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Running DHCP Server on Windows Server 2012 Essentials

[This post comes to us courtesy of Rituraj Choudhary from Microsoft Commercial Technical Support] Windows Server 2012 Essentials is enabled to run on a network with the DHCP Server service running on the router. This blog post describes the method to configure DHCP Role on the Windows Server 2012 Essentials, if you prefer so. The first step in this process is to assign a Static IP to the server. On a Command Prompt , type ipconfig , and make a note of the IPv4 address, Subnet Mask and Default Gateway. Open the Network Card properties. Click Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) , and then click Properties. To assign a Static IP, click to Use the following IP address , and enter the same details that were noted down earlier for the IP Address, Subnet mask and the Default Gateway. At this point, stop and disable the DHCP Server service running at the existing computer or device . Please note that during the process of migration the network clients will not be able to obtain IP address; if you have business critical servers on the domain, assign them a Static IP. Let’s now install the DHCP Server role on the Windows Server 2012 Essentials. On the Start screen, type Server Manager , and open it from the results displayed. On the Server Manager window, click Manage on the Title bar, and then click Add Roles and Features . It will open the Add Roles and Features Wizard . On the Before you begin page, click Next . On the Select installation type page, choose Role-based or feature-based installation , and then click Next . On the Select destination server page, verify that the Windows Server 2012 Essentials is chosen, and then click Next . On the Select Server Roles , click to select DHCP Server . After this option is selected, you may see a pop up to add additional features. Click Add Features on this popup window. It will redirect back to the Select Server Roles page. Click Next . On the Select features page, do not select anything and click Next . On the Confirm installation selections , click Install . Do NOT select the option Restart the destination server automatically if required . On the Installation progress page, or click Close . Once the installation is complete, the same is notified under the Notification icon on the menu bar of the Server Manager window. If the installation went fine, you will get a successful message as: To complete the DHCP deployment, click on Complete DHCP configuration on the Post-deployment Configuration under the Notification icon. The DHCP Post-Install configuration wizard is quite straight forward. On the Description page, click Next . On the Authorization page, verify that Use the following user’s credentials is selected and the Administrator user name is put there. On the Summary page, check the status of the post install configuration and then click Close . Here is the final status that you should see on the Server Manager . It is now time to configure the DHCP Server. On the Start screen, type DHCP , and click to open DHCP console. On the DHCP console, expand the Server name, and then right-click IPv4 . Click New Scope… It will open New Scope Wizard . Follow this wizard to name the Scope conventionally, e.g. Scope [192.168.1.0] fabrikam.local . Add the IP Address Range for the client computers, e.g. 192.168.1.3 to 192.168.1.50 . Add the Default Gateway (IP of the router), DNS Server (IP of the Server itself), and activate the scope. Your server is now ready to lease out new DHCP addresses to the network clients. More Information: There is a service named as Windows Server LAN Configuration that gets installed on a computer when it joins Windows Server 2012 Essentials. The purpose of this service is to detect the presence of the Windows Server 2012 Essentials, which by default, has a DHCP Server assigned IP. To explain, let’s say you have a laptop which is joined to a Windows Server 2012 Essentials domain. When this laptop is taken to a different network, it gets a new IP assigned by the new network’s DHCP Server to connect to this network and the internet. When the laptop comes back into its home domain, it again gets a new IP from the DHCP Server (Router) on the Windows Server 2012 Essentials domain. The Windows Server LAN Configuration service now comes to play; it detects the presence of Windows Server 2012 Essentials on the domain, obtains the IP of the server, and overwrites the DHCP Server assigned DNS Server address for the client, which helps this laptop resolve Active Directory. After rehoming the DHCP Server at the Windows Server 2012 Essentials, it would have a Static IP. This DHCP Server IPv4 Scope Options would also carry the DNS Server information (which is the Static IP of the Windows Server 2012 Essentials). At this point, the services of Windows Server LAN Configuration is not required, and may be turned off. Leaving it turned on does not harm either.

