As many of you know, Windows Vista comes with advanced networking features that provide a variety of enhancements, including a Network Map which allows you to visualise your home network topology on screen.
However, Windows Home Server does not appear on the Network Map out of the box. You’ll find a few tutorials on the net here and here showing you how to do this, and WGS Forum member Etoa wrote a great wiki entry showing how to ensure you home server appears in the Network Map.
Here it is!
In order for a non-Vista computer to show up on the Vista network map you need to install the Link Layer Topology Discovery (LLTD) responder. There is not one available for Server 2003/WHS but there is one available for Windows XP which can be made to work. The web site Home Server Hacks has a tutorial on how to get Windows Home Server to appear in Vista’s network map http://www.homeserverhacks.com/2007/12/get-whs-to-show-up-in-vista-network-map.html. When I followed it many months ago on my HP MediaSmart server it worked exactly as described. However, when I tried to follow the procedure on my self-built box with OEM software it did not work. This may be due to recent updates such as PP1 or other reasons, I don’t know. Here is what I did to make it work.
What to Do
- Download the LLTD Responder Installer. Some folks have reported problems downloading files to a Vista machine and then copying them to the WHS. So what I do is save the download directly to one of the server shared folders such as \servernamesoftware.
- Access your servers desktop via RDP connection. Copy file WindowsXP-KB922120-v5-x86-ENU.exe to the desktop from the share you saved it in.
- Right click on the file on the desktop to open the properties box. If there is an UnBlock box at the bottom click that and then click apply.
- Click on the Compatibility tab on the top of the properties box and select Windows XP from the drop down box. Then click OK.
- Double click on the file on the desktop to run it and follow the prompts. It should run and complete OK.
- Now you need to find the location of the file rspndr.inf. I did a search and found it in c:WINDOWS$hf_mig$KB922120SP2QFEic. Make a note of that location as we will need it later.
- Go to Start/Control Panel/Network Connections and select the network connection you are using.
- Select Properties, then click Install, select Protocol and click Add.
- Click on Have Disk and then browse to the location of rspndr.inf and click OK.
- You will then see a box asking if you want to install the LLTD Responder. Click OK and you are done.
You will need to reboot your server for these changes to take effect. Then, on your Vista client open the Network and Sharing Center. In the upper right hand corner click View Full Map. Your Windows Home Server should now appear in its proper place on the network map. If you have a mix of Vista and XP machines you can run the LLTD Responder Installer on the XP machines to also put them on the map.
More Info: WGS Wiki
3. November 2008 at 11:33 pm
I have Vista Business and my WHS shows up in my network map without any modifications
4. November 2008 at 9:31 am
My WHS comes up 3 times in the network map, though it couldn’t be placed. Once as a Server, once as a UPnP device and once as a Windows Media Connect server.
4. November 2008 at 6:44 pm
Jeff and Smadge are you sure its the network map and not the places?
My network map doesnt even show up 90% of the time.
5. November 2008 at 1:36 pm
My apologies. Yes I was referring to ‘Places’ instead of ‘Map’. It’s a feature I haven’t looked into yet. Cool feature and thanks for the tip. However I have one question about how to add a network storage device? The map shows my Vista machine and does see all my other PCs (mix of Vista and XP) but cannot place it on the map. As for the XP and Home Server machines, of course this is what this article addresses. How would one tackle the network storage device?
5. November 2008 at 2:13 pm
Unfortunately, my network storage device does not have the Vista logo so I may be out of luck. I followed the steps and now my WHS and switch router etc show up on the map. Haven’t gotten to the XP machines yet.