Just before the new year, QNAP announced the availability of their V3.6 Beta Management Software.  As part of the CES blitz, this is the appropriate time to let this post go.  This Beta introduces a number of new features including:

Models that can be upgraded with this firmware are:

TS-809U-RP, TS-859U-RP+, TS-859U-RP, TS-859 Pro+, TS-859 Pro, TS-809 Pro, TS-659 Pro+, TS-659 Pro II, TS-659 Pro, TS-639 Pro, TS-559 Pro+, TS-559 Pro II, TS-559 Pro, TS-509 Pro, TS-459U-RP+/SP+, TS-459U-RP/SP, TS-459 Pro+, TS-459 Pro II, TS-459 Pro, TS-439U-RP/ TS-439U-SP, TS-439 Pro II+, TS-439 Pro II, TS-439 Pro, TS-419U+, TS-419U, TS-419P II, TS-419P+, TS-419P, TS-412U, TS-412, TS-410U, TS-410, TS-259 Pro+, TS-259 Pro, TS-239 Pro II+, TS-239 Pro II, TS-239 Pro, TS-219P II, TS-219P+, TS-219P, TS-219, TS-212, TS-210, TS-119P II, TS-119P+, TS-119, TS-112, TS-110, SS-839 Pro, SS-439 Pro, TS-EC1279U-RP, TS-1279U-RP, TS-879U-RP, TS-1079 Pro, TS-879 Pro

The full list of features includes:

• VPN Server: a cost-saving way to create a secure and private network; • LDAP Server: simplifies mass account management and saves business’ IT hardware expenditure;
• Proxy Server (Squid QPKG): provides the IT administrator a great solution to manage network loading yet maintain network security;
• Bandwidth control for RTRR and rsync backup: provides flexibility for IT administrator to arrange business bandwidth use.
• New NetBak Replicator 4: newly provides email notifications;
• Symoform cloud storage backup: provides up to 200 GB of free cloud space;
• Music Station: a web-based cloud music center with terabytes of songs;
• Photo Station: a web based online photo sharing center that makes photo sharing simple and fun;
• QPKG Center: simplifies QPKG installation and management;
• MyCloudNAS 1.2: provides email notifications to notify invited friends and family members with information on how to access the Turbo NAS;
• MyCloudNAS Connect: a Windows-based application that allows friends and family members to easily connect to the Turbo NAS with 128-bit encryption and manage file remotely;
• Web File Manager cloud sharing: Web File Manger now provides a quick way to share files with a public link or via email that does not require login;
• Storage Plug & Play: a new feature in QNAP Finder that provides a fast way to create shared folders and iSCSI target/LUN, and then map network drives or connect to an iSCSI target and LUN for storage expansion;

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When I first saw the multitasking capability of Synology’s DiskStation Manager v3, I was quite impressed.  Synology simply keep marching forward with additional enhancements with the Beta release of DSM 3.2.  A quick bullet list of the new features follows.

• Efficient Resource Management- LDAP server/client, Syslog service, centralized CIFS mounts, ISO image mounting
• Data Mobility- DSM mobile, and Google Cloud Print support
• Enhanced Photo Sharing- improved customization and control with Photo Station 5
• Mac- Friendly Solution- support for Mac® OS X Lion and improved Safari® support

Please remember that this is a Beta release, which usually means you should not install it on a production machine.  However, if you have a non-production machine sitting around, head on over to the Synology website and check it out!  You just might win a DiskStation DS211+ which Synology will award to three beta testers who provide the most valuable assistance and feedback during the program.

Please note that DSM 3.2 is for DisKStations x08 and newer.

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DataCore have been in touch to let us know that their initial beta release of DataCore DriveHarmony is ready for testing.

Regular readers will know that DriveHarmony is the third storage pooling add-in being prepared for Windows Home Server 2011. The software enables multiple disks to be organized into a single pool of storage for ease, and offers additional data protection of the files and folders stored on the server through mirroring.

DriveHarmony additionally includes a unique I/O optimization feature to ensure data can be transferred to and from the server at optimum rates. The company describe the add-in as follows:

DriveHarmony™ Software by DataCore Software is a storage pooling add-in created for use with Windows Home Server 2011 operating system. DriveHarmony™ Software creates a transparent layer across assorted hardware disk devices which provides such benefits as increased performance, data protection and uninterrupted data access, and allows for future storage expansion.

