“Computer data can be immeasurably valuable, yet most people leave it totally vulnerable to damage or loss. Windows Home Server is the data equivalent to a home safe. We recommend Paul McFedries’s Microsoft®Windows®Home Server Unleashed as the best first step in getting a strong hold on securing and maintaining personal data at home.”

–Professor Michael L. Kleper

Editor, The Kleper Report on Digital Publishing

 

Windows Home Server is a brand new server operating system from Microsoft designed to be used in home settings. Windows Home Server is designed to reduce or eliminate the complexity of a typical network server and instead present home users with a simple, straightforward interface that focuses on four core areas: storage, sharing, backup, and remote access.

 

Microsoft® Windows® Home Server Unleashed is the first book on the market that takes a deep look at what makes this new server operating system tick. Inside you’ll learn how the Windows Home Server storage system combines multiple hard disks (both internal and external) into a single storage space that expands and contracts automatically as you add and remove hard disks, making it easy for home users to share folders, files, and digital media of all kinds. We show you how to access your files from any PC in the network and provide secure access to the network via the Internet for your users. We also show you how to automate the backup of every computer on your network, including performing complete system image backups of each computer and restoring previous versions of individual files.

 

Detailed information on how to…

• Access your files from any computer in the house or while you’re on the road
• Set up security--both local (user accounts) and remote (Internet access)
• Take advantage of the power of the Windows Server 2003 code underlying Windows Home Server
• Make working with Windows Home Server faster and easier
• Use real-world examples and network configurations that will help you get the most out of your Home Server set up
• Use Windows Home Server power tools to put you in complete control over your server and the network

 

Introduction 1

Part I—Unleashing Windows Home Server Setup

Chapter 1—Understanding Windows Home Server 7

Chapter 2—Installing Windows Home Server 23

Chapter 3—Setting Up Your Windows Home Server Network 41

Part II—Unleashing Windows Home Server Configuration

Chapter 4—Setting Up and Working with User Accounts 73

Chapter 5—Adding Devices to the Windows Home Server Network 101

Chapter 6—Configuring Windows Home Server 137

Chapter 7—Setting Up and Using Home Server Storage 169

Part III—Unleashing Windows Home Server Networking

Chapter 8—Sharing Folders and Files on the Home Server 187

Chapter 9—Making Connections to Network Computers 223

Chapter 10—Streaming and Sharing Digital Media 259

Chapter 11—Backing Up and Restoring Network Computers 287

Chapter 12—Monitoring Your Network 317

Chapter 13—Implementing Windows Home Server Security 3358

Chapter 14—Setting Up a Windows Home Server Website 373

Chapter 15—Running a SharePoint Site on Windows Home Server 407

Part IV—Unleashing Windows Home Server Performance and Maintenance

Chapter 16—Tuning Windows Home Server Performance 449

Chapter 17—Maintaining Windows Home Server 485

Chapter 18—Customizing the Windows Home Server Interface 513

Chapter 19—Troubleshooting Windows Home Server 543

Part V—Unleashing Windows Home Server Advanced Tools

Chapter 20—Working with the Windows Home Server Registry 577

Chapter 21—Using Windows Home Server's Command-Line Tools 603

Chapter 22—Using Other Windows Home Server Power Tools 661

Chapter 23—Scripting Windows Home Server 715

Part VI--Appendixes

Appendix A—Understanding TCP/IP 757

Appendix B—Setting Up a Home Network 779

Appendix C—Glossary 807

Appendix D—Windows Home Server Keyboard Shortcuts 823

Appendix E—Windows Home Server Online Resources 831

 

Customer Rating:
Summary: Everything you need to know about WHS - and more.
Comment: It's a pleasure to find a technical book as well done as "Microsoft Windows Home Server Unleashed" by Paul McFedries. Like all such series, there have been a number of weak titles, but this one shines on top of the hill.

McFedries' writing style is fluid, polished and lucid. He never gets lost in his own detail, even though many of the subjects covered in this book lend themselves to meandering. McFedries stays unerringly on topic - and that is a quality to be praised and appreciated.

Particularly so here, for Windows Home Server (WHS) is a somewhat simplified version of Windows Server 2003, a very potent and complex server platform. Even though WHS weasrs a very pretty face for home users, its internal plumbing is still very complicated.

Effortlessly, McFedries walks the reader through the less complex WHS interface and use - and then explores the deeper roots. He really accomplishes this very well.

There are about 750 pages of text on WHS and related subjects and around 80 pages of appendices.

In 23 chapters, McFedries tells you everything you need to know about installing, administering and using WHS. The level of detail is very impressive. The author covers related subjects that may not interest everyone and may be well beyond the competence of many, such as running a SharePoint Site on WHS, working with the WHS Registry and scripting WHS. That's not a complaint: it's as compliment. Everything you really might need to know about WHS is to be found between the covers.

McFedries has turned out a remarkably lucid technical book on an inherently complex subject. If you're considering installing or have installed WHS, you should really consider this book. It's the only book I've bought about WHS and the only one I can see needing. Excellent.

Jerry

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Very Comprehensive Information but Doesn't Fully Apply to HP Media Smart Home Server
Comment: This book was linked as a companion product on the Amazon website when I bought the HP Media Smart Home Server. The book is loaded with information but helped very little when I had problems establishing a remote desktop session. I still have not been able to access the desktop either remotely or through the network. All of the Console features work fine but I've gotten no help from the Windows Home Server Unleashed textbook in determining why I can't access the desktop.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Very Helpful
Comment: Much more than just install, configure and review Help. It gets under the hood. WHS is based on Windows 2003 server. For XP users, the author adds a LOT of information on how to make thw server hum - better than many server books. The section on networking is worth the price of the book.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent book for knowledgeable "home server" reader
Comment: This book is for people who build home server from a regular pc. It assumes you have a keyboard, mouse, and monitor connected, and not headless (like HP MediaSmart Server). It reveals technical material in very detail. In addition, this book will teach you many ways to enhance its functionality. The author is extremely knowledgeable and a very good writer.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Easy to follow....must have for newbies
Comment: I have configured many SBS 2003 servers, and this by far is the easiest thing to set up. This book will help out the novice and the experienced. It includes some great material on how to customize your server as well how to install and configure MS SharePoint service to your server.

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