Windows Home Server grows as your needs grow, not only through expanded storage, but also with extended capabilities brought to you with Windows Home Server add-ins. There are over 100 add-ins currently available for download which will allow you to customize and use Windows Home Server in new and exciting ways. In a previous Add-In blog post, I told you about Lights-Out, WebGuide, and Whiist. Today, I will tell you about 3 other add-ins: AutoExit, Diskmgt, and the new D-Link D-ViewCam add-in.

D-link D-ViewCam

The D-Link D-ViewCam is a software add-in for Windows Home Server that provides instant access to your live camera feeds and all the surveillance video already saved to your server. Compatible with the D-Link Network Cameras models DCS-920, DCS-1100, DCS-1130 and DCS-2121, this add-in allows users to easily manage their recording, streaming, and camera settings – all within the Windows Home Server administrative Console. Manage and access up to 4 live camera feeds from home or even remotely via the web.

*Screen shot of the D-link D-ViewCam in action around the house.

As mentioned in the We Got Served blog, Chief technology officer, AJ Wang from D-link states: “We’re working on developing more D-Link devices that are Microsoft Windows Home Server compatible so our customers can quickly and easily derive more benefits from some of our most popular products… I believe our customers will appreciate how simple it is for network devices to be recognized and installed on the server and will value the remote access that it provides.”

You can learn more about D-Link on their product Web site.

AutoExit

ASoft’s AutoExit for Windows Home Server is a console add-in for Windows Home Server. It can be used to shut down and reboot machines in your home network from within the console. You can also put the machine into hibernation, sleep, log-off the user, or lock the machine. If you prefer not to use the console, you will have the option to do any of the above actions from the toolbar and either to an individual computer, or for all of the PCs on the network.

Wake On Lan is supported which enables you to easily boot up your PC remotely when you are out of the home or office. There is even support for opening a Remote Desktop session to the remote machines and to the server!

So that you are always informed of what actions have been used in AutoExit, Statistics are kept so that a detailed trace can be viewed on when certain actions were executed.

*Screen shot of AutoExit addition in the Windows Home Server console

Some of the new features in AutoExit 2009 for Windows Home Server include:

• · Multilingual UI (supports German, French, Japanese).
• · Setup has been made smaller and packaged as a zip file instead of 1 installer.
• · Send a message to all connected clients.
• · Warn users when the server is going down.
• · Support for Windows 7.
• · Mac-address of the server is retrieved when opening the diagnostic dialog and the Mac field being empty.
• · Multiple fixes and some minor adjustments.

Diskmgt

Windows Home Server Disk Management is another Windows Home Server add-in. This add-in is designed for users who would like to see more detail about their server's storage status than what the standard Windows Home Server Storage interface provides.

It acts as an extension of the server storage interface, making it easier to identify the hard drives via a visual display. Seeing which drive is the system drive and the amount of data being used on each drive has now become easier.

If you are interested in expanding your Windows Home Server’s capabilities, take a look at our top Window Home Server Add-Ins.

-Nicole

Windows Home Server was designed to “grow with you”. That may be obvious when it comes to adding additional hard drives but also includes the option to install extra software features to help customize your Home Server. The development community has created “add-ins” for Windows Home Server that extends its capabilities in fun, exciting, and useful ways. There are currently over 100 add-ins available for download.

Three widely popular add-ins that are being used today include: Lights-Out, WebGuide, and Whiist.

Lights-Out

This power management add-in is used to put your Windows Home Server in a hibernated mode when you are not using it. This is a great way to cut down on energy bills and make your home or office a little “greener”.

*Windows Home Server console screen shot of Lights-Out add-in

This add-in allows your Home Server to go into hibernation mode when users are not using it, based on your calendar of events, or a combination of both. You will also have the option to set a defined time in which the Home Server will fully turn back on. Windows Home Server will never remain asleep if you have a backup scheduled. Therefore, all of your important data will remain safe and still be automatically backed up.

WebGuide

WebGuide allows you to remotely view live and recorded TV programs while you are away from home. It will also enable you to remotely schedule and manage your recorded television programs, music, pictures and videos on your Windows XP Media Center edition or Windows Vista Premium, or Windows Vista Ultimate PC.

*Screen shot of Windows Home Server’s add-in, WebGuide

*Screen shot of streaming videos through Windows Home Server’s add-in, WebGuide

WebGuide provides you with mobile access to your music and videos from your Windows Mobile devices. This means you can have access to all of your pictures and movies while you are on the road.

Whiist

Whiist is a Windows Home Server add-in that allows you to create and manage web content on your Windows Home Server. Once downloaded, Whiist can be used through your Windows Home Server console. This tab makes it so that you can easily create and manage new websites, photo albums, and homepage links.

*Screen shot of Windows Home Server console with the Whiist add-in

Some of the key features that are found in Whiist include:

• Quickly create new websites on your home server.
• Create new photo albums to share with family and friends in a few simple steps.
• Share photos with family and friends through online photo sharing.
• Create public content, or restrict access to users of your Windows Home Server.
• Easily customize your public and private Windows Home Server Homepage links.
• Fully integrates with the Windows Home Server management console.
• Customize your Windows Home Server homepage

You have now seen three out of many Windows Home Server add-ins. If you are interested in learning about all of the other available add-ins to download, you can visit: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/windowshomeserver/add-ins.mspx.

-Nicole