Today I was contacted by the Microsoft team that is handling the CTP (Community Technology Preview) of Windows Home Server (WHS) and have been given the ‘green light’ to discuss this latest release and also to announce it will be available to the public.

First the blog WHS release:

Great news! Today we’re broadly rolling out a new test build of Windows Home Server – a Community Technology Preview (CTP.) If you’ve been following Home Server press coverage, or seen the subtle hints from the team in postings to the forums, you knew it was coming soon.

CTP provides a wide range of code fixes, user interface improvements and feature enhancements, such as:

• A more complete and simplified “out of box” experience, including an easy, 7-step setup process after installation, personalized home server naming, and the ability to configure a standalone Windows Home Server from an existing home computer.

• You can now set up and configure Remote Access capabilities from the Windows Home Server Console, including selection of a personalized Web address from the Windows Live Custom Domains service.

• You can enable or disable home network health notifications and can dictate where and when various notifications are displayed on their computers.

• Users can clearly define their password settings, and designate a password hint to assist in recovering a forgotten Windows Home Server password.

• And you can now add and remove Windows Home Server Add-in programs developed with the Windows Home Server Software Development Kit.

CTP is an exciting milestone for the team on the road to final release. As always, those interested in participating in the beta program can apply here. We’re looking forward to hearing the feedback!

So the beta program is now available to the public. But before applying, please read the requirements of the equipment you will need to use WHS:

Who is an ideal candidate to participate in the Windows Home Server CTP program (English-only version)?

People with:

• Two or more PCs
• A broadband connection and router
• A spare PC or server that can be dedicated to Windows Home Server software

We will contact qualified participants as we expand the Windows Home Server CTP program and will provide instructions about how to participate. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to invite all candidates. Please be patient.

So there you have it. If you have some time to spare and the right equipment you may wish to consider signing up as a beta tester. I have previously posted a article on WHS and believe me this is the simplest server software I have ever used. Though I detest using the term ‘user friendly’, in this case I must say that is exactly what WHS is. Microsoft has eliminated the cumbersome procedures for setting up a home network using WHS and it is straightforward and easy to use.

As an example: Once the server software is installed, just take the same DVD disk and setup the computers you wish to be part of the network. The software finds ALL of the computers on the network including the server automatically for you. It doesn’t get any simpler than that. Once the software is installed, you can control the server from any computer connected to the network which has the WHS software installed. Nice!
Oh, I had previously mentioned a few things that bothered me about using WHS. I’m not a big fan of having to enter my password and using CTRL-ALT-DEL keys and all of the protections that normally need be in place. BUT TweakUI works for Server 2003 [which WHS is based on] as well as Windows XP. So I set my systems to auto-logon and it worked perfectly.

Comments welcome.

PS Just as a recommendation. You may wish to consider using a spare hard disk if you have one available. I used a 100G drive and WHS worked well. It would not install on a 20G I had. I believe that the minimum drive size is 40g.

PSS I just wanted to thank the blog folks at WHS for their taking note of the article I originally wrote about WHS:

Ron Schenone over at The Blade gives us the attaboy in his review of Home Server, calling the software a winner.

[tags]microsoft, windows home server, CTP, public, tester[/tags]