Difference between XP Home and Pro

[Marc Seidler]

I have run into this a few times now and I need clarification. According
to what I have read regarding the differences, XPH is fine for Peer to Peer
up to 5 users and that it cannot Logon to a Domain where as XPP can work
fine in a Peer to Peer 10 user workgroup and can Logon to a Domain. Also
XPP has much more granularity to the file sharing options from a user
permission standpoint. Other than a few other minor utility differences
they are the same from a networking standpoint.
Here is the problem. I have quiet a few doctors offices as clients and
their Office Management software developers specifically require XPP even
below 5 users. They claim that in testing XPH is not stable in a networking
environment. They say they will not support XPH at all. I have not found
and problems running XPH. There are pretty std networking apps that run the
client locally and the data files reside on a mapped drive.
Any info would be appreciated.

Marc Seidler
The Computer Doctors

 

[CZ]

I have run into this a few times now and I need clarification.to what I have read regarding the differences, XPH is fine for Peer to Peer
up to 5 users and that it cannot Logon to a Domain where as XPP can work
fine in a Peer to Peer 10 user workgroup and can Logon to a Domain. Also
XPP has much more granularity to the file sharing options from a user
permission standpoint. Other than a few other minor utility differences
they are the same from a networking standpoint.
Here is the problem. I have quiet a few doctors offices as clients and
their Office Management software developers specifically require XPP even
below 5 users. They claim that in testing XPH is not stable in a networking
environment. They say they will not support XPH at all. I have not found
and problems running XPH. There are pretty std networking apps that run the
client locally and the data files reside on a mapped drive.
Any info would be appreciated.

Marc:

I use both XP Pro and XP Home in non-domain networking and in domain
networking.
Per my experience XP Home does not have a stability issue in either
networking
environment.

Limitations re: using XP Home in a domain:
Cannot be a domain member, which means:
Cannot be authenticated by a DC during bootup, which means:
Cannot run domain login scripts.
Cannot receive domain GPO (can be an impt mgmt and security issue).
Cannot query AD.

Other potential issues re: XP Home in any type of networking:
Cannot create user groups.
All networking connections are made via the Guest acct, even if the Guest
acct is set to "off".
Does not support Local Security Policy feature
Only has the ICS$ hidden Admin share.

Domain features that Home can do/use:
Normal NetBIOS networking
Non-NetBT networking (via port 445)
DHCP
Dynamic DNS
DNS forwarding
Exchange server 2k
ISA 2k
WINS
EFS
IIS
VPN

IMO, the networking differences are not minor. In a simple non-domain
network you may not be affected by the differences, but in a domain the
differences can be a major issue.
below 5 users.

IMO, use extreme caution in not following a developer's recommendations.
You may incur a significant financial risk if you don't.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

The office manager application's software developers may well
_not_ have tested their product(s) on WinXP Home, so they cannot, in
good conscience, warrant their product(s) on the WinXP Home platform.
If this is the case, they need merely say so. This would be a
business decision on their part, and they can accept the consequences
of unnecessarily sending potential customers to their more flexible
competitors.

However, if they're seriously claiming that WinXP Home is not as
stable as WinXP Pro, they're either woefully uninformed or
disingenuous. In either case, I'd be hesitant about continuing to do
business with them.

The two versions are _identical_ when it comes to performance,
stability, and device driver and software application compatibility,
but are intended to meet different functionality, networking,
security, and ease-of-use needs, in different environments. The most
significant differences are that WinXP Pro allows up to 10
simultaneous inbound network connections while WinXP Home only allows
only 5, WinXP Pro is designed to join a Microsoft domain while WinXP
Home cannot, and only WinXP Pro supports file encryption and IIS.
(Oh, and WinXP Pro usually costs roughly $100 USD more than WinXP
Home.)

Windows XP Comparison Guide
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/howtobuy/choosing2.asp

Which Edition Is Right for You
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/whichxp.asp

Windows XP Home Edition vs. Professional Edition
http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_home_pro.asp


Bruce Chambers
--
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