Windows Home Server 2011 is now available! Your life has gone digital - it is time to simplify your life so you can easily access your files, photos, videos, and music from any PC or TV in your. Windows Home Server completes an image-based back up of every home computer every day, so you can restore a single file or an entire computer. Access your data anywhere You and your family can now access the home network-at home, in the office, or even on the road.
WHS RemoteApp 2011 is a Windows Server Solutions add-in for use with Windows Home Server 2011, Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials, or Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials.
WHS RemoteApp 2011 makes it possible for administrators to deliver remote applications (referred to as “RemoteApp programs” or simply “RemoteApps“) to their Windows Home Server (WHS) users. Specifically, WHS RemoteApp 2011 enables a straightforward publishing process that allows applications installed directly on a WHS server to be provided to its users, allows RemoteApp programs to run side-by-side with local programs, and offers integration with a custom “launcher” application to make it simple for users to find and launch RemoteApp programs.
Windows Home Server 2011, code named Vail, is a home server operating system by Microsoft designed for small office/home offices and homes with multiple connected PCs to offer protected file storage, file sharing, automated PC backup, remote access, and remote control of PC desktops. Windows home server 2011 free download - Windows Home Server, Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2011 Standard, Windows Home Server Toolkit, and many more programs.
RemoteApp programs are programs that are accessed remotely through a special type of Remote Desktop Connection, and appear as if they are running on the end user’s local computer. Instead of being presented to the user in the desktop of the server, as with a traditional Remote Desktop Connection, the RemoteApp programs are integrated with the client computer’s desktop, running in their own resizable window, with their own entry in the taskbar. If the programs use notification area icons, the icons appear in the client computer’s notification area. Any popup windows are redirected to the local desktop, and local drives and printers can be redirected to appear within the RemoteApp programs. Many users might not be aware that a RemoteApp program is any different than a local program.
WHS RemoteApp 2011 provides administrators the ability to group and personalize RemoteApp programs and make them available to individual end users via the WHS RemoteApp Launcher application. WHS RemoteApp 2011 improves the user’s experience, opens new avenues for program deployment, and reduces the amount of administrative effort required to support these programs.
Users can run published RemoteApp programs in a variety of different ways:
• Locally from the server’s Launchpad application that is installed on their computer.
• Remotely from almost anywhere using the server’s built-in Remote Web Access website.
• Remotely from Mac, iOS, Android, and Windows PC/Mobile computers and devices.
Screenshots
Installation Notes
Before installing the WHS RemoteApp 2011 add-in, you should install the applications you wish to publish directly on your server (additional applications may be installed on the server any time after the add-in has been installed). Any desktop application that is Remote Desktop compatible (i.e. that runs as designed from a Remote Desktop Connection) can be published as a RemoteApp program (e.g. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, QuickBooks, Quicken, etc.). Both 32-bit and 64-bit applications are fully supported. For examples of how to install applications directly on your server see: Install Office/Outlook On Your Server and Install QuickBooks/Quicken On Your Server
Once you have the applications you need installed on your server, you can then go ahead and install the WHS RemoteApp 2011 add-in by downloading and running its .EXE setup file from any of your connected client PCs (which, in turn, runs its .WSSX server add-in package file after verifying your installation environment). Or, you can download and run it directly from the server itself.
NOTE: WHS RemoteApp 2011 requires that the Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5 or higher be installed on your server. If necessary, you can download the .NET Framework 4.5 or higher installer package from here: Installing the .NET Framework
After the WHS RemoteApp 2011 add-in has been successfully installed, open the server Dashboard application, click on the new “WHS RemoteApp” icon in the navigation pane, choose which users you want to allow access to WHS RemoteApp 2011 on the “Users” tab, and use the Publish RemoteApp Programs wizard located on the “RemoteApp Programs” tab to publish your applications.
WHS RemoteApp 2011 can be used completely free of charge for up to 21 days (some features are not available during the evaluation period). To continue using WHS RemoteApp 2011 after that, you will need to purchase a license and register the add-in. Click the shopping cart link, located in the sidebar of this page, to purchase a license for WHS RemoteApp 2011. Upon receipt of payment, you will be sent personalized registration information along with detailed instructions on how to register the add-in.
For complete information on installing and using WHS RemoteApp 2011, please see the ReadMe.txt file included with the download.
Additional Information (advanced)
WHS RemoteApp 2011 works with your server just as it comes straight out-of-the-box. It does not install any of the Remote Desktop Services (RDS) server roles on your server (e.g. Remote Desktop Session Host, etc.). Rather, it utilizes the underlying “Windows Server Solutions” (WSS) functionality of your server in order to work its magic. Your server remains in its default “Remote Administration” mode (as opposed to it being placed in “Application Server” mode as it would be when using RDS), and multiple concurrent remote connections to the server can be enabled using the add-in’s “multiple simultaneous connections” feature.
See Also
Products – WSE RemoteApp 2016
WHS RemoteApp 2011
Platform: Windows Home Server 2011, Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials, or Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials
Version: 1.255.1746.0
Released: October 3, 2019
Download Size: 4.84 MB
Released: October 3, 2019
Download Size: 4.84 MB
IMPORTANT NOTE:Windows Home Server 2011, Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials, and Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials, which are based upon Windows Server 2008 R2, will reach end of support on January 14, 2020. As a result, WHS RemoteApp 2011 will reach end of life on that date, and will no longer be updated nor supported. If you are still using one of those operating systems, then you should upgrade to Windows Server 2016 Essentials, Windows Server 2016 Standard/Datacenter with the WSEE role added, or Windows Server 2019 Standard/Datacenter with WSEE installed, and use WSE RemoteApp 2016 instead.
