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