Exchange Server is effectively dead mid October too. Technically they have Exchange Server SE as an option, but it’s clearly not how they want people using Exchange anymore. They don’t even want hybrid setups.
Which is extra annoying because if you have Azure AD (I guess it’s Entra ID now) syncing from an on prem AD forest, half of the mailbox management shit in Exchange Online just doesn’t work and forces you to make the changes on-prem anyway.
Yep, was literally made as a marketing stunt.
Windows Server is less of a general use server, and more of just a staging platform for Microsoft’s other specific server based software installs. And even a lot of those don’t co-mingle on the same server well.
Have fun with that then. Sorry about your balls.
If you’re competent and technologically saavy enough to use a Linux distro as your daily driver, you can learn to make Windows work for you too.
Waste of effort if you don’t need to interact with any Windows environments for school or work, but definitely possible.
For me? I’m happy to get paid to automate shit using PowerShell that should have been basic built in functionality from the start. PowerShell is just the most convenient scripting language due to being packed-in with most Windows installs, and tons of built in functionality for interfacing with other Microsoft products. So as long as Microsoft keeps sucking, I’ve got a comfy paycheck.
And if the year of the Linux desktop ever finally happens? I’m ready, I’ll be cheering, and I’ll be ready to get paid helping companies to make the switch.
I’m usually a Windows “shill” or at least a casual defender of it, as I work in a Windows environment and it’s not as bad as people pretend it is. No shade against Linux, I love it and Windows is bad. Just not like “I’d rather self-castrate” bad.
Anyway…
But for a home server? Either be super lazy and set up samba shares from your Windows desktop for the drives (avoid having a server at all) or bite the bullet and use Linux. You’ll get so much more out of a Linux server that it’s not even funny.
Climbing down from the trees was the begining of the end.