Remote Access to Files and PCs

One of the key features of Windows Home Server will be to allow users to easily connect to their home server when they are away from home.  By default, the Remote Access capabilities will be turned off, but they will be easy to setup once a user decides that they want to enable this feature.

Remote Access is granted on a per user basis, as defined in the Windows Home Server Console, and any user that has remote access capabilties will need a strong password defined for their user account.  You can then use these user accounts to connect to your home server over the internet.   

Once connected to your home server, you will be greeted with a straightforward user interface lets you do the following:

  • Download 1 or more files or folders from the Shared Folders that you have access to on the home server.
  • Upload 1 or more files to a Shared Folder
  • Remotely connect to your home PCs so you can use them to run applications  as if you were sitting in front of them
  • Run the Windows Home Server Console to check or change the settings of your home server

This means that you can not only connect to your home server, but you can also remotely connect and use your home computers all through a single solution.

We have been working closely with the Windows Live Domains team to provide users a personalized internet address to their home server as part of the Remote Access setup feature.  This functionality is not part of the Beta 2 release, but it is being actively tested by our Microsoft dogfooders and will be made available to the broader beta community in a subsequent development milestone.

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