Windows Home Server Code Name "Vail" Beta

Announcements

• Link

  Please be sure to read the release notes prior to filing a bug

  Jonas Svensson -FST-Microsoft EmployeeSunday, April 25, 2010 4:41 PM

  Hi Vail Beta testers!

  We have provided some release notes and a reviewers guilde for this preview release.  Please be sure to read through both the guide and the release notes before filing a bug.

  Both the release notes and the guide can be found in the download package for Vail.

  Thanks

  Jonas

• Link

  Please note that the use of this preview is not supported in a production environment.

  Monday, April 26, 2010 5:23 PM
  There are plenty of known issues (look at the list). So please don't replace your current server with Vail, supplement it. Test it. Report all the bugs you find on Connect . :)
• Link

  Windows Home Server Code Name "Vail" Public Preview - Known Issues - Remote Access

  Monday, April 26, 2010 6:55 AM

  Issue

  Cannot access a computer that is running Windows XP using Windows Server “Vail” Remote Access

  Description

  When you attempt to access a computer that is running Windows XP, you received the following error message: Remote Desktop can’t find the computer <ComputerName>.Windows Server “Vail” does not recognize <ComputerName> as a member of the specified network. Verify that the computer name and domain that you are trying to connect to.

  Solution

  You must open UDP port 137 on the Windows XP firewall.

  1.   Click Start, and then click Control Panel.

  2.   Click Security Center, and then click Windows Firewall.

  3.   Click the Exceptions tab, click to select the File and Printer Sharing check box, and then click Edit.

  4.   Click to select the UDP 137 check box, click Change scope, and then click My network (subnet) only.

  5.   Click OK.

   

  Issue

  Cannot purchase a non-Windows Live domain or transfer a non-Windows Live domain from a remote Dashboard session.

  Description

  If you select a domain name service provider other than Windows Server Solutions Dynamic DNS in the Set up Your Domain Name wizard, you are prompted to open a Web site to finish the transaction with that provider. If the Dashboard was opened from the Remote Access Web Site, the link may not open.

  Solution

  If you want to proceed, log on to the server using Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), and then run the Set up Your Domain Name wizard.

   

  Issue

  Using a non-Windows Live domain results in a certificate error.

  Description

  If you select a domain name service provider other than Windows Server Solutions Dynamic DNS in the Set up Your Domain Name wizard, a non-trusted SSL certificate is installed which results in a Web browser security warning when you access your Web site. This blocks your ability to remotely access the computers on your network.

  Solution

  There are not workarounds for this issue. The current plan is to fix it in a future release.

• Link

  What's new in Drive Extender for "Vail"

  Jonas Svensson -FST-Microsoft EmployeeWednesday, April 28, 2010 4:50 PM

  Drive Extender is a storage technology first introduced in Windows Home Server's first release. The 1st generation of the technology was file based, and worked on top of "vanilla" NTFS volumes using reparse points. To address the customer feedback we have received and improve the system's resiliency to partial drive failures (seen many times by our support), the Drive Extender technology was updated to use block based storage below the file system similar to software RAID systems.

  The following isn't an exhaustive list, but does try to enumerate the major new features as well as features which are no longer supported in the “Vail” version of Drive Extender:

   

  Features carried over from the previous release:

  ·         Duplication can be turned on/off per folder.

  ·         Duplicated folders can survive a single hard drive failure.

  ·         Storage pool can be easily expanded using different drive types and various sizes.

  ·         Graphical representation of storage usage (AKA the pie chart) - isn't present in the beta, but is planned for the next milestone.

   

  New/Improved features:

  ·         For duplicated folders, data is duplicated in real time to two separate drives - there is no hourly migration pass.

  ·         File system level encryption (EFS) and compression are now supported for Drive Extender folders.

  ·         File conflicts are gone, duplication works as intended for files in use as it is performed at the block level now.

  ·         The remaining amount of data to synchronize/duplicate is reported per storage pool.

  ·         All storage operations are executed in the background without blocking other server operations. Specifically, drive removal can be issued without impacting the online state of shares.

  ·         Drives in a storage pool can be named with a custom description to enable physical identification of the drive in the server.

  ·         Drive serial number and exact connection type is reported for each drive.

  ·         Drives which are bigger than 2TB can be added  to a storage pool.

  ·         iSCSI storage devices can be added to the a storage pool.

  ·         The system drive can be excluded from the storage pool.

  ·         A new low-level storage check and repair diagnostic operation was added.

  ·         All storage operations are performed with very low I/O priority to ensure they don't interfere with media streaming.

  ·         A new "folder repair" operation is available which runs chkdsk on the folder's volume.

  ·         To protect against silent storage errors (bit flips, misdirected writes, torn writes), additional information is appended to each 512-byte sector stored on drive. In particular, each sector is protected by a CRC checksum, which enables Drive Extender to detect data read errors, perform realtime error correction and self-healing (up to 2 bit errors per sector if duplication is disabled, and any number of bit errors if duplication is enabled) and report the errors back to the user and application. The overhead for this additional data is roughly 12% of drive space.

  ·         Data drives in storage pools can be migrated between servers, and appear as a non-default pool.  A non-default pool can be promoted to a default pool if no default pool exists.

  Deprecated features:

  ·         A data drive from a storage pool cannot be read on machine not running the “Vail” server software.

  ·         Data isn't rebalanced across drives to ensure even distribution. The data allocation attempts to keep drives evenly used. A periodic rebalance operation is considered for the next version.

  Known interop/support issues:

   

  ·         As with other software RAID solutions, Drive Extender isn't supported with BitLocker.

  ·         Drive Extender cannot share the same drive with other software based RAID systems (such as Microsoft Dynamic Drives)

  ·         Running low-level software storage tools—for example, defragmentation, full drive encryption, or volume imaging—on server folders may cause issues. These tools have not been fully tested in this release. Please avoid running these tools on the server.

  ·         Internally, the “Vail” software has been tested with up to 16 hard drives and with up to 16 TB of total storage capacity. We’re aware of a number of bugs that occur beyond these limits, so please keep your beta installations under 16 drives and 16 TB total drive space.

  This post is "AS IS" and confers no rights.

• Link

  Windows Home Server Code Name "Vail" Public Preview - Known Issues - Shared Folders

  Monday, April 26, 2010 7:02 AM

  Issue

  The OK, Cancel, and Apply buttons in the Folder Properties dialog box are missing. This issue applies to the Japanese (ja-jp) language version only.

  Description

  In the Japanese (ja-jp) language version, when you right-click a folder and select Properties, the OK, Cancel, and Apply buttons in the Folder Properties dialog box are not displayed.

  Solution

  ·      If you make changes in the General tab, click Enter to save, or click Esc or the Red X to cancel.

  ·      If you make changes in another tab, click the General tab, and then click Enter to save, or click Esc or the Red X to cancel.

• Link

  Windows Home Server Code Name "Vail" Public Preview - Known Issues - Media

  Monday, April 26, 2010 7:03 AM

  Issue

  The media shared folders are not included in the user’s libraries on a Windows® 7-based home computer when it is joined to a server that is running Windows Server “Vail”.

  Description

  After joining a computer that is running Windows 7 to the server, the Windows Server “Vail” media shared folders are included in user's libraries only if the user account on the home computer has been added as a user account on the server.

  Solution

  Add the user account on the computer that is running Windows 7 to the list of user accounts on Windows Server “Vail”.

   

  Issue

  MPEG2 video encoder and decoders, and AC3 Dolby Digital audio encoders are not available in this preview release of Windows Server “Vail”.

  Description

  Streaming MPEG2 and Dolby digital media files is not available in this release.

  Solution

  There is no workaround.

• Link

  Windows Home Server Code Name "Vail" Public Preview - Known Issues - Backup and Restore

  Friday, April 23, 2010 12:26 AM

  Issue

  Dashboard performance is impacted if the Computers and Backup tab is kept open while client backups are in progress.

  Description

  If the Dashboard is kept open on the Computers and Backup tab, while client backups are in progress, the Dashboard performance will slowly degrade.

  Solution

  If the Dashboard performance starts to degrade or if the Dashboard becomes unusable, restart the Dashboard, OR do not keep the Dashboard open on the Computers and Backup page while client backups are in progress.

  Issue

  A client computer memory leak on client backup can become a performance issue on client computers with unsuccessful backups over an extended period.

