How to Build Your Own Windows Home Server System (Part Two) User Account, Shared Folders, Server Storage, and More Joseph Moran
User Accounts and Shared Folders
In order to control access to data stored on your WHS, click on User Accounts. The first time you do, a pop-up window will give you the opportunity to configure a password policy to define how long passwords must be and what type of characters they must contain. You also have the option to enable the Guest account if you don't need to limit folder access. (Under no circumstances should you enable the Guest account if you have an unencrypted wireless network, as it will allow anyone unfettered access to your files.)
When creating WHS user accounts for members of your household, it's best to use the same usernames and passwords they already use for Windows profile accounts. This will save them the trouble of having to log on twice — once for Windows and then again to access WHS shared folders. You can also enable Remote Access for user accounts, which will allow access to WHS shared folders and in some cases, remote control of systems. (We'll cover Remote Access in detail next week.)
WHS automatically sets up a set of default folders (Music, Photos, Public, Software, Videos) along with personal folders for each user account you create. To configure these folders or create your own custom ones, click Shared Folders. You can access the contents of WHS folders either directly from the console, by right-clicking the WHS tray icon, or by browsing Network in Vista/Network Neighborhood in XP.
If your WHS has more than one hard drive (we'll talk about adding storage in a moment), you can turn on duplication for any folder, which will automatically replicate its contents to another hard disk for
redundancy. Just right-click a folder, choose Properties, then click Enable Folder Duplication.
Adding Server Storage
One of the nice things about WHS is that you can add additional storage at any time just by plugging in an external USB hard drive, and you don't have to shut down the server to do it. (You can of course also add internal storage to your server if you've got available drive bays and power connectors.) Before adding a new storage device to WHS, make sure it doesn't contain any important data, as the drive will have to be formatted before it can be used.
Clicking on the Server Storage button will show you the status of all storage devices connected to your WHS system, along with a graph indicating storage allocation and how much is free. When WHS detects a new storage device, it will appear under the heading Non Storage Hard Drives and remain unused until you run the Add a Hard Drive Wizard by selecting the drive and clicking Add.
WHS lets you configure a new storage device in one of two ways-- you can use it to increase the overall capacity of your server or designate it as a place for WHS to backup itself. In either case, you don't have to concern yourself with the details of how storage is being used or where data is located, as WHS handles this in the background.
If you ever need to remove a WHS storage device, be sure to right-click it and choose Remove before attempting to physically disconnect it. Depending on how it's been configured, WHS may need to rearrange data first to prevent loss.
Network Health
In addition to giving you a central place to store data and backup PCs, WHS can also monitor certain health aspects of Vista systems (but not XP, unfortunately). The indicator to the right of the Server Storage button will normally display green, but turn to yellow or red depending on the severity of the problem WHS detects. Problems could include failed backups, out-of-date or missing anti-virus software, etc., so click the indicator to see the details. (The tray icon on the corresponding system will also indicate the problem.)
Next week in the third and final installment of this series, we'll cover how to configure Windows Home Server's Remote Access and Media Sharing, as well as how to gain additional features via third-party
add-ins.
Joseph Moran is a regular contributor to WinPlanet.
