In short – you can’t. You can however install it using the trial/evaluation key available from Microsoft here and then later once you get the real product key you can put that in via the Properties of the Computer and activate it as fully licenses software. … [Read more...]
How many Network Cards are supported in Windows Server 2012 Essentials?
This question is often asked by people as they try to setup things such as Network Teaming etc. It’s always been the case that Microsoft have NEVER supported more than one Network card since SBS 2008 era. Prior to that they supported two network cards, but only for Internet access and they’ve never supported network teaming at all. So – in Windows Server 2012 … [Read more...]
Windows Server 2012 Essentials Migration Documents
I was searching for a list of all the current resources on migrating to Windows Server 2012 Essentials – I finally found them on Microsoft.com. Sadly I could not locate much in the downloadable versions of these documents, but I’ll update this later once I do find them. Migrate Windows Small Business Server 2003 to Windows Server 2012 Essentials Migrate Windows … [Read more...]
What Exchange versions are supported with Windows Server 2012 Essentials?
Microsoft designed Windows Server 2012 Essentials to work with onpremise Exchange server installations. Below is the list of Exchange versions they support with the WS2012E console integration and the ARRconfig tools. Exchange 2010 SP1 Exchange 2010 SP2 Exchange 2013 Personally, I’ve not tried Exchange 2013 as yet, so can’t vouch for it, but I will try it … [Read more...]
What inbound ports do I need to open on my firewall for Windows Server 2012 Essentials?
Windows Server 2012 Essentials is different from previous versions of SBS as it’s designed to work with 3 different types mail systems. As a result the ports you need to have open on your firewall is also different. If you have a uPnP router then the configuration wizards in Windows Server 2012 Essentials will do the work for you. If you like me elect to disable … [Read more...]