Well after rebooting about 6 million times (why?
) I have installed it, first thing i realised, i need a whacking great hdd in the server or i cant test one of its biggest features (automated windows backups)
So after snooping around during mid install and when it was done i found a few interesting things out:
It seems to be loosely biased on Server 2003 R2 SBSE
Many features such as the sharing of files and printers that can be done in XP Pro and 2003 are much easier to setup and manage
The server console is rather useful, basic stats and most of the features can be monitored and changed through it even though, at the end of the day it is a glorified Explorer with quick access tabs (not complaining)
The remote console installs yet more services, can be a nuisance to people who know what they are doing and want to manually do everything but im sure for the avg. user of one of these servers it is a very good idea.
Make sure have a flash drive or cd with the latest drivers for nic/smbus etc
This beta seems to have XP style hardware support but worse, would have been a much smoother setup if i didn't get some 50 errors in '5x002340522 Error: omgdontknowwhattodo' format which just meant you needed to install the drivers for the nic manually.
Streaming works well, then again if it didn't i would be rather peeved from a windows OS.
Summary from my own point of view:
Its a great product for starter servers and people looking to have a central backup/access to files and printers etc. but it could be considered rather basic.
I personally would move over to it, its quicker and easier to manage the enterprise but as its in its beta stage i don't really want to entrust my WAMP server etc over to it incase there is a problem or two.
Many features that most people wont use are removed or hidden, which can be a good thing. Just a few more things like multiple users i need to cover then i can give my final say, till then this a very good product and fits perfectly where it is aimed at.
