Windows 2012 Server comes in four scalable packages, which can be upsized or downsized based on the necessities of users. For an individual or for a small company, the best package is Microsoft Server 2012 Essentials, which contains the basic networking features needed by a small network, along with the customizable features needed for this size of enterprise.
Essentials 2012: Previews and Opinions
Essentials 2012 is considered the premier choice for home computing and small businesses since it was released for testing, and it forms the backbone of the majority of home office networks. The complete package looks even better, transforming Microsoft Server 2012 into the most reliable program of this kind. It is a simple package that contains everything you need for a small business, and it delivers functionality that is solid and impressive.
Microsoft realized that the smallest package of MS Server had to be simple, if nothing else. They knew they couldn’t create an economy package that required a team of IT engineers to install or manage it. Server 2012 Essentials contains all the features needed for a small business, and it can also be managed with ease.
The two bigger packages of the Microsoft Server 2012 are Standard and DataCenter, which offer nearly the same features, with the difference that the virtualization rights are different. Those are excellent choices for large companies. For smaller enterprises, MS Server 2012 Essentials and Foundation were released. Essentials is clearly a program that is just like a simple server, while Foundation has to be managed by personnel with some networking knowledge.
Characteristics of Microsoft Server 2012 Essentials
Essentials supports 25 users. It can’t be virtualized since it does not have the Hyper-V feature or the Server Core. Those features are generally not needed for small businesses and home networks. Essentials remains a simple and effective program for the home or small business. It can be installed in minutes, and managed easily afterwards.
Microsoft Server 2012 Essentials is built on the platform of Windows Home Server 2011, and it promises to have the same impressive impact in this area. Users won’t have Exchange, SharePoint and WSUS, which were offered by default with Windows Home Service 2011, but they can easily be added to your purchased package. Essentials was made to offer simplicity in usage, and to integrate online services. Actually, the majority of buyers of the Essentials package are home users who want to create servers for online games, and even in the case of small businesses, the purposes are about the same. You can have access to those online resources with the Hosted Exchange features, or even with Windows Azure, which is an operating system released by Microsoft with the purpose of managing computing elements.
Features and Benefits of Microsoft Server 2012 Essentials
With Essentials, you can create an Active Directory in seconds, and you will never need to configure another domain ever again. You can do this directly from the Dashboard, which represents your main console and the only user interface with the program. The Group Policies can be handled with ease, and managed from a single computer, with Office 365. Even the backup features are simple, as you could have History Backup, but also the classical imager based system.