Virtually anyone could use this tool to configure multiple disks into a single, redundant pool of storage.įrom a user and PC management perspective, Essentials is likewise simple. But Microsoft opted for the simple Windows 8 version of the Storage Spaces control panel. Indeed, if you’re familiar with the mainstream Windows Server 2012 versions - Standard and Datacenter - you might know that the management interface for Storage Spaces in those products is decidedly complex. (Like WHS 2011, it shipped without Drive Extender.) Storage Spaces also makes Essentials a far more compelling entry-level storage server than, say, Storage Server 2008 R2, a product that never made any sense to me. (What it lacks for home users, however, is HomeGroup support since Essentials uses a domain, it isn’t compatible with HomeGroup sharing.) And the new Storage Spaces technologies, also available in Windows 8, means that Essentials has a modern replacement for the lamented Drive Extender feature, providing both single pool of storage functionality and storage redundancy. And it draws in the best features from the other Colorado servers, providing a single server that (almost) does it all.įor fans of the WHS line, Essentials provides an optional media server, just like WHS. (You can always add servers, too, of course, including on-premises Exchange, SQL Server, and SharePoint servers if you’re a real glutton for punishment.)īut the truth is, Essentials is a lot more nuanced than that. And it assumes that most customers will utilize cloud-based email, calendar, contacts, and other services, hopefully but not necessarily Office 365. Meanwhile, Windows Server 2012 Essentials - let’s just call it Essentials from here on out - is exactly what the doctor ordered for home business and small businesses.Ĭonceptually, Essentials appears to be a sequel to the well-designed but poor-selling SBS 2011 Essentials product: It offers the same super-simple domain set up with minimal on-site resources around user, machine, and storage management. But I feel that the product line was unnecessarily complex, and its on-premises approach to tech infrastructure - with multiple, locally installed servers - is out of touch with the realities of today’s highly mobile and highly connected world. Microsoft’s partners aren’t happy with the retirement of SBS Standard, since it was such a clear and consistent source of revenue for so long. This year, Microsoft killed off all three of these products (as well as the unrelated Windows SBS 2011 Standard offering) and is replacing them with a single new low-end server called Windows Server 2012 Essentials. Last year, I sang the praises of Microsoft’s “Colorado” small server offerings, which included Windows Home Server (WHS) 2011, Windows Small Business Server (SBS) Essentials 2011, and Windows Storage Server Essentials 2008 R2.
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