All management of DriveHarmony™ Software is performed in the Windows Home Server 2011 Dashboard.

Pooling Physical Disks

DriveHarmony can “pool” one or more physical disks of variable sizes and types to create a “hard drive” that is made to look and behave like a regular disk volume while providing additional benefits. When the hard drive is created, it is automatically initialized, formatted, and assigned a drive letter. The hard drive can then be “shared” or configured for backup using features in Windows Home Server 2011 operating system.

Physical disk requirements:

o Physical disks must be non-partitioned.

o Any type of internal disk supported by the Windows® operating system can be used, such as SSD, SATA, and IDE.

o Disks may be up to 3 TB in size.

o External USB drives can be used, but are not recommended for performance reasons. Thumb drives are not supported.

Features

o Hard drives can be created in two types:

· Protected drives contain two copies of the data and provide uninterrupted access to data in case of hardware failure. If a disk should fail, the data can be used and accessed from the copy. This data protection method is known by a technical term called “mirroring” or RAID1. This type is recommended for important data files.

· UnProtected drives contain one copy of the data and therefore do not have the benefits that a protected drive does. If a disk should fail, the data on the drive is destroyed and cannot be accessed. This type is recommended for less important files that do not require protection.

o When protected drives are extended or unprotected hard drives contain more than one physical disk, data is spread across all disks. In this manner, the data can be accessed simultaneously from all disks at the same time which results in faster performance. This technique is known by a technical term called “data striping” or RAID0.

o Multiple hard drives can be created so that storage devices with similar speeds can be grouped. Drives with faster devices can be used for higher priority data.

o When the hard drive nears capacity, it can be extended to accommodate more data.

o A physical disk can be replaced seamlessly and without interruption to data access if it is part of a protected drive.
In the case of an unprotected drive, in order to replace a physical disk, the entire unprotected drive will have to be copied to a new drive. After all data has been copied to the new drive, the original unprotected drive can be deleted and the physical disk can be removed.

 

To download the beta, head over to the application page at http://www.datacore.com/driveharmony/beta – the company are accepting feedback on the beta release at http://feedback.datacore.com

In the meantime, let us know what you think of DataCore DriveHarmony in the comments or via our dedicated forum. All three add-ins, DriveBender, StableBit DrivePool and DriveHarmony are now out of the blocks – but which is best?

Download: DataCore DriveHarmony | Discussion Forum

ASoft announced today a long awaited update to his AutoExit add-in for Windows Home Server 2011.  For those who might be unfamiliar with AutoExit, this add-in is a power management tool which allows you to shutdown, wake up and reboot client PCs on the network from the Windows Home Server dashboard, individually or as a group.

The add-in also lets you send messages to client PCs across the network, view and edit MAC addresses and allows remote desktop connections.

Other than fixing some issues with the Beta-1 release, Beta-2 now has the client installer integrated into the add-in.  In addition, this version allows you to control non-WHS machines.

Nice work, Nick!

As I have stated elsewhere, it is nice to see progress on WHS 2011 add-ins.

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Update (21.04.11): The beta is now full – if any more slots open up, then we’ll let you know.

The guys at Raxco have been in touch today to let us know that the PerfectDisk 12 for Windows Home Server beta is now open and looking for testers.

The disk defragmentation add-in will be available for both Windows Home Server v1 as well as Windows Home Server 2011 – testers are welcome on both platforms.

If you’re up for checking PerfectDisk 12 out, then you can sign up via this link.

Sign Up: PerfectDsk 12 for Windows Home Server

Drive Bender keeps moving forward with the release of beta 2 v1.1.2.5.  With the recent announcement of RTM for Windows Home Server 2011, interest in the progress of such Drive Extender replacements for WHS 2011 as Drive Bender should pick up.

For those who may not be aware of what exactly Drive Bender is:

Bug fixes associated with this release are as follows:

For those of you beta testing Drive Bender, you now have a direct email path to Drive Bender’s support ticketing system so that they can better manage issues and feedback.  To use this system, simply send an email to support@drivebender.com

Finally, if you wish to get updated information on Drive Bender’s ongoing development, please follow them on twitter at @drivebender

Drive Bender:

Released just today is the second beta of this Drive Extender replacement for Window Home Server 2011.  What is changed/added/improved/corrected in this release?

