14 DAY TRIAL // Windows Home Server is currently in the beta 2 stage and Microsoft has not mentioned the limit of participations although it has sent out in excess of 20,000 invites. The initial release of Windows Home Server will involve a single product based on the technology of Windows Server 2003. However, Todd Headrick, the product planner for the Microsoft Windows Home Server hinted at the fact that Windows Home Server will deliver additional editions as the product evolves. So a Windows Home Server Premium or even Ultimate version, although remote, will become reality. "Windows Home Server will initially only have a single edition, so we will just call the first version - Windows Home Server," Headrick explained.
The product planned revealed that the Windows Server Solutions Group (WSSG), the father of both Windows Home Server and Windows Small Business Server, aimed to build two entirely different products. Although WHS and SBS share Windows Server 2003 technology, the two server products target specific market segments. Windows SBS is designed to integrate in the environment of a small business with no more than 75 employees while Windows Home Server aims to become the heart of every multi-PC home network and will support 10 user accounts plus a guest.
"Windows Small Business Server Standard Edition comes with Microsoft Exchange Server so that small businesses can have their own on-premise e-mail server. On the other hand, Windows Home Server will not come with any e-mail functionality," Headrick added.
And while WHA will have only one version, Windows SBS has the Standard and Premium editions. Also, while SBS costs from $521 to $1,692 for the two editions, according to the licensing options, Windows Home Server will be cheaper, in the vicinity of a low-end PC.