Windows Home Server Codename “VAIL” is the next version of Windows Home Server, now in public beta. Just like with the “Home Server Console” in the current version, it will feature a central place of administration. In order to emphasize the evolution the console has gone through it is now named the Dashboard.
As detailed in my AAC Feature Focus article back in January, the Home Server Console runs on the server itself and its user interface is displayed on a client computer over a remote desktop session. One disadvantage of this method is that the console window has a fixed size and any application that is launched from the console is trapped within the console window:
Regedit.exe run from the Advanced Admin Console on Windows Home Server
While the VAIL Dashboard is also running on the server the Dashboard client application now utilizes a new Remote Desktop Services feature called “RemoteApp”. RemoteApp integrates the Dashboard UI into the client’s desktop, thus creating a richer and more natural user experience:
Regedit.exe run from the Advanced Admin Console on VAIL (Client’s Regedit in background)
As you can see, the Dashboard and the server’s Regedit window are not tied together, are fully resizable and they both appear on the client’s taskbar. Notice the contrast between the Windows 7/Server 2008 R2 window styles and the Windows XP desktop theme of the client while the Dashboard and its child windows are seamlessly integrated into the desktop.
Windows Home Server has been covered lately over at HowToGeek.com with an article about the Advance Admin Console AddIn being the latest addition to the series. The article which you can find here will walk you through the installation, configuration and usage of the Advanced Admin Console. If you want to learn more about the power user features of this addin I recommend reading my Feature Focus article series:
Feature Focus 1: Minimize
Feature Focus 2: Show Desktop
Feature Focus 3: Windows PowerShell
To be continued…
This is the third in a series of blog articles highlighting some of the non-obvious features of my popular Advanced Admin Console Add-In (AAC) for Windows Home Server. You can find a German version of this article over at www.home-server-blog.de.
Users of the Advanced Admin Console Add-In should be able to perform any administrative task on their Windows Home Server with it. As with everything, there’s always more than one way to do things. While many users are quite happy with graphical user interfaces and using the mouse there are others who value the lightness and speed of text-based command line interfaces. Advanced Admin Console contains links to the classic Windows Command Prompt (cmd.exe) that has been part of Windows NT-based operating systems since the dawn of time, as well as to the “new” Windows PowerShell.
Windows PowerShell is Microsoft’s object-oriented command-line shell and scripting language. It’s way more powerful than cmd.exe. However, it’s not preinstalled on Windows Home Servers so when you try to launch it from the AAC toolbar you’ll receive the following error message:
So in order to be able to use Windows PowerShell on your server you will have to install it first. The easiest way to do that is by using my Update History AddIn.
Windows PowerShell is available as an optional update on the Windows Update website. Simply click on “Launch Windows Update” on the “Troubleshooting” menu of the Update History AddIn:
On Windows Update click “Custom”:
After searching for available updates is complete, click “Software, Optional” and select “Windows PowerShell 1.0 for Windows Server 2003 (KB926139)”:
Now click “Install updates” and wait until the selected package has finished installing.
From now on you can launch Windows PowerShell from the AAC toolbar:
If you haven’t worked with PowerShell before you should visit the Windows PowerShell website to get started.
PowerShell 2.0 was released by Microsoft back in October 2009 but since it’s not available on Windows Update I wouldn’t recommend installing it on your server.
This is the second in a series of blog articles highlighting some of the non-obvious features of my popular Advanced Admin Console Add-In (AAC) for Windows Home Server. You can find a German version of this article over at www.home-server-blog.de.
As a user of the Advanced Admin Console Add-In you know that you can run external programs like Task Manager or the Windows Command Prompt from the Windows Home Server Console by utilizing the AAC toolbar. If you’ve read my first AAC Feature Focus article describing the Minimize feature, you also know that while you can minimize the WHS console and switch back and forth between multiple running external programs, you do not have access to the Windows Home Server’s Desktop.
Even though I see little reason for running a fully fledged desktop session with taskbar, start menu and everything on your server, I’ve included this feature in AAC Version 0.5.0 because many people were asking for it.
If you want to start a desktop session all you need to do is click on ‘Show Desktop’ on the drop down menu at the top right hand corner of the Advanced Admin Console toolbar:
Advanced Admin Console will run explorer.exe which itself provides the taskbar, start menu and desktop functionality. You are now free to do anything on your WHS machine but remember: Windows Home Server was NOT designed to be used this way and Microsoft explicitly discourages users from doing so. Everything you do from there is at your own risk. Microsoft support services will most likely not help you with problems that arise from your fiddling with the WHS desktop.
That being said, have fun exploring your Windows Home Server!
Note: It is very likely that after clicking ‘Show Desktop’ you will see the taskbar only for a short time. Next thing you see is a full screen Internet Explorer window warning you from using the desktop too carelessly. After you close this window you will be brought back to the WHS console and the taskbar is gone. That’s when the Minimize feature of the Advanced Admin Console Add-In comes to the rescue: Just click the Minimize button in the lower right corner of the AAC window and you can finally start working with your server’s desktop.
There’s one final thing you should be aware of: When you close the WHS Console window on your client computer the Windows Home Server Console and any external program you started from it will keep running on your server. This is also true for the desktop session you launched using AAC. Because of that you really should log off from the server (either from the WHS console or the start menu) instead of just closing the console window. Otherwise one of the external programs or the desktop may prevent your server from going to hibernation or power off when it should.
The next installment of my “AAC Feature Focus” article series will explain the “Windows PowerShell” command on the AAC toolbar and why it doesn’t seem to do anything useful. If you don’t want to miss new articles simply subscribe to my RSS feed.
This is the first in a series of blog articles highlighting some of the non-obvious features of my popular Advanced Admin Console Add-In (AAC) for Windows Home Server. You can find a German version of this article over at www.home-server-blog.de.
At first sight, the Windows Home Server Console looks like a normal windows program. However, it is a full-screen application running atop an otherwise empty, taskbar-less Windows Desktop. The application is running on your Windows Home Server and it’s user interface is presented to you on your home computer via a remote desktop connection.
The Advanced Admin Console Add-In gives you (among other things) the ability to launch external programs directly from within the console. Since there’s no taskbar, there’s no way for you to switch back and forth between the WHS Console and an external program, because the WHS Console runs full-screen. That’s where the Minimize feature comes in handy: Once you’ve switched over to the WHS Console from your external program you simply click the Minimize button in the lower right corner of the AAC window:
The WHS Console window will be minimized to the lower left corner of the screen and you can work with your external program.
One frequently asked question is how you can get back to the WHS Console once it has been minimized. The answer is: Just double click on the minimized window title bar of the WHS Console window:
A situation where you most likely will need to use the Minimize feature is when you use the Advanced Admin Console to launch a full desktop session by clicking “Show Desktop” on the AAC menu. The “Show Desktop” feature will be the topic of the next installment of “AAC Feature Focus”, so stay tuned!
Regedit.exe run from the Advanced Admin Console on Windows Home Server
Regedit.exe run from the Advanced Admin Console on VAIL (Client’s Regedit in background)
