Add-In: CloudBerry Online Backup for WHS 1.7

CloudBerry Online Backup for Windows Home Server has had an update.

The online backup service for Home Server users which utilizes Amazon S3 cloud storage, now includes the following in version 1.7:

Integrated Azure Storage option – Azure Blob Storage is another storage option in CloudBerry Backup in addition to Amazon S3.  The users can now back up their data to their Azure accounts directly.

Backup files since certain date – This provides more flexibility for those who want to copy only the newer files to their backup storage. This option is available in the backup wizard.

Backup Schedule down to one hour – The added ability to configure backup schedule down to hours. In the previous releases you were limited to configure scheduled backup to days.

Back up to external buckets – This allows you to back up data to another users account while only having a free AWS account.  In other words the owner of the account can provide other users with the rights to read/ write data to a certain bucket and those users can back up their data not having to deal with the details of Amazon account setup and payments.

Back up network drives – The previous release introduced an option to backup network shares. Release 1.7 extends it with network drives support. Although under the hood CloudBerry Backup resolves network drives to network shares for the end user the whole process is absolutely transparent.

Unattended mode – It is now possible to run CloudBerry Backup in unattended mode even when run interactively using the console. In the earlier releases when you run the backup using the console you could not close the console or log off and you had to wait before the backup finishes. This limitation is now removed and you can run the backup plan, close the console and even log off from the computer and make sure backup plan will keep running.

More information on CloudBerry Online Backup for Windows Home Server is available from here.

Add-In: DNS Updater 1.0.0.43

The add-in which enable you to access your computer remotely even with a Dynamic IP has had an update.

DNS Updater from "ten atoms" has been updated to version 1.0.0.43 to fix a performance issue and if you act quickly they get the add-in for 50% off, bringing it down to just $9.99

More details can be found here.

Add-In: AWIECO RemoteLauncher 0.1.2 (Beta)

The add-in AWIECO RemoteLauncher allows Aurora and Vail users to access predefined System Tools directly from the dashboard, and just launched is version v0.1.2 (Beta) which offers an improved UI design and fixes a bug which was present within the installer.

More details on RemoteLauncher are available from here.

Add-In: AWIECO WakeOnLAN 0.2.1 (Beta)

The add-in AWIECO WakeOnLAN has had an update.

The free add-in for Vail and Aurora users has the ability to turn on a computer remotely. It enables the Server to start up every computer attached to your network and automatically recognizes, if a computer is already turned on or if it is booting up.

Version 0.2.1 (Beta) ChangeLog:

• Added: Device management
• Fixed: Update to VAIL refresh and Aurora

More details are available from here.

Add-In: Grid Junction 1.5

Kendome Technologies have released a new version of their uninterruptible power supply management add-in "Grid Junction".

Changes in version 1.5 include:

• Various UPS device support improvement and fixes (see supported list)
• Improved existing communication protocols
• New expert feature to sleep/hibernate or standby the server instead of shutdown
• New expert debug mode toggle
• User interface enhancements and fixes
• Improved update checking and product feedback based on Add-in Central technologies

You can download version 1.5 from here, whilst a list of supported uninterruptible power supply’s is also available.

Windows Home Server Updates

Microsoft have released an update today which is being pushed down from Windows Update to Windows Home Server (v1)users.

The update, known as KB 979453 addresses five issues which have been found since the release of WHS Power Pack 3:

Issue 1

You cannot restore a client computer without manually creating partitions or mapping the source and destination volume.

After you install this update, you can then restore a client computer without manually creating partitions or mapping the source and destination volume. However, to enable this functionality, the following conditions must be true:

• The backup must be stored on only one disk.

• The destination computer must have only one hard disk.

• The hard disk in the destination computer must be equal to or larger in size than the backup.

• The hard disk drive in the destination computer must be an internal hard disk drive. For example, IDE, SATA or e-SATA.

Issue 2

2048-bit certificates will soon replace 1024-bit certificates. This update enables Home Server users to use 2048-bit certificates before 2048-bit certificates become the industry standard.

After you install this update, you are asked to renew Website certificates if you have already registered the live domain for the websites. After you finish the renewal process, the website certificates are upgraded to 2048-bit.

Issue 3

You cannot change the backup settings if a volume that has backup-excluded folders is not available. In this situation, you must wait until the volume becomes available.

After you install this update, you can remove a missing volume that has backup-excluded folders from the backup process.

Issue 4

You cannot remove all users’ permissions from a shared folder. When you try to remove the permissions, the Windows Home Server console reports that the operation succeeds. However, the permissions are not removed.

After you install this update, you can successfully remove all users’ permissions from a shared folder. If you tried to perform this operation before you install this update, the permissions will be removed when you restart the computer after you install this update.

Issue 5

You may experience incompatibility issues when you use the next version of Microsoft Security Essentials on Windows Home Server. This is a precautionary update. Windows Home Server is currently not supported by the next version of Microsoft Security Essentials Beta or final release. This update will address some incompatibility issues.