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Running DHCP Server on Windows Server 2012 Essentials

Windows Server Essentials Integration Module for Windows Azure Backup is Now Available

[Today’s post comes to us courtesy of Yang Cao and Ashish Sukhija] Hello everyone, we would like to update you on an Add-In software that is now available for Windows Server 2012 Essentials. We have updated the Windows Server Essentials integration module for Windows Azure Backup and is now available for download from the link below: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=288906 More Information A reboot might be needed if you don’t have the Visual C++ redistributable installed because it requires the server to reboot. After reboot, please launch the add-in installer again. If you already have an old version of the Add-in software installed, then you need to: Uninstall the old Add-in from the Dashboard; Uninstall the Windows Azure Backup agent from the Control panel; Reinstall the new Add-in NOTE: During step #3, we’ll automatically reinstall the new Windows Azure Backup agent. Known Issue If you update the Windows Azure Backup agent before uninstalling the previous Windows Server Essentials Integration module for Windows Azure Backup, the Dashboard will crash. This is because of the compatibility issue between the old add-in and the new Windows Azure Backup agent. To fix this issue, follow the steps below: Open the Dashboard in safe mode. Disable the online backup add-in. Go to Dashboard to uninstall the add-in. Reinstall the new add-in. Visit the Windows Azure Backup Forum http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/windowsazureonlinebackup/threads

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Windows Server Essentials Integration Module for Windows Azure Backup is Now Available

Enterprise Hotfix Rollup for Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Available Now

An enterprise hotfix rollup for Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 has been released which contains 90 hotfixes released after the release of Service Pack 1. These hotfixes improve the overall performance and system reliability of Windows 7 SP1-based and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1-based computers. We recommend customers to apply this hotfix rollup as part of their regular maintenance routine and build processes for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 computers. This hotfix rollup includes the following improvements: Improves the Windows Client Remote File System components. Improves the SMB Service and TCP protocol components. Improves the processing of Group Policies and Group Policy preferences. Improves the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) components to reduce the CPU usage and to improve the repository verification performance. To view the list of hotfixes included in this hotfix rollup, please visit http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2775511/EN-US . How to get the Hotfix Rollup This update is available from the Microsoft Update Catalog . Type 2775511 in the search field that is located in the upper-right corner of the catalog webpage.

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Enterprise Hotfix Rollup for Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Available Now

My Server Windows App for Windows Server 2012 Essentials

Hi, my name is Clinton Ho, lead program manager on the Windows Server Essentials team. I’m proud to announce the availability of the My Server Windows app , available as a free download in the Windows Store. Similar to the My Server Windows Phone app, My Server Windows app is designed to help keep you seamlessly connected to your server resources on devices running Windows 8 and Windows RT. With My Server , you can manage users, devices, and alerts, and access shared files on Windows Server 2012 Essentials.  In addition, the files that you have recently accessed with My Server will continue to be available to you even when you are offline. Sound cool? Then head on over to the Windows Store, search for My Server , and install the app! Don’t forget to let us know what you think by rating it or writing a review. Here are some more things you can do with the My Server app: Browse, edit and search for files stored on your server Copy files from your local computer to the server, or save files from the server to your computer Access files from your server that were opened recently—even without an Internet connection; the changes made offline will automatically be synchronized to the server when you are back online Transparently search for documents located on both your local device and your server’s shared folders Play back media files stored on the server If you are an administrator, you can also: Manage users, devices, and alerts Reset user passwords  

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My Server Windows App for Windows Server 2012 Essentials

Windows Server Solutions BPA Updated January 2013

Update Rollup 4 for Windows Server Solutions BPA ( KB2796170 ) is now available via Microsoft Update. New Rules Added DefWebSiteExtended – This rule checks whether the default website is extended correctly. RemoteVDirAuthentication – This rule checks whether Anonymous Authentication is disabled. SelfUpdateVDirSSL – This rule checks whether the SSL protocol is enabled or Anonymous Authentication is disabled in the SelfUpdate virtual directory. How to get BPA Update Rollup SBS 2011 Standard: By default, Microsoft Update points to the WSUS service in SBS 2011 standard. This update will show up in Admin Console’s Update tab to allow you to apply this update. Then this update will be shown available in Microsoft Update to be installed. You can also get this update by including Microsoft Update. In SBS 2011 Standard , launch Windows Update and select the option to Check online for updates from Windows Update . Then click the option for “Get updates for other Microsoft products” and complete the process to opt-in for Microsoft Updates. SBS 2011 Essentials, Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials and Windows Multipoint Server 2011: Please go to Windows Update and find out more about free software from Microsoft Update, and click “ Click here for details ”. And follow the steps to get patches from Microsoft Update. If you already include the Microsoft Update, you can ignore this step. Go to Windows update and click “ Check for updates ” to get the updates. To find out more about the issues it fixes, please visit http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2796170

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Windows Server Solutions BPA Updated January 2013

Web Services and Extensibility for Windows Server 2012 Essentials

Hi, I’m Mike Chen, program manager for the Windows Server Essentials team, and today I would like to share with you the extensibility story for Windows Server 2012 Essentials. I’ll start with an overview of the extensibility points across Dashboard, Launchpad, Remote Web Access, and Health Monitoring. As you know, Windows Server 2012 Essentials is a hybrid solution that connects your on-premises environment to the cloud service. We will use cloud service integration scenarios when we talk about the extensibility points; these extensibility points can also be used by non-service-integration add-ins. Let’s take a look at the Windows Azure Online Backup add-in (for more information, see the blog post Windows Azure Online Backup and Windows Server 2012 Essentials ). In the preceding screenshot, add-ins can be used in the Dashboard in four places: Top-level tab . Usually, as a standalone feature, most add-ins will have a separate tab. We recommend that you use all capital letters for the names of your tabs to be consistent with other built-in tabs. A top-level tab will own its standalone content space in the content area. Sub-tabs . To logically separate your features, you can have multiple sub-tabs under your top-level tab. If you own a separate top-level tab, you will naturally group sub-tabs together. If your add-in doesn’t create a top-level tab (for example, your add-in provides additional manageability for storage), you can add a sub-tab to the tab in question instead. Main panel . Different add-ins typically have different requests. While you can build your main panel from a blank panel, you can also leverage the list view in the SDK if you’re managing a list of objects, such as users or folders. Task panel . When you manage a list of items or a service, you usually need per item tasks and global tasks. When you leverage the list view, the Dashboard allows you to register per item tasks where you can perform tasks on a single item, such as removing a folder. It also allows you to perform global tasks, which apply to the entire add-in functions, such as registering your service. In addition to these four options, the Dashboard also allows you to extend the built-in list view, wizards, and property pages by adding your own logic to the existing experience. An existing implementation of this is the built-in email solutions (including Office 365 and on-premises Exchange) that extend the list view, add a user wizard and user property pages that leverage the framework. We’re going to discuss this in depth in the upcoming blog for Hosted Email Add-in Framework. Client-side integration is also interesting when you write an add-in to integrate with online services. Launchpad . Most of the service integration, such as Office 365 Integration, provides value to end users where they need to have shortcuts to the new functionality they get from add-ins. In this case, you can extend the Launchpad by adding an additional shortcut. Remote Web Access . Remote Web Access allows you to provide links on the Homepage, as well as provide your own page. Health Integration . If the online service has dependencies on the client, such as agents running on the client or settings on the client, you can implement health monitoring rules on the client so that the monitoring results can be rolled up to the admin view. (Note that health integration is able to monitor the server as well.) Web service platform Anywhere Access is important for home and business environments today. To keep users more productive, they need to access files and folders anytime from their devices. In order to support this, Windows Server 2012 Essentials exposes a set of built-in web services for third-party developers to build applications on different devices that can access files and manage the server remotely. The built-in web services include file access, file operations, media access, and management tasks (including alerts, users, storage, devices). For a complete list of web services, see our MSDN page . The following sample code demonstrates how to call the web services to access a folder from Windows 8 by using HTML and JavaScript. In HTML, we create a list view on your page to display the data. You will need to define the template of the item that defines how it’s going to be displayed. In JavaScript, we use an HTTP request with your credential to get the information about items in the Company folder. var url = “https://[serverName]/services/builtin/fileoperationservice.svc/items/index/0/count/10?path=\\[machineName]\Company&filter=All&sortByField=Name&ascending=True” ; WinJS.xhr(     url: encodeURI(url),     user: “[userName]” ,     password: “[password]” ,     headers:         “AppName” : “[appName]” ,         “Accept” : “application/json”     }).done( function (response)     var obtainedData = window.JSON.parse(response.responseText);     var fileList = new WinJS.Binding.List(obtainedData.Items);     WinJS.UI.setOptions(fileListView.winControl, itemDataSource: fileList.dataSource );     WinJS.UI.processAll(); }); To learn more about the Windows Sever 2012 Essentials SDK, you can visit our MSDN site and download the SDK . We’re looking forward to your feedback in our forum .

