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windows xp home

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by auxperc

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We have users that are starting to telecommute. My question is this. If they are on XP Home will they still be able to connect to our network through RAS or VPN, given the fact that XP home cannot log on to active directory or to a domain for that matter. They also want e-mail access via outlook, but we cannot resolve their names to our exchange server due to the inability to be on a domain. Is this true. PLease educate me

3 replies

by peralot

I believe that remote users can connect, provided they use a cirtix dialup client. I believe this is an add-on included on the WinXP cd, but have not used the one included on the CD myself.

As you thought, WinXP home does not allow direct connection to a domain, so cannot be used in a client/server situation.

Another consideration- WinXP Home only allows 5 PC's to see any shares it has at any given time, so if they want to share info from home with multiple people at work, they may want to consider upgrading to XP Pro.

by auxperc

So then is RaS considered a direct connection to a domain? If so then the answer is no to using dial up to connect to ras because of lack of authentication?

by alpha-male

Your concerns are well founded and exactly correct. XP Professional is the OS that you need to connect to your LAN appropriately.

While both versions will allow you to connect via RAS or VPN, you cannot join the domain, run group policies, log onscripts, etc.

Take a look here for detailed information:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/evaluation/overviews/xpindomain.asp

(delete any spaces in the URL).

On a positive note, I believe MS is still offering a reduced cost upgrade from XP Home to XP Pro...

You should be able tp allow them access to your Exchange server if its configured for Web Mail. (I think all it requires is a 128 bit encrypted browser and appropriate logon information)...though I'm not positive of that.

It really comes down to: XP Pro is the tool MS created for this sort of task and upgrading to it is a lot easier than forcing square pegs in round holes so to speak...

Hope this helps! Good luck...

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