i am wanting to set up a proper servered network at home. i have 4 laptops and 3 desktops. i was going to make on of my desktops a server but i dont know what version to get.i will be using windows server 2003 but im not sure what edition to get. i want to run the OS from the server so i do not need to installthe OS seperatly.what do you guys and girls recomend??

Thanks for your. Please let us know in clear words what do you really want to achieve by installing win 2003 server at home because with out knowing your goal we cannot comment.Thanks for your understanding. Syed Khairuddin

Hello, To use which Windows Server 2003 edition depends on your own requirement. The following link provides a detailed comparison of all Windows Server 2003 Editions which could be your reference. Comparison of Windows Server 2003 Editions http://technet2.microsoft.com/windowsserver/en/library/81999f39-41e9-4388-8d7d-7430ec4cc4221033.mspx?mfr=true Thanks.

is it possable to get a edition that allows me to install the software and programs to it and they will load on all of the connected machiens

thank you jian-ping. i have been on the site you liked me to. as a second opinion do you recommend i use enterprize edition? will this allow me to install software to the server and it will be distributed to the other machans on the server network?

I cannot think of any reason why you would want to use Enterprise edition in a home network. I would think that your choice would be between Standard Edition or Small Business Server. SBS gives you some added benefits, but it must run as a domain controller. If you do not want to set up a domain, standard edition woud be the way to go.Bill

Hello, The unsupported features in different Windows Server 2003 Editions are listed on the link I mentioned before. If youd like set up a domain environment and use GPO for software deployment, I think you could choose Standard Edition unless there are some unsupported features youd like to use in Standard Editions. By the way, you could also have a glance at SBS server which is more suitable for a small environment like your home network. For more information regarding Small Business Server, please refer to the following link: http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/products/server/default.aspx#overviewIf there is any misunderstanding, please let me know.Thanks! :)