Windows Server 2019 is the latest version of the server operating system by Microsoft, as part of the Windows NT family of operating systems.

What's the diffrence between Windows Server 2019 Essentials and Standard?

The answer is simple. Where Windows Server 2019 Essentials is limited to 25 clients, the standard version is not and depends on a number of Client’s access licenses (CALs) which you buy. In this post we’ll show some basic differences between Windows Server 2019 Essentials vs Standard.

The product was previously called “Windows Small Business Server (SBS)” and while it was a good choice for many very small businesses, it wasn’t really a good choice for enterprise admins which were not completely in phase with the Experience role.

Windows Server 2019 Essentials is an on-premise server product for small businesses with less than 25 employees. In this post we will look at the Windows Server 2019 Essentials and will point out one particular feature which is missing – Windows Server Essentials Experience Role that has been deprecated

Windows Server 2019 Essentials will have the same characteristics as the 2016 version including:

The single license that includes Client Access Licenses (CAL) for up to 25 users/50 devices
Lower price point than Standard version
Possibility to run all traditional applications and other features within the UI, and also use file and print sharing.

The Windows Server Essentials Experience Role has been removed from all server SKUs, including Windows Server 2019 Essentials. This means that the Administrative Dashboard that used to be the core feature for Essentials Experience Role is no longer accessible and all management and configuration must be completed manually.

With Server Essentials Experience Role deprecation, the following features are no longer available:
Client backup
Remote web access

As you can see, the admin dashboard is gone in WS Essentials 2019. You’ll have Windows Admin Center to manage.

Another drawback for administrators is the fact that the Essential product If configured as a Domain Controller (DC), It must be the only Domain Controller, and it must run all Flexible Single Master Operations (FSMO) roles, and also, it cannot have two-way trusts with other Active Directory domains. There can be only one in the domain.

Note that when you buy the Essentials edition, you do NOT need to buy any Client Access Licenses (CALs) like you do for Standard and Datacenter. However, you also can not expand the number of users past the built-in 25 users. That’s one of the main breaks when thinking of buying Essentials.

Microsoft is actually not planning to release the next version of Essentials for the next major release of Windows server. Windows Server 2019 Essentials will be most likely the last version of the Windows Server Essentials.