Home or Professional version

[Frank F.]

Have 15 old computers with Win2000 that are connected via 2 hubs so they
share 1 printer and DSL Internet access.

Planning to buy some new XP computers.

Will "home" version be enough or must we have professional version.
Thanks Frank

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

Windows XP Home Edition Comparison Guide
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/howtobuy/choosing2.mspx

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows - Shell/User
Microsoft Community Newsgroups
news://msnews.microsoft.com/

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

:

| Have 15 old computers with Win2000 that are connected via 2 hubs so they
| share 1 printer and DSL Internet access.
|
| Planning to buy some new XP computers.
|
| Will "home" version be enough or must we have professional version.
| Thanks Frank

 

[Frank F.]

Thanks. I have read that already and still not clear to me in our
situation if we do or don't require Professional.
One source has told me that "Home" will only work up to
5 computers in a pear to pear network.
I don't know if our setup as described is or is not a pear to pear network.
Any info would be greatly appreciated.
Frank

 

[ANONYMOUS]

I take it you are running some form of SoHo business. If this is the
case then Professional is the right platform for you. Also, if you are
thinking of buying 5 or more professional licenses then it is a good
idea to investigate whether you should go for some form of Software
assurance Scheme. I suggest Contact a Volume Licensing Specialist at
Microsoft to get more info. you might also want ot upgrade your current
Win2k to XP Pro. As long as your existing system is PIII an above with
256mb RAM, 30MB HD, XP will run perfectly on them.

XP will be very much compatible with Win2k Pro as both are based on NT
technology. XP has better security features than Win2k.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/evaluation/whyupgrade/sorgtop10.mspx

http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/contact/default.mspx

You are not running a Peer to Perr network because you are connecting
all PCs via a hub so Home should be not a problem either. But for sheer
security features, I prefer Pro.

HTH

 

[Frank F.]

This is for a Senior Center open computer lab. Security is not a key concern
as all
the computers will have "drive shield" on them. This program lets all
changes be made to
anything but on the next boot everything is restored to original condition.

As money is a key issue, do we require Professional in our situation ?

Also, what is a peer to peer network ?
Thanks Frank

 

[ANONYMOUS]

Frank,

Peer-to-peer networking is effecively a serverless networking technology
that allows several network devices to share resources and communicate
directly with each other. A hub in between can act as a server and so
some would argue that this is not a P2P. I also subscribe to this
argument.

In your cae security is not an issue so I presume none of them connect
to the internet. If one of them is connecting to the internet then take
from me that other computers are also venerable because there is no
effective protection.

All these computers connect to one machine which has a PRINTER and DSL
connection so Home edition will do the job. Make sure that main machine
is Win2k and fully patched up with SP4.

Hope this helps.

 

[Steve Winograd [MVP]]

Thanks. I have read that already and still not clear to me in our
situation if we do or don't require Professional.
One source has told me that "Home" will only work up to
5 computers in a pear to pear network.
I don't know if our setup as described is or is not a pear to pear network.
Any info would be greatly appreciated.
Frank

There's a common misconception about a limit to the number of
computers on a Windows XP network. Apparently, Microsoft's
documentation isn't as clear as it should be. I've even seen a
computer manufacturer's web site pass along incorrect information in
this area.

There's no limit to the number of computers that can network with
Windows XP Home Edition and Professional.

There's a different limit that seems to cause this confusion. Home
Edition allows a maximum of 5 other computers to connect to its shared
resources simultaneously. Professional allows a maximum of 10 other
computers to connect to its shared resources simultaneously.
Computers that aren't actively connected to a computer's shared
resources don't count against the limit. When a computer disconnects
from a shared resource, it no longer counts against the limit. See
this site for more information:

Inbound Connections Limit in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;314882
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Program
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com

 

[Ron Sommer]

Security is not an issue, because a hard drive image is restored on every
boot.
All computers share DSL Internet access. so how can you presume that they
are not accessing the Internet?

 

[Ron Sommer]

Home will be fine.
Is the DSL modem connected to a hub or a computer?
Is the printer connected to a hub or a computer?

 

[Frank F.]

Hi Steve
Thanks for your info so far but I still am unclear.
There are 15 computers and 2 hubs and a main router. All of them have
Internet access
via DSL line, I'm assuming via the router.
There is a printer that is NOT connected directly to a computer but I
believe connects
to the router. All the computers can use this printer.

Is this printer a "shared resource" ????? If so, then only 5
people could send jobs
to the printer at the same time with "Home" version, correct ?

So if the printer is NOT a "shared resource" then we don't need
"professional" version,
correct ?

This is in a Senior Center and money is a key issue and don't want to buy
"professional"
if we don't need it.
Thanks again
Frank

 

[Frank F.]

Hi Ron
Thanks for your reply.
The computers connect to several hubs which I believe connects to a router
and I would assume
the DSL modem connects to the router. All the computers have Internet
access.
The printer does NOT connect directly to a computer but I believe connects
to the router.

So "Home" version is enough ?
Frank

 

[Gordon]

Have 15 old computers with Win2000 that are connected via 2 hubs so
they share 1 printer and DSL Internet access.

Planning to buy some new XP computers.

Will "home" version be enough or must we have professional version.
Thanks Frank

If you've got W2K why not just do some lateral thinking and switch the whole
network to Linux? No problems with limiting of concurrent connections, no
licence problems etc etc and you have a built-in Server application with
most modern distros as well. Why bother with XP? Your users will have to
have /some/ re-training on the differences between W2K and XP anyway, so
that shouldn't be a problem.....

 

[Ron Sommer]

From your description, each computer can access the Internet and the
printer.
No computer can access files on another computer.
No computer is host for a network, so the 5 or 10 active connections limit
does not apply.
Home will be fine.

If you get Home or Pro, Windows Update will be a problem.
I don't have time to get into all of the details.
A new thread should be started.

 

[Ron Martell]

Hi Steve
Thanks for your info so far but I still am unclear.
There are 15 computers and 2 hubs and a main router. All of them have
Internet access
via DSL line, I'm assuming via the router.
There is a printer that is NOT connected directly to a computer but I
believe connects
to the router. All the computers can use this printer.

Is this printer a "shared resource" ????? If so, then only 5
people could send jobs
to the printer at the same time with "Home" version, correct ?

So if the printer is NOT a "shared resource" then we don't need
"professional" version,
correct ?

The printer connected to the router is not a shared resource on any
computer for the purposes of the licensing limit on connections to a
shared resource.

This is in a Senior Center and money is a key issue and don't want to buy
"professional"
if we don't need it.

From what you have said I do not believe you need Professional unless
there is some other function or feature that is unique to XP Pro that
you might need.


One further point. With 15 computers you might want to look into
Volume Licensing rather than purchasing separate retail licenses.

If your Senior Center is operated by a non-profit charity then you
might want to look into the following:
http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/programs/open/opencharity.mspx

Good luck

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada