I realize that the various versions of Windows Server Essentials have a 25 user limit. Does this refer to 25 *simultaneous* users or a total of 25 users set up in the Dashboard? A lot of multi-user software uses a maximum count of simultaneous users, rather than the total number of potentially connected user accounts. For example, you could have defined 30 users, but no more than 25 would be logged in at a time.
Second, can MS SQL Server be installed/run on an Essentials server? Or do we need a second "application" server for SQL Server?
Finally, does an Essentials server have to be the *only* domain controller on a multi-server network?
Thanks very much for your help with these questions.
Hello John,
Hi Mariette,
To add a little specificity to my general Essentials questions above, we have a client that is interested in moving their primary server from Windows Server 2008 R2 to Windows Server 2016 Essentials. They have less than 25 users on their network and would like the features that Essentials offers (remote web access, health monitoring of server and workstations, automatic workstation backup). Is the transition from Server 2008 to Essentials 2016 a difficult one? Is it one of the Windows Server "migrations" you have detailed documentation for? If so, could you please provide the price for the guide in US dollars?
Would a better option be to upgrade from 2008 Standard to 2016 Standard, then add the Essentials experience role to the 2016 server? Although we have worked with many Essentials networks (from the original 2011 version through 2016 Essentials) we have not installed the Essentials Experience role on a standard version of Windows server. Is the Essentials Experience role included with Server 2016 Standard or is there additional cost for the role?
Thanks again for your assistance in answering these questions.
I spoke with my network engineer this morning. Apparently the client has four servers running Windows 2008 R2. Can we migrate all four servers over to Windows Essentials 2016 or will that cause problems and/or added complexity to the process? In addition to the Essentials-specific features, the client strongly prefers (for cost reasons) the 25 user no-CAL licensing of Server Essentials.
Should we employ Essentials 2016 on only one of the servers, and use Server 2016 Standard for the other three?
Thank you again. In conjunction with the client, we are planning to place both the hardware (HP ProLiant servers) and software (Server OS, MS SQL Server) later today. We will then implement the migration within the next few days after receiving the products.
John
John,
It does not make any sense at all to migrate those 4 WS 2008 R2 to 3 Windows Server 2016 Standard and one with Windows Server 2016 Essentials SKU from a cost perspective. I would go for 4 times standard and install the Essentials Experience role on the DC.
Are you going to virtualize? If so, then you can use one Windows Server 2016 Standard as Hyper-V host and two Virtual instances but for licensing details please ask your vendor? I am not a licensing expert.
Your browser doesn't have Flash, Silverlight or HTML5 support.
Thanks for your very helpful answer, Mariette.
Migrations with our migration kits are not difficult. We have those kits to make it easy for you and we are always here to help if you have questions. From a migration perspective there is no difference if you migrate to WSE 2016 or WS 2016 with the Essentials role. As a matter of fact it is the same procedure but with the migration to WSE 2016 we must make sure the Essentials Experience role installation is cancelled multiple times because we need to start the migration first, this is well explained in this guide Migrate from Windows Server 2008 R2 (Enterprise, Standard or Foundation) to Windows Server 2016 Essentials. The cost of this guide (Windows Server 2008 migration kit DIY) without additional break-fix or Premier support is in Euro 199 and in Dollar that is today 221. On the left column in the store you can find the actual exchange rates.
The Essentials Experience role is always included with Windows Server 2016 and can be installed as an extra.
One last question about this, please. When upgrading from Windows Server 2008 to Windows Server 2016, do you have to update to WS 2012 as an intermediate step (i.e., there is not a direct migration path from WS 2008 to WS 2016?).
Thanks again.
We do not upgrade but we migrate! An upgrade where you just put in installation media for WS2016 in the server that runs 2008 is something we never do on this site and I consider that method bad.
A direct migration from Windows Server 2008 to Windows Server 2016 with or with Essentials is no problem at all.