4 replies to this topic

[msawyer91]

I've re-branded Home Server SMART. Since it's 2012 and I wasn't going to even make it into beta before the end of 2011, I decided to rebrand from HSS 2011 to HSS 2012 when I moved it out of alpha and into beta.

Home Server SMART 2012 is now available as Beta Build 1 (v2.2.1.21). I released it yesterday, two years to the day that Home Server SMART for WHS v1 was first released. HSS 2012 contains all the same features you knew and loved from HSS for WHS v1. And thanks to my alpha testers, I was able to fix some pretty nasty bugs, particularly Dashboard errors and crashes that occurred when disk pooling software (Drive Bender and StableBit DrivePool) are used, due to the virtual drives they create that HSS had a difficult time processing.

Beta 1 does not yet post alerts to the server, but email reporting works just fine so you can be apprised when health changes and high temperatures are detected.

I've re-done my website, and made the product page a lot smaller and more concise--very few details. For the details, I installed the MediaWiki application and use wikis (a LOT easier to edit) for product details, bug fix lists, features, etc. The wiki and product page both contain installation instructions, as well as a download link. Bug reporting links are also available on both pages.

If you want to learn more, please visit http://wiki.dojonort...rver_SMART_2012
Skip the details: http://www.dojonorth...rSMARTBeta.aspx

UPGRADING from Alpha: If you ran the Alpha build, you MUST uninstall it. I know that WHS 2011 isn't supposed to work this way. However, I made a bunch of changes to the installer and file placement. If you perform an in-place upgrade, the new files will not get placed in the correct folder, and you will likely wind up with mismatched versions of files. You do NOT need to reboot to complete the uninstall and subsequent install of the new version.

If you use BitLocker Drive Encryption on your Server (this is an essential for small business owners with on-premises SBS/Storage Servers, and recommended for all users -- security is everyone's responsibility), you may want to consider my Home Server SMART BitLocker Helper Service for disk pools if the following are true:

• You use BitLocker Drive Encryption on your Server.
• You use disk pooling software Drive Bender or StableBit DrivePool.
• You have BitLocker-encrypted USB and/or FireWire disks participating in disk pools.

The Home Server SMART BitLocker Helper Service works in conjunction with Home Server SMART 2012 to ensure your BitLocker-encrypted USB and FireWire volumes are unlocked automatically at boot time, before the disk pool is started. Check it out here: http://dojonorthsoft..._for_Disk_Pools

Donations are welcome too! https://www.paypal.c...ton_id=11344152

[jeffla]

Thank you for the condinued support. I can't wait for the final product to be released. My 2011 machine has missed it.

[msawyer91]

Please go ahead and give the beta a shot. At the risk of tooting my own horn, I think it's a pretty solid build and that's what I've got running on my EX487 and EX490. I wouldn't release something, even as a beta, that I don't feel comfortable running on my own gear.

Plus, the more folks that test means the more likely those peskier, harder-to-find bugs will get shaken out. Bugs can be logged here: https://www.dojonort...are.net/bugtraq

There are already a few new items posted. A couple folks have requested the polling interval not be capped at 100 minutes, since this prevents drives from sleeping; one of them asked to set it to 10800 minutes (one week). Another asked to have the drive's serial number displayed, as well as an indicator for which was the system volume. This way if they have multiple identical drives installed in their server, it's easier to tell them apart should one of them start to fail.

And one item that seemed to be resolved, more likely due to the OS upgrade (WHS v1 to WHS 2011) and a driver update...when I ran WHS v1 on my EX490, I couldn't get SMART data from the SiI controller when I hooked up my Rosewill port multiplier (4 drives); I could only get data when I had a singleton external bay. With WHS 2011 and the latest Windows 7 SiI 3531 driver, I get data from all four drives!

[jeffla]

I just installed it and must say the interface is a nice upgrade. Seems to run fine and I'm glad to have it on my server again. While using WHS V1 it had detected bad sectors in my Seagate drives that came with my ex487 and HP replaced them under warranty. Without that addin, I probably would never have known the drives were going bad. Which is why I am a supporting member of yours as your addin saved my a**. It is also the reason I have been anxious to install it on 2011. I have 2 new Hitachi drives in there and wanted to verify all is running well. To my delight, all is running well.

Thank you for a great product.
Jeff

Edited by jeffla, 23 January 2012 - 05:52 PM.

[natharas]

Just had a look at this I will be installing it for sure