Requires.NET Framework 4.5 or higher (installed on the server).
Existing license holders must have a valid “Updates and Support” option on their license in order to install updates and/or receive technical support for this product.
Technical Support
Shopping Cart
Microsoft's original Windows Home Server was both crude and groundbreaking. When it debuted, it had limited hardware support, no 64-bit version, and weak built-in capabilities beyond file and app storage. On the other hand, it offered robust backup, reasonable security, and drive extender--a feature that simplified the tasks of adding and pooling hard drives.
Because the original WHS was built on an older server platform, an update was inevitable. Windows Home Server 2011 has now arrived, and with it a bevy of new features--and one key feature of the older version removed. Let's start by looking at why WHS 2011 is a good fit for your home-server needs.
64-bit functionality: Windows Home Server 2011 is 64-bit only, but it's a welcome upgrade from 32-bit. Using 64-bit addressing lets you add more than 4GB of RAM.
With the original WHS, having a lot of RAM wasn't particularly useful. In fact, some retail WHS boxes shipped with as little as 512MB of RAM, and 1GB was the norm. That first Home Server wasn't very suitable for running apps remotely. Eventually, interesting plugins became available--like Servio, which enabled WHS to be a better media server.
Better media server: Windows Home Server 2011 has robust media transcoding and streaming capabilities, and it supports a wide range of codecs--AAC, AVCHD, DivX, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, WMV, and more. It's now a DLNA 1.5-compliant server, meaning that DLNA-capable client devices can connect to a WHS system set up as a media server. As more HDTVs, A/V receivers, and other similar home electronic devices ship with built-in DLNA client capability, combining a robust media server and a robust PC server in one box becomes increasingly useful.
The original WHS didn't have this capability built-in, so various media server plug-ins were among the most popular WHS plug-ins available. But those aren't needed any longer (though some may have additional features beyond those in WHS 2011.)
Windows 7 HomeGroups: You can add a WHS 2011 box to your HomeGroup, which makes sharing files and printers much easier. The only drawback is that there's setting up shares in this way results in a little granularity. You can have read access, full access, or no access.
Easier login management: Logging in to the first release of WHS was something of a chore. You could make things easier by using the same characters for your system login and for your account login on the server, and then enabling auto-logon on your PC. But setting up that arrangement on multiple PCs was tedious and created a security risk.
WHS 2011 uses an external application, the Dashboard, to separate PC logins from Windows Home Server logins. This allows you to have no login on your desktop PC while maintaining secure access to the server.
Easier server management: Managing the first WHS wasn't especially difficult, but you always had to work through a single, modal screen. With 2011, you get full support for windows on your desktop connected remotely. I ran Windows Update on the server from my desktop PC, and it looked just as it would have if I were running Windows Update on my local PC.
Why Not Use WHS 2011?
If you're comfortably using the current version of Windows Home Server, is upgrading to the new version worth the inevitable pain of adjustment? The answer depends on several things:
- The importance you attach to the new features
- The level of upgrade pain you're willing to live with
- The usefulness to you of Drive Extender
Our assumption here is that you've either built your own WHS box or are a current user of a retail WHS system.
Windows Home Server 2011 End Of Support
Drive Extender: The one huge feature that Microsoft dropped from WHS 2011 is Drive Extender. That decision has generated reams of complaints from heavy WHS version 1 users.
Drive Extender pooled multiple hard drives into a single large volume. It wasn't RAID--there was no hardware redundancy, and no improvement in performance. Essentially it was just a way to minimize the hassle of adding hard drives, which didn't have to be the same size, and of managing multiple disk volumes. But it made building huge volumes easy; and if you recorded a lot of media, that could be a big deal.
Though Drive Extender didn't create hardware redundancy as such (nor RAID 1, for example), you could specify duplication for shared folders, and the software would replicate folders on separate drives. That capability simplified the job of adding external drives and configuring them as part of the system.
So if you're wedded to Drive Extender, you might not want to migrate to WHS 2011.
The good news is that third parties are stepping into the fray. The site wegotserved.com reports that at least three third-party drive extender drivers will be available for WHS 2011.
Upgrade pain: If you've been using WHS 1, and you've fully configured it with plugins for serving up media, home-power management, and other features, you may be in no hurry to migrate. That's because upgrades to WHS 2011 from the original aren't simple.
There is no clean upgrade path from WHS 1 to WHS 2011 because the first version of WHS is a 32-bit OS while WHS 2011 is 64-bit. Upgrading entails performing a clean install of the OS onto the system.
Acer Home Server
This procedure is a little tricky with existing hardware. A number of retail WHS systems were built around Intel Atom CPUs, and many of them didn't support 64-bit addressing, which means that they can never be upgraded to WHS 2011. The program requires 64-bit support in the CPU.
If you have a 64-bit-capable CPU, you'll have to back up all your data, then install WHS 2011, and then restore the backed-up data. It's time consuming and tedious if you have a lot invested in your current installation.
Windows Home Server 2011 Replacement
Now that we understand some of the pros and cons, let's walk through a WHS 2011 installation. This is not an upgrade, but a new install. I've got an existing WHS version 1 box, that I'll eventually phase out, but this makes upgrading to the new system somewhat easier, since I can skip the backup step.