  Description

  A client computer configured to be backed up to Windows Server “Vail” experiences a memory leak of approximately 1.4 MB for each backup request. The server computer must be reachable from the client computer for the leak to occur. The source of the memory leak is under investigation and will be resolved in a future release.

  The memory leak will normally not cause a performance issue for the client computer. However, the longer a client computer is connected to the server with a series of unsuccessful backup attempts, the more likely it is that the leak will degrade the performance of the client computer. This is because backups are attempted at an increasing frequency if no successful backup occurs. Unsuccessful backups could be caused by a number of issues—for example, bad disk sectors on the client computer or the server hard disk reaching capacity.

  Solution

  Reboot the client computer to clear memory, and then correct the issue causing backups to fail. If this is not possible, remove backup from the computer by opening the Dashboard, selecting the computer from the list, and then clicking Customize Backup for this computer.

  Issue

  During a factory reset or server recovery the server restarts into WinPE and the firewall is disabled.

  Description

  This is expected behavior.

  Solution

  To help ensure that your server is safe during recovery, you should make sure that it is not connected to the Internet.

  Issue

  Changed or new volumes are not backed up if the volume changes were made while the home computer was not connected to the Windows Server “Vail” network.

  Description

  In the following scenario, the affected volume(s) are not backed up:

  1.   A home computer is joined to the Windows Server “Vail” network long enough to generate at least one backup, and then is disconnected from the network.

  2.   A volume or volumes on the Windows Server “Vail” server are changed, added, removed, or reconfigured.

  3.   The home computer is joined to the network again.

  Solution

  To fix this issue:

  1.   On the Dashboard, click the Computers and Backup tab.

  2.   Click the name of the computer, and then in the Task pane, click Set up backup for this computer or Customize back for this computer

  3.   Follow the steps to configure back up again for the rejoined computer.

  Issue

  System restore wizard may hang or crash if wrong credentials are entered

  Description

  During full system restore of a client computer from a backup on an Windows Server “Vail” server, the user needs to enter server administrator credentials so that the system restore wizard can access the backup information on the server, and then restore a backed up computer. If you enter the wrong credentials, the wizard hangs and waits for a response from the server.

  Solution

  Restart the recovery CD, and then type the administrator password for the server. This is the password that you use to log on to the Windows Server “Vail” Dashboard.

  Issue

  After a bare metal restore of Windows XP with Service Pack 3 (SP3) to a computer from a Windows Server “Vail” backup, the first Volume Shadow Copy service may fail.

  Description

  After a bare metal restore of Windows XP with SP3 to a computer from a Windows Server “Vail” backup, the Volume Shadow Copy service may fail, causing the computer backup to fail.

  Solution

  Restart the computer one more time.

  Issue

  Cannot back up the server using Backup on a home computer

  Description

  Server backup must be performed using Backup on Windows Server “Vail”.

  Solution

  Backing up the server using a home computer is not supported.

  Issue

  Restoring a home computer backup from a backup database that is included in a backup of the Windows Server “Vail” server

  Description

  In Windows Server “Vail”, you can back up the home computer backup database to an external removable disk. The backups are useful for disaster recovery scenarios or when there is a server failure.

  Solution

  The following steps assume that a backup of the home computer backup database is available on an external disk.

  1.   Log on to Windows Server “Vail” using Remote Desktop Protocol, and then shut down the following services:

  ·      Windows Server Computer Backup Service

  ·      Windows Server Computer Backup Provider Service

  2.   Open Windows Explorer, and then browse to the Network Computer backups\Network Computer Backups\ folder

  Note

  Windows Server “Vail” creates a separate volume for the backup database that is named Network Computer Backups.

  3.   Delete all files in the folder.

  4.   Open the Windows Server “Vail” Dashboard, and then click the Computers and Backup tab.

  5.   Click the server name, and then click Restore files or folders for this computer in the Tasks pane.

  6.   Select the option to restore Files or folders on the computer

  7.   On the Select items to restore page, select the Network Computer Backups folder.

  8.   Wait for all of the folders to be displayed, select all of files in the Network Computer Backups folder, and then click Next.

  9.   Click Original location, and then confirm to start the restore process.

  10.  After the restore completes successfully, restart the following services

  ·      Windows Server Computer Backup Service

  ·      Windows Server Computer Backup Provider Service

  Issue

  The backup database is reset when you perform a factory reset or restore the server from a backup, and then home computers are joined again to the server. You must manually configure backup for the home computers.

