14 DAY TRIAL // Concomitantly with the launch of the last development milestone of Windows Home Server 2011, formerly codenamed Vail, Microsoft also made available for download the Release Candidate Build of Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials. This shouldn’t really come as a surprise, especially considering that the two platforms are virtually joined at the hip.
Early adopters can now head to Microsoft Connect and download the Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials RC bits, provided that they own a valid Windows Live ID.
Michael Leworthy from Windows Server Marketing explains that as it’s usually the case with Microsoft products, the RC is the final development milestone before Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials will be released to manufacturing.
“The Release Candidate (RC) signifies our last mile efforts for releasing this product to our customers, and prepares our large network of software and solution partners for its release,” Leworthy revealed.
Microsoft underlines that Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials RC is a release designed for early adopters.
In this regard, customers that want to see what the next iteration of Windows SBS brings to the table can grab the bits and install the platform in a testing environment.
Deployment into production is not recommended, and the software giant doesn’t offer support for the Release Candidate of Windows SBS 2011.
“Ideal as a first server for small businesses with up to 25 users, Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials provides a cost-effective and easy-to-use solution to help protect data, organize and access business information from virtually anywhere, support the applications needed to run a business, and quickly connect to online services for e-mail, collaboration and CRM,” Leworthy said.
“To fast track your learning, we have also launched our new SBS 2011 Essentials Learning Bites – fifteen 3-5 minute videos focusing on core features and functionality. Further videos, plus many other resources can be found on the official SBS website.”