New Editions of Windows 10 Revealed

Evidence of three new editions of the upcoming Windows 10 Fall Creators Update has been revealed. This information comes from the accidentally released internal build 16212, which revealed the presence of these editions via the pkeyconfig file.
While Microsoft terminated the build delivery though Windows Update, some users were able to download it and explore its features. The following are the three new Windows 10 versions revealed through the released build:

• Windows 10 Pro for Advanced PCs
• Windows 10 Pro N for Advanced PCs
• Windows Server 2016 ServerRdsh

These editions extend the list of editions Microsoft already offers:

• Windows 10 Home
• Windows 10 Mobile
• Windows 10 Pro
• Windows 10 Team
• Windows 10 Education
• Windows 10 Pro Education
• Windows 10 Enterprise
• Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB (Long Term Servicing Branch)
• Windows 10 Mobile Enterprise
• Windows 10 IoT Core
• Windows 10 S

Tip: See this comparison of Windows 10 Editions.

Windows Pro for Advanced PCs will allow the user to access more hardware resources, i.e. 4 physical CPUs instead of 2, 6 TB of RAM and will have the Resilent File System (ReFS) by default. Here are some details about this edition, internally called "Windows Pro for Workstations".

Introducing Windows Pro for Workstations

We want to deliver a solution for those advanced users.

Based on feedback regarding product truths – we went back to the drawing board studying typical workstation use cases, and using the
information from the Insiders using Windows 10 Pro on a high-end machine and held several engineering discussions within Microsoft and
also with our partners to identify what new value can we bring to the market that benefits advanced users of PC in the market.

We came up with a large set of features, and have prioritized 4 key capabilities for the initial release.

• Workstation mode: We are identifying typical compute and graphics intensive workloads. We will optimize the OS to provide peak performance and reliability in such use cases when the Workstation mode is engaged by the users
• Resilient file system: ReFS is the successor of NTFS, which has been a mainstay of Windows for past several years. We were overdue for a file system innovation, and our Windows Insiders also agreed. ReFS is designed for fault-tolerance, optimized for handling large data volume, auto-correcting and much more at the same time backward compatible with NTFS
• Faster file sharing: Often high-end workstation machines are used for processing large data volumes, accessed across the network or even hosting file share on the workstation machine itself. We are including the SMBDirect protocol based file sharing in Windows 10 Pro for Workstation which allows for high throughput, low latency and low CPU utilization when accessing network shares
• Expanded hardware support: Finally, the top pain point expressed by our Insiders was the raw power of their machine. Hence, we are expanding hardware support in Windows 10 Pro for Workstation. Users will now be able to run Windows 10 Pro for Workstation on machines with up to 4 CPUs (todays limit of 2), and add memory up to 6TB.

The above capabilities are just a starting point. We are engaged with our advanced users, and will continue to bring innovation to this high- end segment of the market. We believe that with our innovation in OS, and your designs, we can collectively be successful in providing value-added benefits to users in the advanced segment of the market.

For the initial release of Windows 10 Pro for Workstation, Microsoft is focusing on the below 4 key features, including the new ReFS file system that was introduced with Windows Server 2012.

• Workstation Mode: Microsoft will optimize the OS to provide peak performance and reliability in graphics and compute intensive use cases when the Workstation mode is engaged by the users.
• Resilient file system: ReFS is the successor of NTFS, which has been a mainstay of Windows for past several years. ReFS is designed for fault-tolerance, optimized for handling large data volume, auto-correcting and much more at the same time backward compatible with NTFS.
• Faster file sharing: Microsoft is including the SMBDirect protocol based file sharing in Windows 10 Pro for Workstation which allows for high throughput, low latency and low CPU utilization when accessing network shares
• Expanded hardware support: Microsoft is expanding hardware support in Windows 10 Pro for Workstation. Users will now be able to run Windows 10 Pro for Workstation on machines with up to 4 CPUs (todays limit of 2), and add memory up to 6TB.

Windows 10 Pro N for Advanced PCs is expected to be the same as above, but lacks support for codecs, DVD/CD software and Windows Media Player features.

Windows Server 2016 ServerRdsh is a special edition of Windows Server intended to be used as a Remote Desktop Session host. It can host Windows-based programs or the full Desktop for Remote Desktop Services clients. Users can connect to such a server to run programs, save files, and to use network resources on that server. Users can access the server with the built-in Remote Desktop client app.

Source: MSPowerUser.