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February 2014 |
In July of 2012, it was announced that there will not be another Windows Small Business Server product after SBS 2011. SBS 2011 Essentials will be succeeded by Windows Server 2012 Essentials. One of the primary differences between Windows Server 2012 Essentials and previous versions of Small Business Server is that Windows Server 2012 Essentials does not include Microsoft Exchange which is used for messaging and collaboration, including the ability to host email.
FAQs
What is Windows Server 2012 Essentials?
The latest version of Windows Small Business Server, Windows Server 2012 Essentials is a flexible, affordable, and easy-to-use server solution designed and priced for small businesses with up to 25 users and 50 devices that helps them reduce costs and be more productive. Windows Server 2012 Essentials is an ideal first server, and it can also be used as the primary server in a multi-server environment for small businesses. Windows Server 2012 Essentials enables small businesses to protect, centralize, organize and access their applications and information from almost anywhere using virtually any device. Additionally, Essentials has the ability to grow as your business grows, providing an elastic solution that allows you to purchase and then perform an in-place conversion to Windows Server 2012 Standard if your business needs change over time.
Customers can use Windows Server 2012 Essentials as a platform to run critical line-of-business applications and other on-premises workloads, as well as to provide an integrated management experience when running cloud-based applications and services, such as email, collaboration, online backup, and more.
In addition, Windows Server 2012 Essentials enables businesses to better protect their data through automated backup and restore capabilities, which provides the ability to recover from accidentally deleted or overwritten files, and to quickly recover and continue operations in the event of a disaster. And as business needs grow and change, Windows Server 2012 Essentials is able to grow as well, including the ability to perform an in-place upgrade to Windows Server 2012 Standard.
Product Information
What is included with Windows Server 2012 Essentials?
Windows Server 2012 Essentials incorporates best-of-breed 64-bit product technologies to deliver a server environment well suited for the vast majority of small businesses. The product technologies include:
Server Operating System
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Windows Server 2012 product technologies provide the core of Windows Server 2012 Essentials. For more information, visit the Windows Server 2012 website. Windows Server 2012 Essentials provides an end-to-end integrated setup that installs and configures many of the roles and features of Windows Server 2012 according to best practices configuration for small business environments. This provides customers with immediate out-of-the-box value and productivity. |
| Data Protection |
Windows Server 2012 Essentials leverages several new features available in Windows Server 2012 to provide greatly improved data protection capabilities. The new Storage Spaces feature allows customers to aggregate the physical storage capacity of disparate hard drives, dynamically add hard drives, and to create volumes with specified levels of resilience. Windows Server 2012 Essentials can perform complete system backups and bare-metal restores of the server itself as well as the client computers connected to the network—now with support for volumes larger than 2 terabytes. Additionally, Windows Azure Online Backup can be used to protect files and folders in a cloud-based storage service that is managed by Microsoft. Windows Server 2012 Essentials also centrally manages and configures the new File History feature of Windows 8 clients, helping users to recover from accidently deleted or overwritten files without requiring administrator assistance.
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| Anywhere Access |
Remote Web Access provides a stream-lined, touch-friendly browser experience for accessing applications and data from virtually anywhere they have an Internet connection using almost any device. Windows Server 2012 Essentials also provides an updated Windows Phone app and a new modern app for Windows 8 clients, allowing users to intuitively connect to, search across, and access files and folders on the server; files are also automatically cached for offline access and synchronized when a connection to the server becomes available. Windows Server 2012 Essentials turns setting up virtual private networking (VPN) into a painless wizard-driven process of just a few clicks, and simplifies the management of VPN access for users. Client computers can leverage a VPN connection to remotely join the Essentials environment without the need to come into the office. |
| Health Monitoring |
Windows Server 2012 Essentials monitors its own health status and the status of client computers running Windows 7, Windows 8, and Mac OS X version 10.5 and above. Health status notifies you of issues or problems related to computer backups, server storage, low disk space, and more.
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| Workload Flexibility |
Windows Server 2012 Essentials has been designed to allow customers the flexibility to choose which applications and services run on-premises and which run in the cloud. In previous versions, Windows Small Business Server Standard included Exchange Server as a component product, which added expense and complexity for customers who wished to leverage cloud-based messaging and collaboration services. With Windows Server 2012 Essentials, customers can take advantage of the same integrated management experience whether they choose to run an on-premises copy of Exchange Server, subscribe to a hosted Exchange service, or subscribe to Office 365.
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| Extensibility |
Windows Server 2012 Essentials builds on the extensibility model of Windows SBS 2011 Essentials, which allows other software vendors to add capabilities and features to the core product, and adds a new set of Web Services APIs. It also maintains compatibility with the existing software development kit (SDK) and Add-Ins created for Windows SBS 2011 Essentials.
