Microsoft XP Pro vs XP Home

[Guest]

I work for a non-profit org where money is really tight. We are buying some low-end pentium 4 desktops for a network of 15 counselors and teachers. How important is it that we upgrade the free XP Home to XP Pro (+$80 per unit)? Will this prevent networking problems or is XP home reliable as a small business networking solution? Thanks for your input. Mark

 

[Simon Harris]

Hi Mark,

Check this out:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/howtobuy/choosing2.asp

If anythings not clear after that, post back.

Simon.

I work for a non-profit org where money is really tight. We are buying

some low-end pentium 4 desktops for a network of 15 counselors and teachers.
How important is it that we upgrade the free XP Home to XP Pro (+$80 per
unit)? Will this prevent networking problems or is XP home reliable as a
small business networking solution? Thanks for your input. Mark

 

[Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]]

If you don't use a domain model on your network, and don't need stuff like
Remote Desktop, offline files, etc., XP Home will be just fine.

 

[Chuck]

I work for a non-profit org where money is really tight. We are buying some low-end pentium 4 desktops for a network of 15 counselors and teachers. How important is it that we upgrade the free XP Home to XP Pro (+$80 per unit)? Will this prevent networking problems or is XP home reliable as a small business networking solution? Thanks for your input. Mark

Mark,

The other posters offer good advice. There is one major point which you may
need to consider, however.

Will you be sharing files between the desktops? XP Home limits you to 5 inbound
connections / computer (XP Pro to 10). If you share files between 15 computers,
you may run up against the connection limits rather quickly.

Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.

 

[Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]]

Mark,

The other posters offer good advice. There is one major point which
you may need to consider, however.

Will you be sharing files between the desktops? XP Home limits you
to 5 inbound connections / computer (XP Pro to 10). If you share
files between 15 computers, you may run up against the connection
limits rather quickly.

<smacks head>
Duh, I forgot to mention that. Of course, with 15 computers, even Pro won't
necessarily be enough - in that case, a server OS is called for....

 

[Steve Winograd [MVP]]

Mark,

The other posters offer good advice. There is one major point which you may
need to consider, however.

Will you be sharing files between the desktops? XP Home limits you to 5 inbound
connections / computer (XP Pro to 10). If you share files between 15 computers,
you may run up against the connection limits rather quickly.

Adding a note to all the other good advice: those limits are the
number of simultaneous connections to a computer from other computers
on the network. There would be no problem with XP Home unless more
than 5 other computers try to connect to its shared disks/folders at
the same time. There's no limit to the number of computers that can
be networked together.
--
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

 

[Simon Harris]

And I'd say with 15 computers it *may* be unlikely that you'd see 5
concurrent connections at once - It does of course depend upon the apps
used, and the work practices in place, also the habits of the employees.


some low-end pentium 4 desktops for a network of 15 counselors and teachers.
How important is it that we upgrade the free XP Home to XP Pro (+$80 per
unit)? Will this prevent networking problems or is XP home reliable as a
small business networking solution? Thanks for your input. Mark

 

[Anth Stever]

FYI, I find Remote Desktop Connection is even installed on XP Home... Have
seen it on numerous machines.


"Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]"

 

[Sooner Al]

That is the Remote Desktop client software... XP Home can *NOT* be a Remote Desktop host...

--
Al Jarvi (MS-MVP Windows Networking)

Please post *ALL* questions and replies to the news group for the mutual benefit of all of us...
The MS-MVP Program - http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights...

 

[Steve Winograd [MVP]]

FYI, I find Remote Desktop Connection is even installed on XP Home... Have
seen it on numerous machines.

Remote Desktop Connection is a standard part of XP Home and Pro. It's
a client program that lets you connect to another computer that's
running as a Remote Desktop server. You can also install Remote
Desktop Connection on Windows 95/98/Me.

Only XP Pro can be a Remote Desktop server.
--
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