Shares
In order to share any files on your Pro Quad WSS, you need to create a share and assign access rights. Of course, if you plan to create private shares for individual users, you’ll have to create those users. To add a user, right click on Users under Local Users and Groups (see Figure 7 above) and select Add user.
To create a share, create a folder, then right click on the folder and select Share with and choose Specific people. Using the dropdown box, select a user. Adjust the rights and click Share. Figure 8 shows selecting a user.
Figure 8: Creating a Share and assigning rights to a user
Windows Storage Server comes prepopulated with the 16 standard groups that you’d find in any Windows server product. Figure 9 shows the default groups and the descriptions for each. Users can be members of any of these groups, or you can create new groups to suit your needs.
Figure 9: Preconfigured groups on Windows Storage Server 2008R2
Buffalo Programs
By now, you’ve probably come to understand that the Quad Pro WSS is primarily running a plain, vanilla version of Windows Storage Server 2008R2. However, Buffalo does include a few programs that help differentiate it from other WSS storage appliances. If you click on All Programs from the Start button on the server console, you’ll find a program group that contains Buffalo programs as shown in Figure 10. I’ll comment on each one only briefly.
Figure 10: Buffalo programs supplied with the Pro Quad WSS
Backup and Replication – This is probably the most important and interesting unique feature. Using this program, you can create backup or replication tasks to any Buffalo TeraStation, including the WSS itself, Buffalo LinkStation or, for that matter, any rsync device. Under the hood, as you can see if you take a look at the server’s “C” drive, Buffalo runs Cygwin for rsync compatibility.
Figure 11 shows backup jobs scheduled to run using a LinkStation as the backup target. I also tested Replication to the LinkStation, and it worked as expected.
Figure 11: Backup scheduled for two different directories to separate shares on a remote LinkStation
I’m Here – This program provides the same function as “I’m Here” in the TeraNavigator. It flashes the lights and plays a tune on the Pro Quad WSS to help you find it.
LCD Setting – This simple utility lets you control what appears on the server’s LCD screen, the LCD backlight brightness, and whether the display flips between displayed options. Figure 12 shows you the options. This could be useful for administrators who don’t want the IP address to display on the LCD.
Figure 12: LCD settings utility controls the server front panel LCD display
Mail Notification Settings – This allows you to configure email notification from your server. It supports SMTP authentication as shown in Figure 13, and allows you to configure event log triggers for specific event log IDs.
Figure 13: Mail notification Settings
RAID Builder – This utility lets you configure RAID settings. Most administrators who are already familiar with the Windows Storage Server Manager will prefer to use it.