ITGumbo: spicing IT up

The goal behind WHS was to create a watered down version of a home server product so the masses could gain a stronger grasp on their home networked environment. Provide folks, who have very little technical knowledge with an easy-to-use automated solution that would monitor network health, connect multiple PCs, centralize data, and provide remote access. And lastly, offer a product with an interface that is wizard driven and has no real learning curve. Take it out of the box, plug it in, and let the software install do the rest. While Microsoft gets a checkmark in every category mentioned above, they failed in one aspect; they did not create anything new.
What they did create was a simplified NAS device. Little effort is needed to take an existing storage appliance with a network connection, add remote access software with active directory, and turn it into a home backup system. Most existing Windows systems can be transformed into a viable backup device with little creativity-but that is a story for another time.
Think about it. They created an application that will not be sold in a shrink wrapped version. It will only be sold as part of an OEM turnkey solution that is play-and-plug (PNP). It will be sold similar to the way most electronics are sold; a boxed item with very little post-sales and post-technical support.
A market for a simplified home server solution absolutely does exist, especially for products not associated with the word “NAS,” and Microsoft will use their marketing engine to capitalize on that every step of the way.
The first installment of WHS will cater to the generation of users who have broadband access, multiple PCs, and important data stored in the form of digital memories or downloaded multimedia files. It will provide automation with minuscule user interaction on all its PUP boxes.
While Microsoft is targeting the low end of the market as far as technical experience is concerned, there are a few things worth noting when it comes to WHS.
The first thing to note is the copy reviewed here was RC2 (Release Candidate). It is not the true shipping version. RTM (Release to Manufacturing) is coming at the tail end of the summer, according to all reports out of Microsoft camp.
Next, WHS is not designed to be used as a regular operating system. It is designed to be used in conjunction with Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows Media Center Edition (MCE).
The PC dedicated to running WHS must be a stand-alone device and allotted only to WHS. It requires two partitions, the primary partition, plus an additional hard drive for redundancy.
Lastly, the days of drive letters are also a thing of the past, Microsoft felt that drive letters confuse people and storage will now be combined into one giant data cesspool.
There is no denying it; Microsoft achieved what they set out to do by creating an all-in-one design that bundles many fine industry multimedia features into one practical solution -but the application offers very little in terms of a “WOW” factor.
They are solid in some of the applications key benefits. For example, one thing Microsoft emphasized greatly was the notion of how folks go about backing up their data. Backing up is a core part of the product's functionality. Microsoft implemented a backup solution very similar to Vista's backup capabilities, which incorporates Single Instance Store (SIS) technologies. The same technology found in Windows Server 2003. Backups are incremental, copying only files that have changed since the last backup. The backup is working at the cluster level, rather than file level, limiting data redundancies. This technology is designed to keep the backup sizes relatively small.
By default, the application is set to do a backup every day at the allotted hour without having to schedule any further procedures. The Drive Extender feature allows multiple PCs to also be backed up to the server. The software will walk users through the process. Users can also drag and drop individual files-if that is their preferred method of conducting backups.
Sharing was another fundamental issue addressed during the design stages. While it does not offer a true remote accessed solution, yet, it does utilize Windows Media Connect based sharing. Microsoft provides users with a free Web secured connection with a login and password for access, anywhere there is an Internet connection.
The application’s dashboard is another strong feature. It will provide a bird's eye view of the health of all of the PCs on the network. If a particular dwelling has three PCs connected, for example, and one PC turns off the Windows firewall, the dashboard will provide that information.
Microsoft’s goal was to deliver a product that the “average Joe” or “average Jane” can successfully navigate and use with limited technical knowledge. While many industry folks will look upon these developments as triumphant, Microsoft failed to create anything new.
The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he did not exist. The greatest trick Microsoft ever pulled was convincing the world, yet again that end users need their application to complete their digital experience.