Earlier this week we told you that Windows Home Server 2011 had finally RTM’d. Well, a few days after that Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials (formally known as Breckenridge) also RTM’d.
Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials is part of the Colorado family of products, which includes Windows Home Server 2011 and Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials. They all share the same codebase and a lot of the same functionality.
What is surprising is that Microsoft chose to call it Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials. In my opinion this immediately gives the impression that the product is at least 3 years old, when it fact it is brand new! Oh well, I am sure they had their reasons!
Here is what Microsoft said on their blog post:
This exciting milestone means OEM partners can now use Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials (WSS Essentials) to build NAS appliances that are ideally suited to help small business owners keep important data automatically backed up, protected, organized and accessible from virtually anywhere. Active Directory join capability enables WSS Essentials to easily integrate into existing infrastructure and networks.
To help with questions we hear during this time of the product release cycle, I have provided further guidance below.
· When will OEM’s offer WSS Essentials-based server appliances?
We expect to start seeing NAS storage appliances running Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials in the next few months. Further information will be released about supporting OEM’s as they unfold their release strategy.
· Can I buy WSS Essentials through all channels?
No, WSS Essentials will only be available via specialized OEM’s only.
· What languages does WSS Essentials support?
19 languages: Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional, Taiwan), Chinese (Hong Kong), Czech, Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Russian, Spanish, Swedish, and Turkish.
· When will the Evaluation for WSS Essentials be made available?
The evaluation experience for Windows Storage Server Essentials will be released in early April.
· When will I be able to download WSS Essentials via my TechNet or MSDN subscription?
WSS Essentials will be made available only through MSDN starting early April.
· Can you tell me more about WSS Essentials?
You can learn more with our WSS Essentials datasheet. It is part of the Windows Storage Server family.
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