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Small Business Server 2011
Will there be a next version of Windows Small Business Server 2011 Standard?
No. Windows SBS 2011 Standard, which includes Exchange Server and SharePoint Foundation as component products, will be the final such Windows Server offering. Windows Server 2012 Essentials has been designed to allow customers the flexibility to choose which applications and services run on-premises and which run in the cloud. With Windows Server 2012 Essentials, customers can take advantage of the same type of integrated management experience whether they choose to run an on-premises copy of Exchange Server, subscribe to a hosted Exchange service, or subscribe to Office 365.
What will Windows SBS 2011 Standard customers with Software Assurance receive?
If you have Software Assurance on Windows SBS 2011 Standard, you will receive one Windows Server 2012 Standard license and one Exchange Server 2010 Standard license. Customers with current Software Assurance will receive the above licensing grant. This grant will be reflected upon your agreement renewal; however you are entitled to use the granted product upon its availability.
How long will customers be able to purchase Windows Small Business Server 2011 Standard?
Windows Small Business Server 2011 Standard will remain available through the OEM channel until December 31, 2013, and will remain available in all other current channels until June 30, 2013. In addition, the Windows Small Business Server 2011 CAL Suite will remain available through the OEM channel until December 31, 2016, and will remain available in all other current channels until June 30, 2016. CALs will no longer be available after those dates.
What is the recommended solution for customers who require on-premises messaging and collaboration services as well as the latest version of Microsoft products?
The latest versions of Windows Server, Exchange Server, and SharePoint Server can be used together to provide customers with a robust, scalable on-premises solution for messaging and collaboration. Additionally, these server solutions can be deployed as either physical or virtual workloads. For example, a complete virtualized environment running on a single physical server can be created by combining a copy of Windows Server 2012 Standard and a copy of Windows Server 2012 Essentials. A single license of Standard allows it to run as a Hyper-V host and support two additional virtual operating system environments, one of which could be used to run Exchange Server and the other could be used to run another workload, such as a line-of-business application. Essentials can also run as a virtual operating system environment on the same physical server to provide the core services for managing, monitoring, and helping to keep the entire environment protected and secure.
Will there be a next version of the Windows Small Business Server 2011 Premium Add-on?
No. The Windows SBS 2011 Premium Add-on, which includes SQL Server 2008 R2 Standard for Small Business, will be the final version of that offering. SQL Server 2012 does not offer a Small Business edition, and therefore future versions of the Premium Add-on will not be offered.
What is the recommended solution for customers who are looking for a “premium” small business server offering?
The latest versions of the component products of the Premium Add-on, Windows Server 2012 Standard and SQL Server 2012 Standard, can be used together in a Windows Server 2012 Essentials environment to provide a robust, scalable platform for running line-of-business applications and other workloads, such as Exchange Server and SharePoint Server. Other Microsoft offerings, such as Windows MultiPoint Server, can also be combined with Windows Server 2012 Essentials to provide an even more comprehensive solution that can address a wide range of customer needs.
For example, a complete virtualized environment running on a single physical server can be created by combining a copy of Windows Server 2012 Standard and a copy of Windows Server 2012 Essentials. A single license of Standard allows it to run as a Hyper-V host and support two additional virtual operating system environments, one of which could be used to run Exchange Server and the other could be used to run another workload, such as a line-of-business application. Essentials can also run as a virtual operating system environment on the same physical server to provide the core services for managing, monitoring, and helping to keep the entire environment protected and secure.
What will Windows SBS 2011 Premium Add-on customers with Software Assurance receive?
If you have Software Assurance on the Windows SBS 2011 Premium Add-on, you will receive one Windows Server 2012 Standard license and one SQL Server 2012 Standard license. This grant will be reflected upon your agreement renewal; however you are entitled to use the granted product upon its availability.
How long will customers be able to purchase the Windows Small Business Server 2011 Premium Add-on?
Windows Small Business Server 2011 Premium Add-on will remain available through the OEM channel until December 31, 2013, and will remain available in all other current channels until June 30, 2013. In addition, the Windows Small Business Server 2011 CAL Suite for Premium Add-on will remain available through the OEM channel until December 31, 2016, and will remain available in all other current channels until June 30, 2016. CALs will no longer be available after those dates.
System Requirements
What are the system requirements for Windows Server 2012 Essentials?
For a complete set of requirements, please visit http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj200132.aspx.