  Description

  The home computer backup database maintains the list and configuration for all home computers that are backed up over the network.

  The backup database can be reset (cleared) using either of the following methods:

  ·      The server is restored from a previous backup but the home computer backup database is not restored.

  ·      The server is reset to factory defaults. This deletes all data on the server including the home computer backup database.

  ·      The backup volume is restored.

  ·      The backup database shared folder is deleted because of storage or other issues.

  When this happens, the backup application does not automatically rejoin the home computers. The home computer status is Not set up.

  Note

  Client computers are automatically configured for backup the first time that they join the server.

  Solution

  To resolve this issue, do the following:

  1.   Log on to Windows Server “Vail” Dashboard using the administrator account, and then click the Computers and Backup tab.

  2.   For each home computer that needs to be backed up, click the name of the computer, and then click Set up backup for this computer in the Tasks pane.

  3.   Follow the instructions in the Set up Server Backup wizard

  Issue

  Computer backup database is corrupt

  Description

  If the computer backup database becomes corrupt, an alert instructs you to repair the backup database by clicking “Repair the backup database” on the Computers and Backup tab of the Dashboard. This link is not available in this version of Windows Server “Vail”. Instead, a command-line tool is available on the server.

  Solution

  To perform this procedure, you must be logged on to the server either locally or using a remote desktop connection.

  To repair the backup database

  1.   On the Windows Server “Vail” computer, click Start, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator. 2.   At the command prompt, type CD C:\Program Files\Windows Server\Bin, and then press Enter. 3.   Type backupcontroller.exe /sg, and then press Enter. A list of options for working with the backup database is displayed. 4.   To select the Start Repair option, type 8, and then press Enter. The backup repair operation runs. 5.   To review the results of the repair, type 10, and then press Enter. 6.   To exit the application, type 11, and then press Enter. 7.   To close the Command Prompt window, type Exit at the command prompt, and then press Enter.

• Link

  Windows Home Server Code Name "Vail" Public Preview - Known Issues - Connector Software

  Friday, April 23, 2010 12:15 AM

  Issue

  During connector software installation, pop-up window is displayed that asks if you want to install a device driver. When you click No, you receive an unexpected error.

  Description

  A backup virtual device driver is installed during home computer join. If you click No in the pop-up windows, the device driver is not installed causing the connector software installation to fail.

  Solution

  Click Yes in the pop-up window to install the device driver.

  Issue

  Cannot join a home computer to Windows Server “Vail”

  Description

  Computers that have non-ASCII characters in the computer name cannot join Windows Server “Vail”. You receive an error message that says An unexpected error has occurred.

  Solution

  Rename your computer with a name that contains ASCII characters only, and then run the Windows Server Connector Software again.

  Issue

  Auto logon does not work after the computer is connected to Windows Server “Vail”.

  Description

  If auto logon is set for the user account, it is overwritten when you install the connector software.

  Solution

  After you install the connector software, retain the password for the user account and reset auto logon for the account.

• Link

  Windows Home Server Code Name "Vail" Public Preview - Known Issues - Installation and Initial Configuration

  Friday, April 23, 2010 12:13 AM

  Issue

  After installing and configuring Windows Server “Vail”, the server does not work properly or you cannot connect computers to the server.

  Description

  This issue occurs when the following conditions are met:

  ·      The certificate is used to authenticate between components on the server or when connecting computers to the server.

  ·      The BIOS clock on the server is wrong or the BIOS clock is right but the installation takes place in a time zone located east of Pacific Standard Time (PST), between PST and the date line.

  Solution

  Before you install Windows Server “Vail”, set your BIOS clock to match the time and date for the Pacific Time Zone (PST) regardless of where you are located in the world. After successfully installing Windows Server “Vail” and joining client computers, do not reset the time, date, and time zone on the Dashboard for another day.

  If you do not set your server time to PST, you should not use the server or connect computers to it until the number of hours pass that equals the difference between your time and PST.

   

  Issue

  Cannot start from USB hard disk drive or USB flash drive or Windows Server “Vail” Setup fails when starting from a USB hard disk drive or a USB flash drive.

  Description

  ·      If USB devices are listed top-most in the BIOS boot order, Windows Server “Vail” Setup fails.