Covecube have today released the first beta of their Drive Extender replacement for Windows Home Server 2011, StableBit DrivePool.

Introducing the beta, the developer adds:

So, if you have a test system available and you’re up for some serious testing, check out the link below.

Download: StableBit DrivePool v1.0.0.498 Beta

So, the first storage pooling application is out of the blocks – Drive Bender Beta 1 is now available to download.

As we previously reported, the application aims to bring Drive-Extender-style storage pooling to a wide range of Windows SKUs, including compatibility with Windows Home Server 2011. Unfortunately, the Windows Home Server 2011 add-in has not made it into the first beta, but it will follow soon, allowing the storage pool to be created and managed from within the Dashboard. That said, you can still use Drive Bender’s standard management console as you would on other versions of Windows.

So, if you’re feeling in the mood for testing, download the beta and let us know your thoughts.

More: Drive Bender | WGS Forum Discussion

Synology have announced the immediate release of the next version of their DiskStation Manager platform. Version 3.1 offers a wide range of new features and improvements with the following highlights:

Storage Manager

• Multiple volumes can be created within a single RAID Array, with dynamic resizing and quotas available.

Surveillance Station

• Now runs cross browser with motion detection, missing and foreign object detection.

Mail Station 2

• Now supports multiple email domain fetching and centralized email management.

New iPhone/iPad Features

• Support for AirPrint-enabled printers connected to the device.
• iPad app now available with media player. A gentle shake will change the track.
• iPhone file uploading and downloading support.

Print Station

• Support for sharing multifunction fax/scan/printers across the network, with all features available to network devices – a first, according to the company.

Data Replication

• Allows users to synchronise shared folders between two DiskStation devices.

Synology Hybrid RAID

• Improved tolerance to support two failed drives.

DiskStation 3.1 Beta is available now for all Synology x07, x08, x09, x10 and x11 series models.

Download: Synology

I have a question.  Does your family and/or friends have remote access to your WHS and do you allow them to add, or change anything in your shares?  For example, can they add pictures to your Photos folder?  If the answer is yes and you wish to track changes to these folders, than Sam Wood, the author of Disk Management for Windows Home Server, has just the add-in for you: Feedsource for Windows Home Server (v1).

Per Sam:

Tentacle Software Feedsource is a Windows Home Server Add-In that publishes secure Really Simple Syndication (“RSS”) feeds for Shared Folders through the Remote Access web site.

Authorized users access Feedsource RSS feeds from inside or outside the home network to view new and changed files in Shared Folders using any RSS reader that supports authenticated feeds.

Once installed, Feedsource is configured through the console Settings window.  In this particular example, I added my videos share to the “watch” list.

You can change certain Settings for individual folders, as seen below.

Once applied, click on the Internal URL link to view your results.

When you log in remotely, you will see a new option, as indicated below.

The RSS feed result after I copied over a folder:

As a side note, you should be aware of who gets credit for this idea.  Per Sam: “this one’s got a high spouse-acceptance-factor (because my spouse came up with the idea in the first place)”.

Sam is setting up Feedsource as a closed Beta at this time.  If you are interested in this add-in and wish to be part of the beta, head on over to http://blog.tentaclesoftware.com/.

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Those rumoured Kinect beta testing slots may have now been filled, but if you’re eager to get a taste of your gaming and entertainment future, Microsoft have just opened up the Xbox LIVE Update Preview Program. They’re looking for thousands of users to download and test the new Xbox Dashboard, which comes with ESPN & Netflix search in the US, Zune Music and well as updates to Zune Marketplace’s video selection ad family settings.

If you’re up for being a beta tester, then head over to Microsoft Connect and sign up. You know what they say, contribute to one beta program and you’ll be invited back for another, so who knows – in a few years time, you may snag a Kinect 2 beta tester slot!

Over on Major Nelson’s blog today, you’ll find the following notes:

• We’re looking for multiple thousands of participants, so your chances of making it in are good.
• This is not for Kinect. You will not be receiving a Kinect sensor if you are chosen to participate.
• This opportunity is open to all Xbox LIVE Members in regions where Xbox LIVE is available.
• To avoid any problems, read the survey carefully and double check all the information your provide.
• While both Xbox LIVE Gold and Silver members can sign up, Priority will be given to Gold members in the selection process

Image Credit: Video Games Blogger