Various online news outlets are reporting details of a new Microsoft Small Business Server platform, based on Windows Home Server technologies which combines on-premise, traditional server hardware with cloud-hosted enterprise applications.
According to WinSuperSite and The Register, the new platform, codenamed “Aurora” is a tailored version of Windows Server 2008 R2 which shares many components with the next generation of Windows Home Server Code Name “Vail”, including Drive Extender, image-based client backup and restore for up to 25 clients, server backup, easy shared folder configuration and management and remote access.
Image via WinSuperSite
However, Aurora is said to build on the core Windows Home Server technology with full Active Directory support (like Windows SBS, the Aurora server must sit at the root of the domain) as well as access to Microsoft’s cloud application suite, BPOS, with hosted versions of Exchange and SharePoint available for a monthly subscription.
With close kin-ship to Windows Home Server Vail, add-ins created for Vail are likely to be compatible with Aurora and vice versa – that’s great news for developers who will have the opportunity to target many more users going forward. According to The Register, a public beta of Aurora will be available “before the end of August”.
Head over to WinSuperSite for the full suite of screenshots – we’ll have more on Aurora as news develops.
More: WinSuperSite | The Register