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Web Services and Extensibility for Windows Server 2012 Essentials

Expanded Software Assurance (SA) grant for Windows SBS 2011 Standard

[Today's post comes to us courtesy David Fabritius from Windows Server Marketing] As part of the Windows Server 2012 announcements earlier this year, we shared the Software Assurance (SA) grant information for Windows Small Business Server 2011 Standard. Since that time, we have worked with many of our customers and partners to help plan the transition of existing SBS environments to the latest available server software. As part of this effort, we received feedback that the original SA grant was too limiting to provide the best deployment experience. To address these concerns, Microsoft has expanded the grant to include two copies of Windows Server 2012 Standard and one copy of Exchange Server 2010 Standard. Also note that customers with active Software Assurance coverage on Exchange Server 2010 Standard are eligible to upgrade to and use Exchange Server 2013 Standard when it releases. By granting two copies of Windows Server 2012 Standard, customers can choose to deploy their workloads onto two physical servers, or they can choose to take advantage of Hyper-V to run up to four virtual machine instances—which can be run on either a single physical host server, or split across two physical host servers. In addition, the downgrade rights for Windows Server 2012 have been expanded to include Windows Server 2012 Essentials. This provides customers access to the Essentials value‑added feature set, including Remote Web Access, Office 365 integration, the Dashboard, and client computer backup. The expanded benefits will be available starting January 2013, and will be retroactively effective as of August 15, 2012. Software and product keys will be available through the Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC) customer portal. As always, we appreciate the continuous dialog with our customers and partners, and we very much value the passion and broad range of perspectives and experiences that help us offer the best solutions available in today’s market. Also, many people often think of Software Assurance (SA) as being synonymous with just one of its many components: staying current with new product versions. But staying current is actually just one in a broad range of benefits, including: Evaluating new software through TechNet Getting help with 24×7 phone and web support Reducing up-front costs through spread payments Reducing costs, streamlining management with MDOP Speeding disaster recovery with cold backups Preparing employees with online training Building technical skills with classroom training As always, I’d like to encourage you to download the Windows Server 2012 Essentials evaluation and give us feedback via the Windows Server 2012 Essentials forum . We’d love to hear from you!

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Expanded Software Assurance (SA) grant for Windows SBS 2011 Standard

Managing File History in Windows Server 2012 Essentials

[Today’s post comes to us courtesy of Yang Cao from Sustained Engineering] One of the key values Windows Server 2012 Essentials offers is network-based computer backup. With client computer backup (a centralized, image-based backup), in the event of data loss, you can restore individual files or folders. If necessary, you can even restore the entire system from a successful backup on the server. If you have computers running Windows 8, the backup and restore experience becomes even easier and more natural thanks to the new File History feature in Windows 8. Configuring File History in Windows 8 As a Windows 8 user myself, I turned on File History manually in the Control Panel. I selected a network share as the target drive, and from Advanced settings , I chose to save copies of files every hour and keep saved versions forever. After File History is configured, my files in Libraries, Desktop, Contacts, and Favorites are backed up every hour to an external drive. This works great for me because the backup happens transparently. And I feel safe that the data is protected. All I need to do afterward is to make sure that all the important files are either on the Desktop or in the Libraries. Implementing File History for small businesses For a small business owner who manages several devices on the network, it’s important that all the devices can be configured and managed centrally rather than locally. With Windows Server 2012 Essentials, this becomes simple and worry-free. For all the Windows 8 clients connected to Windows Server 2012 Essentials, File History is automatically turned on, and by default, the data on the Desktop and in the Documents folder is backed up on an hourly basis, with the backup being stored on the server for a year. You can configure this setting in the Client computer backup settings and tools dialog box, launched from the Dashboard, Devices tab. For example, if you need more thorough protection of the user’s profile data, you can select All Libraries, Desktop, Contacts and Favorites in the Backup data field. If there’s a Windows 8 client that needs a special setting rather than the inherited global settings, you can stop managing the File History setting in the client Properties (clear the Manage File History settings check box). If a Windows 8 client’s File History is not managed by the server, you can log on to the client and specify a custom File History setting. Conclusion File History is a good supplemental backup mechanism for client computer backup: File History backs up a user’s profile data, while the client computer backup protects all the data (including apps) on the client computer. A standard user can restore files from the File History backup directly without the administrator’s help. It is easier to find the right version of the file to restore by using File History; however, if the entire client computer needs to be rebuilt, it is usually quicker to do a client computer restore to bring the computer back to its previous state. We hope you enjoy this feature and we look forward to your feedback on the forum !

