Getting Technical: Windows Server 2008 R2 Foundation Overview

[#1]

Meet guest blogger Becky Ochs. Becky is a Senior Program Manager with Microsoft.

If you have small-business owners as customers who don't yet have a server in their environment, then Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Foundation, represents an outstanding opportunity for you. This is a general-purpose, cost-effective server providing a rich set of entry level capabilities  and targeted specifically for the small businesses that want to transition from a peer-to-peer network to a real business-class server with the ability to tailor server roles to their unique environments, and capable of offering the same experience as Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard Edition.

As with Standard Edition, Windows Server 2008 R2 Foundation offers centralized file sharing, printer management, and secured and shared access to critical business applications, such as accounting programs where access needs to be limited. One key is that Foundation Server is a business-class, entry level server with  Error Correcting Code (ECC) memory and a server-class hard drive that makes it a reliable piece of hardware, and it has also the same familiar deployment and management tools as the Standard Edition.

Because it is designed for a maximum of 15 user accounts its single-socket processor and 8GB of RAM are tailored for a small business’ needs. Another key difference is how customerscan use Active Directory. With Foundation server, you don't have to install a domain controller and configure Active Directory. You can just use it as a member server and join it to the current network, if you want to use it in a workgroup scenario. However if you want a single-user sign on and have the ability add the domain configuration, Foundation server can be deployed as your first domain controller. One thing to note is that it doesn't support trusts, because it's tailored for small businesses, Trust are something which really isn't used widely in that space.

When you start out with Foundation Server, you'll also have an opportunity to bring existing peer-to-peer networks into a first-server environment. That means you'll may see some desktops that probably aren't ready to participate in a domain, such as home eidtions of Windows, or older clients. So maybe you'll bring in Foundation Server first as a workgroup, and then focus on migrating those desktops to Windows 7 Professional. Then, over time, you can create a domain where you can add value such as extra security.

The first step to bringing Windows Server 2008 R2 Foundation into your customer's environment is to purchase your server with Foundation from your OEM. So, please visit hp.com or your distributor. You can purchase it pre-installed or as a reseller option kit and install it from a DVD. If that's the case, you can easily install it, configuring it to the needs of your customer using the installation wizards. You can do that in less than a day. It's that simple.

We hope you’ve enjoyed learning more about Windows Server 2008 R2 Foundation. For more information, click the links to learn more about ProLiant Servers or the Microsoft license choices that will work best for your situation.  Also, find out more about guest blogger Becky Ochs by viewing her biographical video.  If this has been helpful, please join the Coffee Coaching community follow us on our blog, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or LinkedIn.

[#2]

Thanks for sharing your info. I really appreciate your efforts and I will be waiting for your further write ups thanks once again.