Aurora: Home Server's business makeover
Examining the management screens for Aurora, you will immediately note the simplicity of the interface, which is comparable to Windows Home Server. Apparently the fact that many small businesses were tapping Home Server was one of the driving forces behind Aurora. Because of this, not only is the interface similar to that of Home Server, but so are many of the features and management tools. Even the backup solution is familiar. One notable difference is that Home Server worked off a Workgroup, whereas Aurora gives you AD support (though the management of it is not recognizable when compared with traditional Windows Server AD tools.)
Pricing has not yet been set for the offerings; that alone will have a significant impact on determining what your organization will do. From a solutions standpoint, Aurora looks to be exactly what most smaller businesses need. Going forward, we may even see the solution expand to allow for larger environments to take advantage of the cross-premises concept.
In a future column, I will explore Aurora in greater detail. Until then, how do you see your business benefitting from this type of solution, assuming the price is right? Are you looking to move to SBS 7, or would Aurora be a better match for you? Let us know in the comments section.
This article, "The cross-premises future of Microsoft SBS," was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Read more of J. Peter Bruzzese's Enterprise Windows blog and follow the latest developments in Windows at InfoWorld.com.