movies and music. Snow Leopard builds on more than a decade of innovation and includes multiple features for portable computing such as Multi-Touch navigation, advanced wireless networking, easy file sharing, automated data backup and intelligent power management. The new iLife ’11 features iPhoto® with stunning full screen views for browsing, editing and sharing photos; iMovie® with powerful easy-to-use tools to transform home videos into fun theatrical trailers; and GarageBand® with new ways to improve your playing and create great sounding songs.

Pricing & Availability
The new 13-inch MacBook Pro, 15-inch MacBook Pro and 17-inch MacBook Pro are available through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. The 13-inch MacBook Pro is available in two configurations: one with a 2.3 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5 and 320GB hard drive starting at $1,199; and one with a 2.7 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5 and 500GB hard drive starting at $1,499. The new 15-inch MacBook Pro is available in two models: one with a 2.0 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7, AMD Radeon HD 6490M and 500GB hard drive starting at $1,799 and one with a 2.2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7, AMD Radeon HD 6750M and 750GB hard drive starting at $2,199. The new 17-inch MacBook Pro features a 2.2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7, AMD Radeon HD 6750M and 750GB hard drive and is priced at $2,499.

Configure-to-order options include faster quad-core processors up to 2.3 GHz, additional hard drive capacity up to 750GB, solid state storage up to 512GB, more memory up to 8GB DDR3, antiglare and high-resolution display options and AppleCare® Protection Plan. Additional technical specifications and configure-to-order options and accessories are available online at www.apple.com/macbookpro.

AWIECO DriveInfo Add-In Announcement

Timothy Daleo

-

Feb 23, 2011

2

Awieco is releasing their new DriveInfo Add-In beta for Windows Home Server 2011 at the end of this week. This new Add-In is a “must-have” Add-In for those of us that miss the graphical storage interface that did not make it to the Windows Home Server 2011 Release Candidate.

Awieco, the company that brought you RemoteLauncher and WakeOnLAN, is going to release the DriveInfo Add-In at the end of this week. The DriveInfo Add-In for Windows Home Server 2011 will pick up all of the Shared Folders and also show Backup drive storage information in a simple and elegant interface from within the Windows Home Server 2011 Dashboard.

Here is a little sample of what DriveInfo will look like:

As soon as the Add-In is officially released we will post final screen shots, links and video.

AWIECO, the world`s first add-in developing company for the next generation of Microsoft Windows Home Server 2011 and Microsoft Small Business Server 2011 Essentials, provides the customers software solutions to expand the functionalities of their home and small business IT environment. The company´s main focus is to develop high-quality, easy to use and innovative software products for making the server more attractive to Home and Small Business.

http://www.awieco.com/

Xtreamer Prodigy HTPC Coming Soon

Andrew Edney

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Feb 23, 2011

2

Hot on the heels of yesterdays announcement about the Xtreamer Ultra, today brings news of the new Xtreamer Prodigy HTPC.

Here is some information on the new Xtreamer Prodigy:

The Xtreamer Prodigy is a next generation Realtek based media streamer with USB 3.0, Card Reader, 256Mb RAM and 512 Mb NAND flash memory, HDMI, an integral IR remote control and room for internal 3.”5 HDD. Just like 2010 models it will provide vivid and crisp playback of FULL HD multimedia files and open to you the wonderful world of Internet entertainment.

The Xtreamer Prodigy devices incorporate state-of- the-art technology, commonly used in high-end computing and consumer electronic solutions.

The highly-refined manufacturing process, timeless engineering and careful quality control have resulted again in a product that works out of the box yet embrace the highest long-term aesthetic and commercial value.

We hope anyone seek a very capable yet portable media player will find the Xtreamer Prodigy! to be a rewarding experience and a worthy investment both as FULL HD streamer as well as a vehicle to his favorite web sites and services on TV.

While we intend to continue work hand in hand with our vibrant community members, the xtreamer prodigy will retain compatibility to the Xtreamer Live, Xtreamer Jukebox and Xtreamer VOD projects which will serve your devices online content for various sources.

In multinational, cross platform global operation coordinated with its development partners the xtreamer will attempt to take advantage of the resulting opportunity by positioning itself as a valid alternative to any other multi media player in its price tag in the market.

It will also support a whole range of applications:

No news yet on how much it will be, but that will be confirmed next week at the launch. More information when we get it and you can bet we will be getting one for review very soon.

Here’s a little video to get you interested:

Remote Notification for Windows Home Server Adds Twitter Integration

Jim McCarthy

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Feb 23, 2011

1

Remote Notification for Windows Home Server Adds Twitter Integration

Remote Notification has been updated to add Twitter integration. The current release is now 1.5.0.4. If you want your server sending you Tweets, come on and upgrade!

After releasing 1.5 a few days back, Alex Kuretz from MediasmartServer.Net decided to evaluate adding Twitter integration. After some beta testing, he is able to release an update to add that integration.

