Aug 29, 2011 10:27 GMT  ·  By

Users thinking of making the jump to Windows Home Server 2011 might want to have a look at a collection of free resources from Microsoft.

Available free of charge via the Microsoft Download Center, the downloads are designed to offer insight into the latest iteration of Microsoft’s home server operating system.

The company is providing customers with brochures, datasheets and whitepapers focused on Windows Home Server 2011.

Here is the complete list of resources that can be downloaded: Getting Started Guide for Windows Home Server 2011, Top 10 Reasons to Buy Windows Home Server 2011 Final, Top 10 Reasons to Sell Windows Home Server 2011 Final, Top 10 Technical Reasons to Buy Windows Home Server Final, What's New in Windows Home Server 2011 Final, Windows Storage Server 2008R2 vs. Windows Home Server Comparison Final and Windows Home Server Datasheet 2011 FINAL.

As some users might already know, Microsoft used Windows Server 2008 R2 components in order to build Windows Home Server 2011. But of course, the two products are quite different.

“Windows Home Server 2011 helps multi-PC families easily centralize, connect, and personalize their digital files. It provides a simple, familiar, and reliable way to store, stream, share and automatically protect what is most important,” the company stated.

The second major version of Windows Home Server was referred to as codename Vail during the development process.

Released to manufacturing at the end of March 2011, Windows Home Server 2011 received a collection of updates earlier this month.

Customers leveraging the OS can now download the server-side and client-side Windows Home Server 2011 Update Rollup 1 from Windows Update.

The same Update Rollup 1 is also offered to Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials and Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials, also via WU.

Judging by the way Windows Home Server has evolved, the next version could be based on Windows Server 8, but Microsoft has yet to confirm such a scenario.