Connection #'s in XP vs. XP Pro

[Dick Sutton]

Just to make sure that I have the details straight: Win XP Home allows four
(4) simultaneous connections from a LAN, while Win XP Pro allows ten (10)
simultaneous connections from a LAN?

Here's what I'm really asking. I want to have a small office LAN with 8
workstations on it (for wiring convenience) all running XP Home on a 100Mbs
switch. 'Logically', they are going to be subdivided into two groups: 3 of
them talking to 1 machine and 3 others talking to another machine. For
example: workstations A, B, and C will talk to X; while D, E, and F will
talk to Y. Am I still okay with the Win XP Home connection issue? It
appears so, but I would like your responses.

I am presuming that the connection numbers are 'simultaneous' connections,
true?

Thanks in advance...

Dick

 

[DJ Borell]

Just to make sure that I have the details straight: Win XP Home allows
four (4) simultaneous connections from a LAN, while Win XP Pro allows ten
(10) simultaneous connections from a LAN?

Here's what I'm really asking. I want to have a small office LAN with 8
workstations on it (for wiring convenience) all running XP Home on a
100Mbs switch. 'Logically', they are going to be subdivided into two
groups: 3 of them talking to 1 machine and 3 others talking to another
machine. For example: workstations A, B, and C will talk to X; while D,
E, and F will talk to Y. Am I still okay with the Win XP Home connection
issue? It appears so, but I would like your responses.

I am presuming that the connection numbers are 'simultaneous' connections,
true?

Thanks in advance...

Dick

 

[DJ Borell]

Just to make sure that I have the details straight: Win XP Home allows
four (4) simultaneous connections from a LAN, while Win XP Pro allows ten
(10) simultaneous connections from a LAN?

Here's what I'm really asking. I want to have a small office LAN with 8
workstations on it (for wiring convenience) all running XP Home on a
100Mbs switch. 'Logically', they are going to be subdivided into two
groups: 3 of them talking to 1 machine and 3 others talking to another
machine. For example: workstations A, B, and C will talk to X; while D,
E, and F will talk to Y. Am I still okay with the Win XP Home connection
issue? It appears so, but I would like your responses.

I am presuming that the connection numbers are 'simultaneous' connections,
true?

Thanks in advance...

Dick

Actually, Windows XP Home allows 5 simultaneous connections.

As a sidenote, have you considered running a ninth Linux box to share global
resources such as printers / files? You can run Samba in Linux to mimic a
Windows share without worrying about the number of connections.

 

[Malke]

Just to make sure that I have the details straight: Win XP Home allows
four (4) simultaneous connections from a LAN, while Win XP Pro allows
ten (10) simultaneous connections from a LAN?

Here's what I'm really asking. I want to have a small office LAN with
8 workstations on it (for wiring convenience) all running XP Home on a
100Mbs
switch. 'Logically', they are going to be subdivided into two groups:
3 of
them talking to 1 machine and 3 others talking to another machine.
For example: workstations A, B, and C will talk to X; while D, E, and
F will
talk to Y. Am I still okay with the Win XP Home connection issue? It
appears so, but I would like your responses.

I am presuming that the connection numbers are 'simultaneous'
connections, true?

Hi, Dick. It's 5 for Home, 10 for Pro. Yes, the connection limitations
refer to simultaneous connections and not by computers. You should
realize the one computer can make more than one connection to another
machine.

I think from your description of the office setup you're fine because
only a few machines will be accessing X and Y. The connection
limitations don't refer to how many machines are on the *network*. Here
is a link and more information:

http://support.microsoft.com/?id=314882 - Inbound connections limit in
XP

concurrent connections:

10 for XP Pro/Tablet/MCE
5 for XP Home
49 for SBS 2000
74 for SBS 2003
Unlimited for full Server O/Ses

Malke

 

[Nepatsfan]

Since you don't give many details concerning the office
environment or the nature of the business it's kind of hard to
give a solid recommendation. For instance, is this a home office?
Are you the owner, an employee or a consultant called in to help
set up their systems? I'm guessing that this is your business and
we're talking a traditional small office environment. Based on
that, here's my two cents.

Your plan sounds fine for now but leaves no room for growth. What
if in the future someone decides that A, B, C, D, E, and F have
to connect to both X and Y? What if the company wishes to connect
to X or Y from a remote location? What if the boss wants to
access his office computer from home? What if the business
expands and more systems are added to the mix?

Unless all 8 systems have already been purchased, I'd recommend
getting at least 2 machines that come with XP Pro installed.
Those would be setup as X and Y. The price difference is
insignificant when balanced against the increased flexibility. If
you already have all the hardware in place, then you might want
to start looking for a reliable source who'll provide the best
price for a retail XP Pro upgrade. You may not need it right away
but sooner or later you will.

 

[Dick Sutton]

Thanks to everyone for the replies. I know that I was a little vague on the
details. Thanks for the answers and correcting my misinterpretations (I
knew the number was 5 for XP Home but thought that included the system being
connected to). Nepatsfan has given me valuable food for thought and for
future upgrading, and I will pass this along. As always, cost is a
consideration: now and/or in the future.

Thanks again...

Dick

 

[DJ Borell]

Thanks to everyone for the replies. I know that I was a little vague on
the details. Thanks for the answers and correcting my misinterpretations
(I knew the number was 5 for XP Home but thought that included the system
being connected to). Nepatsfan has given me valuable food for thought and
for future upgrading, and I will pass this along. As always, cost is a
consideration: now and/or in the future.

Thanks again...

Dick

Just remember that a couple of bucks saved now may cost you dearly in the
future. I agree with Nepatsfan, go with XP Pro (unless you want to learn
about Linux. Sorry, I'm a big fan of Linux in a SOHO. Don't bother
flaming, I've heard it all before.)