Here’s how Alex describes the new feature:

The Twitter recipient type is used to forward the health alerts from your Windows Home Server to a Twitter account as either status updates or direct (private) messages to another Twitter user.

If you are running Remote Notification and would be interested in using Twitter to receive notifications, give it a whirl!

Remote Notification Website

Remote Notification Twitter Tutorial

Windows Home Server – The Car

Windows Home Server

Andrew Edney

-

Feb 23, 2011

2

This week my car had to go into the garage for some minor work and I got a loan car. Check out the number plate!

I honestly couldn’t have planned that any better!

And yes, I checked that nothing had been removed

WP7’s first minor Update encounters some problems

Jon da Silva

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Feb 23, 2011

0

WP7’s first minor Update encounters some problems

Apparently, WP7’s first update encountered what it was set out to do; Prepare and find the problems prior to the major update being rolled out. According to some users, (especially those with Samsung models). The minor update that started to be pushed out to WP7 devices, on Monday, Feb. 21., hangs during the backup process.

Good thing Microsoft pushed out the minor update to encounter the kinks, prior to the major update known as “NoDo” being rolled out in March.

In the event that you are encountering issues during the backup where the device/backup creation is hung up (step 6/7, the remediation is to power cycle the device:

1. If the backup process is in a apparent prolonged state (exceeding the general 30-40 min) with no movement or progress (including stuck at 99/100%)
2. Disconnect the device from the PC
3. Pull the battery
4. Replace battery and power on
5. Device should reboot into the OS Kernel
6. We would recommend at this time, not to retry the update, as subsequent attempts will fail. While we continue to investigate the issue, we would ask that you do not attempt the update until your device alerts you of another update opportunity, in approximately 3 days’ time.
7. If the battery pull “reset” does not work, consult your product documentation on Hard Resetting the device to factory default.

DataCore Technology and WHS2011/SBS2011

Jim McCarthy

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Feb 23, 2011

7

As we mentioned a few days back, DataCore is a firm that is bringing their virtualized storage technology to WHS2011 and SBS2011 as a replacement for Drive Extender. We recently caught up with them and have some details for you. Read on!

I recently caught up with Carlos Carreras, Vice President of Alliances & Business Development for DataCore. He was gracious enough to answer some questions about their technology and how it could be useful to WHS2011 and SBS2011 users. I wanted to thank Carlos for taking his time to engage with us. Here is our interview.

Introduction to Virtualized Storage: What is the technology? How is it being used today?

In the enterprise computing space we’ve become pretty familiar with the general concept of virtualization itself – abstracting, or removing, the ‘managing’ software from the underlying hardware, which enables you to take advantage of the benefits of software capabilities separate from the limitations inherent in the underlying hardware. Storage virtualization is conceptually similar: It’s the application of virtualization technology to the storage layer of your information technology infrastructure. Obviously, behind the virtualization concept there is a lot of deeply sophisticated software to make that abstraction happen — but that is the concept at high level.

When you apply virtualization technology to storage you separate out the management and control of storage from the big, bulky box with the spinning disk. That means that management and control of your storage environment is not subject to the limitations of all mechanical information processing devices – stress, wear and tear, capacity issues, natural disasters, and so on. That doesn’t mean that by virtualizing your storage you no longer need those spinning disks. They are still important – but they only do what they’re good at: processing the in-and-out flow of storing and retrieving data. That’s it.

By creating the separation between the hardware and the software through virtualization, your data and its management/control/protection are no longer tied to the health of a mechanical device. It’s that separation of software from hardware that enables our customers to easily allocate capacity from available virtual pools, maximize space utilization through thin provisioning, create backups through the use of snapshot technology and enjoy high availability of their data through replication technology.

Introduction to DataCore:

Our company was started in 1998 by a group of storage experts who had gained their experience working in large storage environments – mostly in the aerospace industry. They started out with the intention of addressing the fundamental challenge with storage: The hardware that is inherently prone to failure is tied to the software that provides the “intelligence” that makes the hardware useful.

In taking a look at this age-old problem they came up with the idea that separating the two – running storage software separate from the device itself – helps you overcome the limitations and device-specific difference in the hardware. That became DataCore’s mission: We build software that transforms imperfect storage hardware devices into ideally behaved disks.

Over the years, as DataCore developed our storage virtualization software we were able to look at improvements in the control and management of the storage devices. Our software does that by creating “virtual disks” within the SAN that never run out of capacity, run faster, are easily shared, never age and are never forced offline for maintenance. For anyone familiar with the challenges inherent in running storage locked to hardware devices, our solution is like storage nirvana.

We’ve been at this for a while – and when we started there was no concept in the industry called “storage virtualization” – we just did what we did and got better at it over time. Now that virtualization is the hot new technology, people in our industry are looking at us and saying, “storage technology is the new big thing.” We tell them we’ve been doing this for years – we have over 7,000 customers worldwide and over 20,000 licenses deployed. It’s not so new … and it’s been working exceptionally well for our customers for years.