| Domain Join | - | Yes | - |
| Encrypting File System (EFS) | - | Yes | - |
| Group Policy | - | Yes | - |
| Remote Desktop (host) | - | Yes | - |
| Remote Desktop (client) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| VPN client | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Offline Files | - | Yes | - |
Choosing Between Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro
Now that you are armed with the information in the previous tables, choosing between Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro should be relatively straightforward. You just need to consider whether you need any of the following Pro-only features. If you do, then you should get Windows 8 Pro.
• Upgrades from Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate: If you intend to perform an in-place upgrade with an existing PC and are currently running Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate, you will need to purchase Windows 8 Pro.
• BitLocker and BitLocker To Go: These features provide full-disk encryption for fixed and removable disks, respectively, providing protection for your data even when the drive is removed and accessed from elsewhere.
• Client Hyper-V: Microsoft’s server-based virtualization solution makes its way to the Windows client for the first time, providing a powerful, hypervisor-based platform for creating and managing virtual machines.
• Boot from VHD: This new capability allows you to create a virtual hard disk, or VHD, in Client Hyper-V and then boot your physical PC from this disk file rather than from a physical disk.
• Domain join: If you need to sign in to an Active Directory-based domain with Windows 8, you will need Windows 8 Pro (or Enterprise).
• Encrypting File System: EFS is somewhat de-emphasized in Windows 8 thanks to BitLocker and BitLocker To Go, but it provides a way to encrypt individual drives, folders, or even files, protecting them from being accessed externally should the drive be removed from your PC.
• Group Policy: Microsoft’s policy-based management technology requires an Active Directory domain and thus Windows 8 Pro.
Remote Desktop (host): While any Windows 8 PC or device can use a Remote Desktop client to remotely access other PCs or servers, only Windows 8 Pro can host such a session, allowing you or others to remotely access your own PC.
All of the aforementioned features are discussed in Chapter 14.
• Windows Media Center: For a small fee, Windows 8 Pro users can purchase Windows Media Center, a feature that used to be included in higher-end versions of Windows. This feature is not available to Windows 8 (or Windows RT for that matter). And it hasn’t been upgraded since Windows 7 shipped.
And that’s it. It really hasn’t been this easy to choose between Windows product editions in over a decade.
What’s Unique in Windows 8 Enterprise?
Windows 8 Enterprise is a superset of Windows 8 Pro. That is, it includes all of the features and capabilities in Windows 8 Pro plus provides some unique new features of its own. These include:
• Windows To Go: This very interesting feature lets you install Windows 8 on certain high-performance USB memory sticks, providing a highly portable Windows environment that can include all of your personal data, settings, and installed Metro-style apps and desktop applications.
• Metro-style app deployment: Corporations can bypass the normal requirement that all Metro-style apps must be stored, downloaded, and installed from the Windows Store. This capability, called side- loading, lets these businesses deploy Metro-style apps within their own environments securely.
• DirectAccess: A modern alternative to a VPN (virtual private network), DirectAccess lets remote users seamlessly access corporate network resources without dealing with the hassles common to VPN solutions.
• BranchCache: Aimed at distributed corporations, BranchCache lets servers and users’ PCs in branch offices cache files, websites, and other content, so that it is not repeatedly and expensively
