14 DAY TRIAL // Recently, Microsoft released a new application for Windows Phone, which offers support for Windows Home Server 2011 while on the go, called Windows Server Solutions Phone Connector, and available only as a release candidate for the time being.
The application is available for download via the Windows Phone Marketplace, and is accompanied by a server sided add-in that should be installed on the WHS 2011 Server.
Through the new application and Add-in, Remote Server Management tasks can be performed on the phone, and other actions as well, in sections that include Alerts, Users, Devices, or Media.
For example, the Windows Phone would deliver alerts to its users. The Alert Viewer that is featured on the server will be delivered to the mobile phone as soon as the authentication steps have been completed.
“If an alert is displayed white, it is active and included in the alert count. If an alert is dimmed, that means the alert is disabled, and it is not included in the alert count,” Microsoft explains.
“Any alert item can be clicked to view the full alert text just as on a computer. Contextual menu options include enabling or disabling an alert, and performing a repair action if one was assigned to this alert.”
Basic user management tasks will be available though the user-panorama item on a Windows Phone, including viewing of user account details, the ability to enable or disable an account, or change the password for a specific account.
“If you disable a user account, that is a reversible action. The moment a user account gets disabled, it causes the same effect as it would if you disable it by using the dashboard. The user’s access to Remote Web Access, the phone application, and any server resources is turned off,” Microsoft explains.
The application will also provide info on the server-joined computer and Mac, view backup status of devices, start or stop a backup process for any of the connected devices, or for the server.
At the same time, there is a media panorama that offers the possibility to discover and view streams of media elements that have been stored on the server is their respective shared folders (such as Music, Video and Picture shares).
The app also comes with support for Live Tiles, providing at-a-glance information that would include count and type of network health alerts, the name of the server sending information, or the percentage of storage that is being used on the main disk.
“If you pin the application to the home screen of your Windows Phone 7, you will be able to see a variety of at-a-glance information without launching into the application. An opt-in using the settings menu is required,” Microsoft notes. More info on the new app can be found here.