Processor
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Minimum of one 1.4 GHz x64 processor
Maximum of two physical sockets |
| RAM |
Minimum: 2 GB
Recommended: 4 GB
Maximum: 64 GB |
| Hard Disk Space |
Minimum One 160 GB disk drive
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END
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February 2014 |
Compucon Code
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1E96 (2GB)/ 1EA6L (4GB)
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Suitable for
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Desktop PC
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Module Specification
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240Pin Unbuffered-DIMM
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| Density |
2GB / 4GB |
MRS Cycle with address key programs
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- CAS Latency (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
- Burst Length (BL): 8 and 4 with Burst Chop(BC)
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Power supply
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VDD & VDDQ = 1.5V ± 0.075V |
| DRAM Spec/VCC |
DDR3 Std 1.5V |
Operating Temperature
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0°C to +85°C |
Compucon Code
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1EA6L (4GB)/1EB6L (8GB)
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Suitable for
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Desktop PC
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Module Specification
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240Pin Unbuffered-DIMM
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| Density |
4GB / 8GB
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DRAM Spec/VCC
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N/A
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MRS Cycle with address key programs
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N/A |
| Power supply |
VDD & VDDQ = 1.35V (1.283V-1.45V) |
Operating Temperature
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0°C to +85°C |
END
Click here to return
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February 2014 |
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Compucon CPD Seminar
12 February 2014 Wednesday
Compucon House Albany
4:00 – 4:15pm Outside the Square: Not visible from Earth
4:15 – 5:30pm Hardware technologies for 2014
5:30 – 6:00pm Compucon system category review
6:00 – 7:30pm Wine and Cheese
NASA published an image of Saturn showing its North Pole and rings in full circle on 21 October 2013 as the Astronomy Picture of the Day. Discover Magazine (Science for the Curious) nominated the same image as the Image of the Year in its January 2014 issue. This image is rated highly because it cannot be seen by any instruments from Earth. We will show this image to start the seminars for this year and reveal an amazing technology that we do not otherwise know but should better know as technology professionals.
There are several new hardware technologies for release this year such as NVM Express standard for SSD on PCIe, DDR4 and HMC for main memory, AMD Kaveri APU for Thunderbird, and PCIE-extender for high performance fabric. Intel will continue to be the biggest technology supplier in the world for many years to come but it has not earned a place in this session for reasons to be explained in the session. AMD is innovative in combining 32 ARM CPU cores into a new server CPU. SSD is a rising star and continues to improve. DDR4 may help address a major weakness of x86 computing but it may be the last iteration of DDR technology before memory cube kicks in. An understanding of the above technology releases will allow us to continue practising our offer of FFP (fitness for purpose) and TCO (total cost of ownership) to our business clients throughout the year.
There are 5 categories of Compucon Systems: Servers, Desktops, HPC Workstations, Small Factor systems, and Storage systems. As far as desktop is concerned, we will continue to employ Process Workers, Knowledge Workers, and Specialists as the classes of user targets for design. HPC Workstations are in the category of Specialists equipped for parallel computing. We will not have enough time to do a parade of all product lines and will attempt to highlight special features of basic system models only and leave rack server and storage to a near future session. We have 2 purposes intended for this session. The standard one is to reinforce understanding of FFP and TCO to maintain our hardware leadership position in New Zealand. The special one is to reveal a new class of high value customers and to call for BEE and FEM among our peers. The last 2 slides are important information.
END
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January 2014 |
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Intel Ivy Bridge-E Processor
Ivy Bridge is the codename for a line of processors based on the 22 nm manufacturing process developed by Intel. The name is also applied more broadly to the 22 nm die shrink of the Sandy Bridge microarchitecture based on FinFET ("3D") tri-gate transistors, which is also used in the Xeon and Core i7 Ivy Bridge-EX (Ivytown), Ivy Bridge-EP and Ivy Bridge-E microprocessors released in 2013.
Ivy Bridge processors are backwards compatible with the Sandy Bridge platform, but such systems might require a firmware update (vendor specific). In 2011, Intel released the 7-series Panther Point chipsets with integrated USB 3.0 to complement Ivy Bridge.
Volume production of Ivy Bridge chips began in the third quarter of 2011.[4] Quad-core and dual-core-mobile models launched on 29 April 2012 and 31 May 2012 respectively. Core i3 desktop processors, as well as the first 22 nm Pentium, were announced and available the first week of September, 2012.
- Ivy Bridge-E processors do not ship with standard Intel CPU-coolers, instead Intel is planning on offering their own liquid-cooling solutions, which will be sold separately.
| Name | Cores | Threads | Frequency | Turbo Boost | L3 cache | TDP | Socket | Release Date |
| Core i7 Extreme 4960X |
6 |
12 |
3.60GHz |
4.00Ghz |
15MB |
130 W |
LGA2011 |
10 September 2013 |
| Core i7 4930K |
6 |
12 |
3.40GHz |
3.90GHz |
12MB |
130 W |
LGA2011 |
10 September 2013 |
| Core i7 4820K |
6 |
12 |
3.70GHz |
3.90GHz |
10MB |
130 W |
LGA2011 |
10 September 2013 |
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