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Posted on April 2nd, 2009 by Jon Honeyball
Microsoft’s Foundation – what a waste of time
So Microsoft has announced a new low-end version of Windows Server 2008, called Foundation, aimed at the small business users.
It doesn’t require CALs (hooray), but most everything else is a “booo”.
There’s a 15-user limit, and the server can’t have more than one processor socket and 8Gb of RAM. Oh yes, and there is no Hyper-V either. And AD has been nadgered too, of course.
Apparently this is ideal for small businesses who need basic file and print sharing.
Well, maybe it should have been called “Waste of Time” rather than “Foundation”.
Small businesses today have a file share – it’s called a NAS box. They have a printer share – it’s called the print queue on their Ethernetted HP LaserJets. DHCP comes from their ADSL router, and DNS comes from their ISP via the router.
What small business users really needed was a fully Hyper-V integrated server offering, coupled to a hard disk solution which supported the disk-imaging technology found, for example, in Vista Ultimate. A server which keeps the data fully protected and able to be recovered in a few minutes from an image snapshot. Insanely simple, quick and easy.
Microsoft bringing a bare-metal OS to market in 2009 which doesn’t run in a VM by default, or come with VM support, and thus throws away all that superb DR capability? Give me a break, MS, this is pathetic.
Tags: foundation, Microsoft, Server 2008
Posted in: Rant
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4 Responses to “ Microsoft’s Foundation – what a waste of time ”
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April 2nd, 2009 at 2:12 pm
How about Microsoft Windows Home Server which will support 10 users, has ability to duplicate data to protect against disk failure, has deduplicating backup capability for up to 10 PC’s and again is intended for distribution on a system by OEM’s.
Seems to have far more capability than 2008 Foundation.
April 2nd, 2009 at 6:39 pm
What does this server give the small business that a pc running Linux NAS (free) doesn’t give you?
With all the restrictions, you are getting a basic file server. aka: NAS (did I mention it’s free?) also, I’d wadger a small amount of money that an older spec’d PC running a NAS would perform as well as Server Foundation on a modern PC.
Value-add? It’s like DRM for the Server industry.
April 9th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
Makes me laugh. I already have a nice virtual server setup – ’s called VMware and it runs our Web 2.0 extranet beautifully (on a Win2000 host OS, believe it or not). Easy to back up (using several different methods, including timed snapshots) and free. What can I say? Microsoft do take their eye off the ball sometimes – look at what you get included with a Synology NAS, for example: drag’n'drop Ajax-based web file manager, website hosting (with MySQL and PHP built in), music streaming, a very nice web-based admin console and sundry other goodies (oh yes, blog system, too). All for unlimited users. Makes you think, eh?
It’s all to do with exposure, I suppose – judging by the quantity of Microsoft e-mail that hits SME mailboxes, they rely on swamping you with enticing info. And yes, it’s nicely presented and it is enticing. Ironically, it’s the overkill that puts you off (how many people – especially from busy SMEs – really make time to attend webinars? No, I mean… really? Think about it, enthusiastic marketing people…).
May 11th, 2009 at 9:58 pm
So Microsoft release Foundation Server, and I have to ask either you go for a NAS box, anbd if you need more, get a SBS 2008 server, have Microsoft forgotten SBS already?