  ·      Some system boards have a built-in ordering for the USB connectors. For example, if you have 4 USB connector receptacles on the front of your computer and 4 USB connector receptacles on the back of the computer, 4 connector receptacles may be lower level. If you insert a USB hard disk drive or USB flash drive that contains the Windows Server “Vail” bits into a lower level USB connector receptacle, the BIOS skips the USB device.

  Solution

  1.   Verify that the boot order in the BIOS does not list USB devices first.

  2.   Press F12 after the BIOS finishes Post to get the boot order menu, and then select the USB device as the boot source. If the boot menu is not displayed after pressing F12, check the manufacturer’s information to determine which function key to press to display the boot menu.

  3.   If the computer does not start from the USB device after selecting it from the boot menu, verify that the USB device is not inserted in a lower level USB connector receptacle. Check the manufacturer’s information on the system board to determine which USB connector receptacles are lower-level. If you do not have information about the system board, move the USB device to another USB connector receptacle, and then restart the computer until the computer starts from the USB device.

   

  Issue

  Server installation may fail when using Western Digital hard disk drives with Advanced Format

  Description

  Depending on the exact Western Digital hard disk drive model and firmware, Windows Server “Vail” setup may fail because of compatibility issues with the sector sizes that are reported by the hard disk drive.

  Solution

  It is recommended that Western Digital hard disk drives with Advanced Format not be used as the primary hard disk drive on the server.

   

  Issue

  Computers with Windows language packs installed cannot join the server.

  Description

  Connecting a client computer to a server will fail unexpectedly if you have any Windows language packs installed and one of them is in use.

  Solution

  Change your Windows display language to match the underlying parent language of your Windows installation.

• Link

  What's new in backup for "Vail"

  Jonas Svensson -FST-Microsoft EmployeeWednesday, April 28, 2010 11:38 PM

  Backing up client computers for file or folder or a full system restore was a feature introduced in Windows Home Server V1. Significant portion of the features and technology have been carried forward in the Vail product as well.

  Backing up your server

  Ability to backup the server and restore both data and the full system from a disaster was one of the #1 asks from our customers. In Vail we have provided ability to do automated backups of the full server to externally attached storage. Features include:

  ·         Full VSS based backup of the server to externally attached disks using Windows Server 2008 R2 backup technology

  ·         Ability to back up to multiple targets for offsite storage. You keep one external disk onsite for your most recent backups, and the other disks offsite in case of disasters

  ·         You can back up the Operating System, Data, Shared Folders, and even the Client Backup Database for future recovery

  ·         Select what you want to protect using the server backup configuration wizard on the Computers and Backup tab

  ·         Schedule automatic backups multiple times a day upto half hour intervals

  ·         Backups to external disks are incremental for storage optimization but each back up version is fully restorable

  ·         Restore scenarios include restoring individual Files or Folders, Full system restore through Bare Metal Restore, and Factory Reset

  Note: Not all features stated above have been fully developed in the product yet. For details about what is and is not available please refer to the Getting Started guide.

  Backing up the client computers

  Centralized backup of client computers to the Windows Home Server storage was a feature introduced in Windows Home Server V1. The basic technology and the features have been carried forward with some key feature updates.

  Features from Windows Home Server V1

  ·         Automatic daily backups of network joined client computers to centralized storage on Windows Home Server

  ·         Backups are single instanced and incremental over the network. This provides storage and backup time optimizations. Only unique data and incremental changes across your home network are sent over the wire and stored only once.

  ·         Ability to exclude files or folders from your backup

  ·         Restore scenarios include individual Files or Folders and Full System Restore to similar hardware using Bare Metal Restore

  New Features in “Vail”

  ·         Support for VSS writers on client computers to improve consistency of backups

  ·         New backup configuration wizard allows you to select volumes or folders you want to backup. Items that are not selected are excluded from the backup

  ·         New Files or Folders restore Wizard provides a guided wizard for the user to restore individual files or folders from a backup

  ·         New mini filter driver for the Files or Folders Restore wizard solves many of the problems in V1 resulting from multiple mount of backup volumes

  ·         Intelligent automatic scheduling allows more computers to be backed up

  o   Higher priority is given to computers with the oldest backups during the time window

  o   Prioritization is calculated dynamically

  o   Computers which are chronically out of compliance (such as laptops) are automatically backed outside of the backup time window whenever they are connected to the server

