Windows Home Server: logging on
David Flynn28 April 2007, 11:17 AM
Part 2 of GALLERY: Windows Home Server beta 2
 Open sesame: the lush Vistariffic logon screen of Windows Home Server |
It's a bit of a culture shock when you log onto the home server system itself, because you go from these slick screens to a 'Windows Classic' admin desktop. But you'll see that desktop only if you've rolled your own server (as we did, using a dusty ex-doorstop Dell mini-tower with a 1.2GHz Pentium III and 512MB of RAM) or are using a conventional server box and in both cases have a keyboard, mouse and monitor connected.
 Mix and match: the wallpaper may be Vistariffic, but the Start Menu reveals the bare-bones 'Windows Classic' look of a server admin desktop |
That's because Microsoft expects most Windows Home Server users will never see the desktop. In fact, the OEM servers won't even have ports for a monitor, keyboard or mouse -- they'll be compact 'headless' boxes. The server is intended to be remotely managed through the Home Server Console, which runs on any Windows XP or Vista client PC but is password protected for administrator-only access.
 Friendly face: Windows Home Server is managed through a remote admin console with a distinctly ‘Vista' look and feel |
While Windows Home Server is built on the foundation of Windows Server 2003 R2 the console's interface borrows from Vista in its colour scheme and general layout, such as large icons along the top and task-sensitive buttons directly below.
 Taking account: user accounts are set up with just a few clicks; options includes per-folder permissions and remote access to the PC by the administrator |
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