Add-In: AWIECO RemoteLauncher 0.1.1 (Beta)

Awieco Home Server Solutions, the makers of the add-in WakeOnLan for Vail have just released RemoteLauncher for Small Business Server "Aurora" and Windows Home Server "Vail".

The add-in allows you to access the following predefined System Tools directly from the dashboard:

• Windows Explorer
• Commandline
• Event Viewer
• Services
• Control Panel
• Computer Manager
• Device Manager
• Registry Editor
• Task Manager

If you need other tools and applications to run from the dashboard, you can simply add them by a right mouse click.

The free beta preview of RemoteLauncher auto checks for newer versions of itself and enables you to start applications installed on your Server directly from your client. It’s a very usual add-in for Aurora/Vail users which you can find here.

Add-In: PerfectDisk 11 Service Pack 3 (Build 178)

The defragger for Windows Home Server users has been updated to Build 178 to include various bug fixes and minor enhancements.

You can “Check For Updates” from within the product or wait for Autoupdate.

 Client enhancements and fixes:

• We corrected a bug when creating Auto Pilot schedules for Exchange Data stores on Exchange 2010. If individual stores were selected instead of all stores, you would get an error.
• A new feature was added to allow controlling the behavior (display) of the registration dialog. This can now be blocked using group policy, the config.ini file or the Enterprise Console
• A new feature was added to control the VSS settings from Group Policy or the config.ini file.
• A new feature was added to control the custom SMARTPlacement settings from Group Policy.
• We modified the behavior of the Screen Saver Auto-Pilot schedule to allow the monitor to power off. Prior to this version, Screen Saver schedules would not run if the monitor powered off as not screen saver was present. This behavior was modified to recognize the corporate need to have monitor power down to save energy.
• The defragmentation logic was modified to minimize skipping files during a defragmentation pass. Prior to this version a file could be skipping after failing to move when requested. This logic was changed to only skip the file under more restrictive terms.
• We corrected a flaw in the SmartDefrag logic where the proper defragmentation algorithm was not always being used.
• We added support for Japanese translations.

Console enhancements and fixes:

• When deploying patch files from the Enterprise console, the wizard would sometimes crash due to an un-initialized variable. This has been fixed.
• We corrected a bug when downloading the latest PerfectDisk clients for deployment. The console did not use the proxy settings. This has been fixed.
• New feature was added to allow controlling the behavior (display) of the registration dialog. This can now be blocked using group policy, the config.ini file or the Enterprise Console.
• We corrected a bug when downloading PerfectDisk client packages from the deployment wizard. Previous versions did not support saving the package to a network share. This has been fixed.
• A change was made to the deployment wizard to use the computer name if a domain is not specified when providing credentials.
• Some user interface layout changes were made to avoid confusion.
• We fixed a bug when specified specific sync periods which spanned midnight.
• We added support for Japanese translations.

More details on PerfectDisk 11 for Windows Home Server is available from here.

Add-In: Ten Atoms DNS Updater 1.0.0.41

DNS Updater is an add-in which enables you to remote access your Home Server website using a vanity URL instead of the default supplied http://xxxxx.homeserver.com sub domain.

The add-in by company "Ten Atoms" supports the following hosts:

• DynDNS
• NO-IP
• ZoneEdit
• DNS-O-Matic
• Open DNS

The add-in is $19.99 and a 30 day trail is also available as well as additional information from here.

IMPORTANT NOTE: I cannot recommend this version (1.0.0.41) as the Ten Atoms DNS Updater service continually crashed the WHS console and the add-in had to be uninstalled on my test system.

Get 3 months HomeServerSync Online Backup For Your Home Server FREE

The HomeServerSync add-in from Tranquil PC is now available for Windows Home Server users.

HomeServerSync allows you to access your Home Server services from anywhere in the world, protect your files even more, and sync data between PCs, using the Home Server itself as a ‘personal cloud data server’ !

There are 3  components to HomeServerSync, that provide the ultimate in data security, remote access and PC to WHS to PC synchronization:

1. 100GB of offsite backup storage is included with more available if needed.
2. Provision of a unique private network, allowing full access to WHS Console and WHS Shares from anywhere in the world, via internet connection.
3. Multi PC synchronization system that not only protects data but means that one PC can receive or send updates to ‘shared’ files and folders on other PCs

And the pricing is good too with the annual subscription costing just £139 with 100GB of storage for your data.

And now the best news of all… as an MSWHS.com reader we have a special deal for you, by using the promo code M023 when registering your details you’ll receive an additional 100 extra days absolutely FREE, which means 465 days instead of the standard 365 days.

How to Get your 100 Days FREE:

1. To find out more request the free 15 day trail by emailing trial@homeserversync.co.uk
2. You will then receive an email with the registration link, which you should visit and enter the promo code M023
3. Once the subscription is purchased your 365 day subscription will be automatically extended by 100 days to 465 days for FREE

More information on HomeServerSync including its top 10 features, how it works, the data center used and the security of your data are available from here.