  ·         Backups are now resummable. In WHS V1 if backups are not successfull, it started from the beginning the next time backups ran. This resulted in computers with high storage in repeated failed backups. In Vail we take checkpoints along the way (this is not visible to the end user). If for any reason backup fails in the middle such as due network connection drop, backups will resume from the last checkpoint next time it runs

  ·         Full system restore functionality now allows automatic partition and formatting of drives during restore. In WHS V1 if volumes did not exist, users had to manually create partitions and format them before continuing with the system restore process. In Vail we do this automatically based on the configuration that existed in the source during a backup

  ·         System restore disk now includes both the x86 (32 bit) and x64 bit version of the restore media. This allows you to restore both x86 and x64 bit client computers without the need to download and install specific 32 bit drivers for the restore CD

  ·         Improved resiliency and robustness of the backup database including an improved database repair functionality 

  ·         Backup applet on the Client Launchpad allows users to start/stop manual backups as well as set the power management settings

   

  Note: Not all features stated above have been fully developed in the product yet. For details about what is and is not available please refer to the Getting Started guide

   And thank you all for testing Vail

  This post is "AS IS" and confers no rights.

• Link

  Windows Home Server Code Name "Vail" Public Preview - Installation - ISO Integrity Check Information

  Saturday, April 24, 2010 1:40 AM

  To ensure that you have successfully downloaded the Public Preview of Windows Home Server Code Name "Vail" you may want to run an integrity check on the downloaded ISO.

  You can run an integrity check by using the MSCDCRC tool. The tool is available for download at http://www.tomontech.com/tools/mscdcrc.exe

  To run MSCDCRC against an ISO file that you have downloaded follow these steps.

  1. Download MSCDCRC to the same folder that you downloaded the Vail ISO to
  2. Open a Command Prompt window and navigate to the folder from Step 1
  3. Type "MSCDCRC InstallDVD.iso" (without quotes) (You can also substitute InstallDVD.iso for the other ISOs in the download package)
  4. The integrity check will take a few moments to complete. After the check is complete compare the CRC and SHA hashes to the hashes posted below

  ===== InstallDVD.iso =====
  Volume label    : GB1SHSxFRE_EN_DVD
  CRC             : 0xA7798933
  SHA1            : 0xB10EBB38B9A758D67DC70CC3F815A2F65390A570

  ===== RestoreCD.iso =====
  Volume label    : GB1SHSCRxFRE_EN_CD
  CRC             : 0x02836D6C
  SHA1            : 0x4C68BDBB98D73CB31629B4DE750D70EE3CBFE3BB

  ===== SrvRecovery.iso =====
  Volume label    : GB1SHSSRxFRE_EN_CD
  CRC             : 0x8CEDFC4C
  SHA1            : 0xDDB3D2DF9E13A0260F6A8D0362B7B14353FFC6D0

• Link

  Do you have a bug report or a feature request?

  Tuesday, April 27, 2010 10:35 AM
  If you have a bug report or a feature request and you want to make sure it gets on the Home Server team's radar, please make sure to file it using the proper form on the Microsoft Connect website.
  
• Link

  Windows Home Server Code Name "Vail" Public Preview - Known Issues - Storage

  Friday, April 23, 2010 12:16 AM

  Issue

  After the storage check and repair task completes, the storage goes offline.

  Description

  If you continue to use Windows Server “Vail” after a storage check and repair task completes without restarting, the storage may go offline.

  Solution

  You should restart your server after running the storage check and repair task.

  Issue

  There may be compatibility issues between the server’s storage system and low-level storage tools.

  Description

  Running low-level software storage tools—for example, defragmentation, full disk encryption, or volume imaging—on server folders may cause issues. These tools have not been fully tested in this release.

  Solution

  Avoid running these tools on server folders.

• Link

  Forum for discussing the Windows Home Server "Vail" SDK

  Jonas Svensson -FST-Microsoft EmployeeTuesday, May 04, 2010 11:05 PM

  Please use the following forum to discuss the Windows Home Server "Vail" SDK.

  http://social.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/whsdevelopers/threads

  Also be sure to put "Vail" in the subject of any post regarding the "Vail" SDK

  Thanks