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Managing File History in Windows Server 2012 Essentials

Windows Management Framework 3.0 applicability on Windows Small Business Server 2008/2011 Standard

The Windows Management Framework 3.0 ( KB2506146 for Windows 2008 SP2 and KB2506143 for Windows Server 2008 R2) has been recently offered as an optional update on Microsoft update distribution clients such as Windows Server Update Services, and Windows Automatic Update. This update contains the following features: Windows PowerShell 3.0 Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) Windows Remote Management (WinRM) Management OData IIS Extension Server Manager CIM Provider If you install these updates on a server running Windows Small Business Server 2008 Standard or Windows Small Business Server 2011 Standard, you will encounter issues with Exchange Server, SharePoint, and the SBS wizards. We have found the following symptoms: The Exchange Management Shell may not run properly. Additionally, if you install Exchange Update Rollups, you may see installation errors as mentioned here . The SharePoint 2010 Management Shell may not run properly. Our wizards that need SharePoint 2010 Management Shell are affected too. Certain SBS wizards such as Connect to Internet wizard, Internet Address Management wizard, and Fix My Network wizard may not run properly If you see one of the above symptoms on your Small Business Server, check whether one of these updates is installed on the server. In order to check this, you can open Programs and Features from the Control Panel and click on Installed Updates, as: The above screen-shot is from Windows Small Business Server 2011 Standard. On a Windows Small Business Server 2008 Standard, you should look for “kb2506146”. You could also run the command Get-Host on a PowerShell prompt to find the version of Windows PowerShell, as: PS C:Usersadmin> get-host Name : ConsoleHost Version : 3.0 InstanceId : e66e1400-9f45-4205-8151-9ed07a1823ba UI : System.Management.Automation.Internal.Host.InternalHostUserInterface CurrentCulture : en-US CurrentUICulture : en-US PrivateData : Microsoft.PowerShell.ConsoleHost+ConsoleColorProxy IsRunspacePushed : False Runspace : System.Management.Automation.Runspaces.LocalRunspace It will show the PowerShell version as 3.0, which implies that the PowerShell has been updated to the newer version. In such scenarios we suggest you to uninstall the Update. Our guidance at this time is that Windows Management Framework 3.0 should not be deployed on a server running Windows Small Business Server 2008 Standard or Windows Small Business Server 2011 Std.

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Windows Management Framework 3.0 applicability on Windows Small Business Server 2008/2011 Standard

