Windows server essentials 2012 r2 limitations free

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The Windows Server R2 Essentials bit License from Microsoft is a cloud-enabled OEM server solution designed and priced for small businesses with up. To balance the restrictions of Server Essentials (and appeal to the product’s “small business” target market), it comes with features that are. Specifications, Foundation · Essentials, Standard, Datacenter ; Distribution, OEM only, Retail, volume licensing, OEM, Volume licensing and OEM ; Licensing model.

Transition from Windows Server Essentials to Windows Server R2 Standard | Microsoft Docs.Server Essentials hyper v Role – Limitiations? – Windows Server

Windows Server 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.

Small businesses that initially purchase Essentials and then later grow in size can purchase Windows Server Standard and do an in-place license transition of the server. Keep in mind that you will need Windows Server client access licenses CALs to access the instances of Windows Server Standard in your environment the simplified licensing model for Essentials does not use or include any CALs as part of its product license.

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 Essentials, but has been available in the Windows Server family for some time. This means that when you purchase, or receive as a Software Assurance SA grant, a Windows Server 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. 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 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. 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.

Scenario 1: Purchasing Windows Server Essentials to use with fewer than 25 users, and then later growing larger.

You initially buy server hardware and Windows Server Essentials for your small business. Later, your business grows beyond the limits of Essentials, so you buy a copy of Windows Server 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 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.

Scenario 2: Purchasing Windows Server Standard, exercising downgrade rights, and performing an in-place license transition. You install Windows Server 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. In light of the downgrade and in-place transition rights, what is the best edition of Windows Server for small business customers? Small businesses with these characteristics represent a huge opportunity in the market today, one that Essentials was specifically designed to address.

Windows Server Standard provides a more robust infrastructure solution while still allowing you to deploy and use all the great value-added features of Essentials.