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When
you look at Windows XP Home and Professional Editions head-to-head, the
following differences standout:
-
Ability
to join a Windows 2000 or Windows 2003 domain
-
Remote
Desktop
-
Offline
Files and Folders
-
Encrypting
File System
-
Granular
Access Control
-
Support for Group Policy and Roaming Profiles
-
Software
Installation and Maintenance
-
Installation
using Remote Installation Services (RIS)
-
Multi-language
support
-
Multiprocessor
support
-
Multiple
Monitors support
-
Dynamic
disks
-
Upgrade from Windows NT/Windows 2000
-
Advanced networking support
Windows
XP Professional supports all of these features while none of them are supported
by Windows XP Home Edition.
· XP Home computers cannot
join Windows 2000/2003 domains. Windows 2000/2003 domain features such
as Group Policy, Software Installation and Maintenance and roaming
profiles are not available for XP Home computers. The Remote
Installation Service (RIS) allows you to install Windows 2000 or
Windows XP Professional over the network on a machine with no
operating system. RIS depends on an Active Directory domain.
-
Remote Desktop allows you to make your desktop computer a Terminal
Server. This is very handy if you move from computer to computer and
occasionally need to access your primary desktop from another machine. Remote
Desktop is also nice when you're on the road, as you can connect to your
machine over a VPN connection from a remote location.
-
Offline files and folders allow you to store the contents of a
network share on the local disk. This feature isn't much use for permanently
connected desktops, but its great if you travel with a laptop. When you plug
the laptop back into the network, the files changed on the laptop are
automatically synchronized so that the files in the network share are up to
date.
-
The Encrypting Files System (EFS) allows you to encrypt files so
that unauthorized users cannot view their contents. This is helpful in a high
security or a laptop environment. EFS depends on the NTFS file system. Both
Windows XP Home and Professional support the NTFS file system, but EFS is
disabled on XP Home. EFS is best used on laptop computers.
-
The NTFS file system allows you to assign specific permissions on
files and folders. Windows XP Professional allows you to assign the full range
of NTFS permissions to files and folders. Windows XP Home allows you to assign
NTFS permissions to files and folders, but the range of permissions is limited.
Instead of granular NTFS based access controls, Windows XP Home implements
something called "Simple File Sharing". The Simple File Sharing scheme allows
you to assign files and folders a predefined level of access.
-
Multi-language support allows you to change the language used is
various dialog boxes and applications "on the fly".
-
Multiprocessor and multiple monitor hard support in Windows XP
Professional allows you use up to two processors and 10 monitors. XP Home
allows only a single processor and monitor.
-
Dynamic Disks allow you to create advanced Windows XP volumes, such
as spanned or striped volumes. Windows XP Home does not support Dynamic Disks
and therefore you are limited to only simple volumes. Spanned volumes allow you
to extend the size of partitions (called volumes on Dynamic Disks) while
striped volumes provide an extra measure of disk performance. Neither XP
Professional nor Home supports fault tolerant volumes (such as software-based
RAID 5).
-
If you are already running Windows 2000/2003, your only
upgrade option is to XP Professional. You will not be able to upgrade to XP
Home.
-
XP Home edition does not support advanced some networking features.
Networking components not supported by XP Home include IPSec, Client Services
for NetWare (CSNW) and Network Monitor. IPSec encrypts data moving over the
network and is important in high security and VPN environments. CSNW is only of
use if you run a Novell NetWare network and Network Monitor is a TCP/IP network
"sniffer" that allows you to capture packets for troubleshooting network
related problems.
Looking
at these features as a whole, Windows XP Home fits the needs of home users and
small companies that use their computers in a non-networked environment.
Windows XP Professional is the best choice for companies that use Windows
2000 or
Windows 2003 domains, require a higher level of security, and those that have
laptop users that need to secure local files and need access to network file
share resources when connected and disconnected from the network.
If you have any questions or would like more information about these
exciting products, contact us at 412-833-0805 or
sales@jamesboydassociates.com.
We will gladly setup a meeting to discuss the topic in more detail.
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