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    My first thoughts are...

    The install process was simple and painless.

    The Back up feature is better than most Home backup solutions (Especially NAS)

    The fact I can upload files from my work or anywhere else is awesome.

    The fact that it cannot act as a domain controller is weak, although understandable.

    There needs to be either Active Directory or something similar supported (The idea of centralized accounts and parental controls comes to mind).

    A centralized virus solution would be great, although I bet that the big Virus makers (Microsoft included) have this in the works.

    All and all it is something that I am happy to test at this point but it is hobbled by its lack of simple features like those mentioned above. If those and other features work their way into the final product then I could see myself spending the money to buy the software.

     

    I will post more suggestions as I get to play with more features, and if anyone out there knows of any of the features I said are lacking then reply to this so I can play with those too.

    Wednesday, June 27, 2007 1:09 AM

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    I'm sorry, but I just don't get this AD complaint from some people here.  While I can ALMOST buy the "centralized accounts" argument for a small percentage of the homes this product is marketed towards...  I'm not quite sure how this is supposed to function, since XP Home, XP MCE, Vista Home and Vista Home Premium DON'T SUPPORT ACTIVE DIRECTORY!  Not a single Home focused version of XP or Vista supports AD (And Ultimate does NOT count.  Ultimate is for the techie geek, not for the average home user).

     

    So, how exactly are these vital features of AD supposed to function?  (forget the fact that you're talking about setting up a Network Domain for an average of 3-4 PCs, and a Maximum of 10 PCs, and in an environment where not a single one of those users has any idea what a Domain is, let alone how to manage or support one.)  Oh, I know, we can get the users (after they just paid $500 + Drives for the server PLUS Installation for the system, and setting up the domain) to fork out the $150 or more per machine and do the Anytime Upgrade.

     

    I understand that there are some benefits to running AD in a home environment, but it requires knowledge and skills to setup and maintain that AD environment.  WHS is marketed to the Average Home user base, the people that don't do any backups at all, because they are too complicated.  This product is supposed to be as SIMPLE as possible, so these folks will actually use it.

     

    Now, if MS decided to off a "for a fee" Active Directory Add-On, I think that would be GREAT!  But it's functionality that does NOT belong in the base product offering.

    Wednesday, June 27, 2007 3:33 AM
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    I agree that Active Directory doesn't really have a place in the base offering of WHS.  The system already gives you the ability to syncronize passwords across all the Windows machines on the network, though it never forces you to.  What other major Active Directory functionality does the average "Joe Schmoe" home user need?

     

    If it's all about syncing My Documents, IE favorites and things like that, the functionality could probably be built-in to the connector software, without adding the overhead or complexity of Active Directory.  For example, the first time a user logs in after Connector is installed on that particular computer, he or she would have a message box on the screen asking if personal files should be synced with the server.  If the user says Yes, then the My Documents and Favorites folders could be mapped to locations on WHS.  This could be done on each computer the user logs in on, and then no matter which computer that user logs into, the data is available the same way it would be if those files were on each individual computer, with the added bonus of them staying updated no matter where the user logs on from, and saving even more space on the backups, since the files are already on the server.

    Wednesday, June 27, 2007 1:30 PM
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    Prelector,

    Yes an add in centralized account feature would be enough for me, and you are right in the fact that home versions of Windows OS's are lacking the capability need to join a domain. But then again those same versions do not allow for RDP sessions on to them, which limits the remote access feature to just the shared folders. So why not have the WHS connector software include components that would allow for both centralized accounts and for RDP sessions, without having to upgrade to the next up OS. I do not see that happening, since Microsoft wants people to pay for the upgrade in these situations.

     

    But then again those that would want this feature proabably already have Vista Ultimate or XP pro, so they should be able to utilize the feature without paying for the Anytime Upgrade.

     

    You do bring up some good points, but that is why I think that different flavors would be a workable solution, or like you said an add-on feature that has this functionality.

     

    Lastly, I think that their are many techie geeks that have ultimate, would like to have a home server product that does is still less expensive than SBS.

     

    I don't know, am I alone on this?

    Sunday, July 1, 2007 5:37 PM
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    That would work too.
    Sunday, July 1, 2007 5:39 PM
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    AD is far too much, like a mail server, for the average home user. WHS does prompt to sync passwords and on a home network, that's enough centralization. Since WHS also has a 10 client limit, it's just not that hard to manage the 10 or less clients manually. As far as moving your My Documents folders, that can be done manually too. I wouldn't, I'd just backup or sync those files.
     
    An add-in might be a better solution for those that are interested. I'm not.

    Sunday, July 1, 2007 6:27 PM
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     Piook wrote:

    ...... 

    But then again those that would want this feature proabably already have Vista Ultimate or XP pro, so they should be able to utilize the feature without paying for the Anytime Upgrade.

     

    You do bring up some good points, but that is why I think that different flavors would be a workable solution, or like you said an add-on feature that has this functionality.

     

    Lastly, I think that their are many techie geeks that have ultimate, would like to have a home server product that does is still less expensive than SBS.

     

    I don't know, am I alone on this?

     

    Good Point there Piook.

     

    I second that as well.

     

    My best.

     

     

    Sunday, July 1, 2007 6:44 PM