Using Windows Server 2012 Essentials with more than 25 users

[Today's post comes to us courtesy David Fabritius from Windows Server Marketing] Windows Server 2012 Essentials is primarily designed as a first server solution for small businesses that need support for up to 25 user accounts and up to 50 devices. But even beyond the first server scenario, Essentials provides a number of unique, value-added features, such as Remote Web Access and automatic client computer backup, that many customers and partners want to have available in larger environments. There are two scenarios in which Windows Server 2012 Essentials can be used in environments with more than 25 users, and we’ve blogged about the first scenario before (see Growing Beyond 25 Users with Windows Server 2012 Essentials ). Small businesses that initially purchase Essentials and then later grow in size can purchase Windows Server 2012 Standard and do an in-place license transition of the server. This transition applies the Standard edition license and changes the Essentials “locks and limits,” such as the 25 user account limit, to those of Standard while retaining the value-added feature set—without having to re-install or migrate. Keep in mind that you will need Windows Server 2012 client access licenses (CALs) to access the instances of Windows Server 2012 Standard in your environment (the simplified licensing model for Essentials does not use or include any CALs as part of its product license). Also note that while there are no restrictions placed on the number of users/devices that can be added to a Windows Server 2012 Standard environment, there are maximum supportability limits for the specific Essentials features of 75 users (for example, when using the Dashboard for account management) and 75 devices (for example, when using client computer backup). The license transition also removes the Active Directory limitations so that you are able to establish trust relationships with other domains. Again from a supportability perspective for the value-added features, the Essentials server needs to remain the root of its forest and domain and retain all the FSMO roles. The second scenario is new for Windows Server 2012 Essentials, but has been available in the Windows Server family for some time. The downgrade (sometimes referred to as “down edition”) rights for Windows Server 2012 Standard and Datacenter have been expanded to include the Essentials edition. This means that when you purchase, or receive as a Software Assurance (SA) grant, a Windows Server 2012 Standard license, you can choose to run Essentials as one of your two virtual instances—without having to purchase Essentials separately. Remember that Standard now allows virtual use rights for up to two instances . This provides you with the small business server experience in the first virtual instance and leaves the second instance available to run additional workloads, such as Exchange Server, SQL Server, Remote Desktop Services, SharePoint, and Windows Server Update Services (WSUS). This right is documented in the Windows Server 2012 Licensing FAQ (see Q15) as well as in the latest Microsoft Product List . Because this right was added during a late stage of the product release cycle, we were not able to update the EULA that is incorporated as part of the Windows Server 2012 products; however, this downgrade right is available to all customers in all available channels (except for SPLA), including volume licensing (VL), OEM, and retail (FPP). Keep in mind that the ability to run downgrade bits does not change the licensing or support terms in which you can use the product you purchased. So if you purchase Windows Server 2012 Standard, you will need Windows Server 2012 CALs even if you choose to downgrade an instance to run Windows Server 2012 Essentials. When you purchase Windows Server 2012 Standard through volume licensing (VL), you can also download a copy of Windows Server 2012 Essentials and a product key from the VLSC . If you purchase an OEM or retail copy of Standard, you can download Essentials and obtain a product key to use during installation from the TechNet Eval Center , and then perform an in-place license transition by using your Standard product key, which gives you a fully licensed and supported instance. Let’s look at some examples ( all prices shown are Open no level estimated retail price in US dollars ). Scenario #1: Purchasing Windows Server 2012 Essentials to use with fewer than 25 users, and then later growing larger You initially buy server hardware and Windows Server 2012 Essentials for your small business. Later, your business grows beyond the limits of Essentials, so you buy a copy of Windows Server 2012 Standard with the appropriate number of CALs and do an in-place license transition. When you perform the license transition, the Standard license is now also assigned to the server hardware. If the original purchase of Windows Server 2012 Essentials was an OEM license, it cannot be assigned to a new server, but retail and volume licenses can be reassigned to new hardware (limited to once every 90 days). What to buy initially Software Windows Server 2012 Essentials $501 CALs N/A, no CALs included with purchase $0 Hardware Small to mid-range server varies How to transition – What incremental software/licenses to buy Software Windows Server 2012 Standard (there is no “step-up” SKU or any special pricing/program) $882 CALs Windows Server 2012 CALs for each user/device (no CALs are included with the Essentials license) $30 per user/device Hardware N/A, you do an in-place transition using the same hardware $0 Scenario #2: Purchasing Windows Server 2012 Standard, exercising downgrade rights, and performing an in-place license transition You buy server hardware and Windows Server 2012 Standard with CALs for your business that has more than 25 users. You have decided that you want to run one of your instances as Windows Server 2012 Essentials, so you download the ISO image and the product key from the VLSC or the TechNet Eval Center. You install Windows Server 2012 Standard and the Hyper-V role on the physical (host) server, create a virtual machine, and install Essentials as a virtual instance. In order to remove the 25 user account limit, you perform the in-place license transition by using your Standard product key. You can also create a second virtual machine to support additional workloads. What to buy initially Software Windows Server 2012 Standard $882 CALs Windows Server 2012 CALs for each user/device $30 per user/device Hardware Mid-range server varies How to transition – What incremental software/licenses to buy Software N/A, covered by downgrade rights $0 CALs N/A $0 Hardware N/A $0 In light of the downgrade and in-place transition rights, what is the best edition of Windows Server 2012 for small business customers? Windows Server 2012 Essentials is an ideal fit for small businesses that: are looking for a simple solution to deploy their first server; have fewer than 25 users; are interested in leveraging cloud-based applications and services; and want to run on a low-cost hardware platform. Small businesses with these characteristics represent a huge opportunity in the market today, one that Essentials was specifically designed to address. Windows Server 2012 Standard provides a more robust infrastructure solution while still allowing you to deploy and use all the great value-added features of Essentials. It’s an ideal fit for businesses that: have more sophisticated technology needs; have, or soon expect to have, more than 25 users; want to take advantage of Hyper-V Replica for disaster recovery; or have a business need to run additional on-premises workloads such as messaging and/or line-of-business applications in their own isolated instances. If you haven’t already, please download the Windows Server 2012 Essentials evaluation and give us feedback via the Windows Server 2012 Essentials forum . We’d love to hear from you!

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Using Windows Server 2012 Essentials with more than 25 users