“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

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 15 Ratings

Everything you need to know about WHS - and more. - 2008-12-14
Reviewer Rating:
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

How to Unleash Your Money: By Buying This Book - 2009-02-19
Reviewer Rating:
I bought an HP Media Server months ago and wanted to see what all it would be capable of.

I bought this book and it's been a disappointment. It covers essentially 80% of the items that are in the help file, manual or available online and really doesn't cover anything else.

More importantly, I'm shocked to see that there's no server support for the Zune - and this book further extends that silence. Want to integrate it with your XBOX360? This book isn't going to help you.

The other 20% (from the 80 I mention) covers some other functional basics, but not to the extent that I would assume would satisfy your average geek. At least not this one.

This book also becomes quickly dated by the fact that many add-ons have become available since it's publishing.

I would recommend users simply search online and view all the free information out there, especially since the Home Server has been out for more than a year now.

If you really want to know WHS - 2009-09-12
Reviewer Rating:
I had lots of questions before buying this book, and I bought it based on the reviews provided by this "forum."

I didn't make a mistake by purchasing this voluminous archive. WHS is something of a mystery when first installing it; it's not like a typical operating system. There are many do's and don'ts. It will easily break if you don't understand its nature. But with this book in hand, I was able to learn enough that I haven't had a problem since the day it arrived. WHS is must-have-software for anyone with two or more computers, and this book is the only book I've found that stands up to the hopes I had of learning to use the system properly and effectively. It covers all you need to know and more. Now I use it as a reference guide, occasionally looking up something that might be of interest to me.

If there is a negative about this book, it's that it is slowly becoming outdated. Moreover, just a smidgeon of what the author writes in explanation of how some of the functions work is no longer true. Yet, his directions to putting it altogether are still great!

If you've purchased a ready-made WHS system from HP or others, or if you've built your own WHS, this book will save you much frustration. I wouldn't want to be without it.

WHS - Not just for homes, but for small offices, too! - 2009-01-19
Reviewer Rating:
It's hard for me to write a review of this book without duplicating many of the things already said about it here, but I'll try my best.

1. You need not be a "geek" to a) use Windows Home Server or b) read this book. Whether you buy a ready-made server from HP or others, or build your own, Windows Home Server is an fantastic product for home users interested in managing and safeguarding data on their home networks.

2. WHS is not just for home users. If you have a small business (whether or not it is home based), you should learn about this product. Many small businesses can easily justify the expense of WHS for its incredible backup capabilities alone. I don't think there is a more comprehensive, easier and cheaper way to do image-based backups of desktops and notebooks available.

But if you run a small business from home, or you have several desktops and/or notebooks (including Windows and Macs) you should definitely look into WHS as a sure-fire way to easily backup your data and monitor network health.

Microsoft Windows Home Server Unleashed is one massive book. It not only covers everything you need to know about how to make WHS the center of your small network, it covers a lot of general networking concepts as well. In many respects, it's several books rolled into one.

And there is plenty of information about integrating Apple Macintosh computers into the network. If you are considering a separate, network-attached device for use with Time Machine, it might be worthwhile to consider a WHS for Time Machine...

(It's a little curious to me that a reviewer commented about the lack of information about using iTunes with WHS. The reviewer also chided the author for a discussion about integrating Microsoft Zune into WHS. First, the book provides much information about the growing amount of third-party support for a number of applications and services -- including iTunes. Secondly, while a lot of iPod users consider the Zune to be a joke, as a consumer who's used many different MP3 players the Zune being sold today is MUCH nicer than older versions. And while the Zune may never supplant the iPod in popularity, it is getting better with each new release.)

Microsoft Windows Home Server Unleashed is well worth the investment. My only misgiving is not purchasing this as an "e-book" from the publisher web site.

Windows Home Server - 2009-01-19
Reviewer Rating:
Great book full of good information, as in any of these books if you are not a novice you have come across this information already in other publications. However it does a great introduction job. My only concern was, it was not system specific. I have a HP Media Smart Server and would have like to see a touch up section on that system. That said good book which you could always go back and reference.

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