I've had 2012r2 Essentials for many years. I probably need to replace it and I'm looking for a recommendation. It is on a HP Microserver in my home. I use the Connector application to let the PC's in my home connect to it, backup the PC's and use it as location to store and share files. Everything is in a Workgroup environment. Not very sophisticated, but it works.
It appears to me that the most recent versions of Windows Server don't have a Connector feature. I believe 2016 does, and I'm not sure about 2019. I hate to go back too far because that means it will be out of support sooner.
Any insight and recommendations will be appreciated.
Thanks!
Chuck
NOTE: I've spent an entire week trying to figure out with Microsoft's help why I can't reinstall the Connector on a Windows 11 24H2 PC. I've concluded that 24H2 is the problem. It appears that I can't go back to 23H2 because more than 10 days have passed since the 24H2 installation. Connector ran fine on an upgraded 24H2 machine, it only fails if you have to uninstall and reinstall it.
Chuck,
In modern Windows Server environments, we always use Domain Controllers. A Domain Controller (DC) centralizes authentication, security, and resource management in a network. It provides Single Sign-On (SSO), enforces Group Policies, and controls user access. DCs improve security with centralized auditing and password policies while ensuring redundancy and failover with multiple DCs. They simplify IT management, allowing admins to manage users, computers, and permissions from one place. DCs also integrate with enterprise services like Exchange and SharePoint and support remote access. Ideal for organizations, they enhance security, scalability, and efficiency in managing network resources.
The Essentials Experience role has been deprecated since the release of Windows Server 2019.