Microsoft enables workaround for expiring Vail Home Server beta
At the end of January 10, 2011, the latest Windows Home Server ‘Vail’ public preview was slated to expire — even though there was no replacement beta slated for another four to six weeks. But Microsoft has issued a last-minute expiry workaround, officials said today.
The expiration didn’t mean users would lose any data, but did mean users would have their servers auto-rebooted hourly because the beta period had ended. Officials still told testers if they had any :important data on your ‘Vail’ server, it is recommended that you migrate the data to another location.”
Yes, it’s true that the End User License Agreement (EULA) stated that this was a beta and was for testing purposes only, meaning Vail was not designed for use in a production environment. But the reason there was a gap in test builds was because Microsoft decided to shift direction and pull the Drive Extender technology from Vail at the end of last year, resulting in a need for a reset and change in product direction. (And leaving a very unhappy set of Vail customers and testers in the wake.)
