The Small Business Server (SBS) 2011 Essentials Launchpad

[Today’s post comes to us courtesy of Benny Peter from Commercial Technical Support]

After your client computer is connected to the SBS 2011 Essentials server, you’ll also have a new application added to your desktop, the Launchpad shown below. This application gives you quick access to your backups for this computer, as well as any Shared Folders that have been provisioned for the SBS network. The Remote Web Access link will attempt to connect to the SBS 2011 Essentials version of Remote Web Access.

This connector configures the client computer backup settings and also installs a Launchpad application on the client computer.

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The following links are available on the SBS 2011 Launchpad:

Backup

You can click Backup on the Launchpad to bring up the Backup Properties dialog box as shown in the below figure. From here, you can view previous backups, start a new backup, and change the Power Management settings.

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Remote Web Access

The Remote Web Access enables you to access the network resources and connect to other computers from office or any remote location. We will talk more about Remote Web Access in the SBS 2011 Essentials in the forthcoming blog.

To learn more about Remote Web Access in the SBS 2011 Standard, please see the following link: Introduction to SBS 2011 Standard Remote Web Access (RWA).

Shared Folders

Clicking on the Shared Folders link will open the Windows Explorer to the location of shared folders on the server. You can also create additional folders as needed. You can upload or download files to any of the shared folders that are listed by dragging and dropping files between the local computer and the shared folders.

Dashboard

From the Launchpad, you can also connect to the Dashboard for the SBS 2011 Essentials server. Click Dashboard on the Launchpad to open the Dashboard window. From the Dashboard, you can configure your SBS 2011 Essentials server without having to have a keyboard, mouse, or monitor connected to it. We will talk more about Dashboard in a forthcoming blog.

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Computer Health Alerts

Launchpad provides a quick health status of the computer. The notification area displays health alerts. Clicking on the alert provides a possible resolution. The most severe alerts appear first in the list. Less severe alerts appear later in the list.

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Logging

Launchpad.log file can be found on the client machine at C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows Server\Logs. Note:   ProgramData folder is hidden, to view the folder follow the steps in the link below: https://windows.microsoft.com/en-IN/windows7/Show-hidden-files.