I was planning on getting MSDN so I could play around with some of the more advanced features of various Microsoft products, but a friend mentioned the idea of TechNet. He claimed that it was cheaper (and it is), but I pointed out the primary reason I didn't like it: no Visual Studio or on-demand (downloadable) betas. So, I took it upon myself to compare the two in all their incarnations. As usual, let me know if you know if I'm missing something or if there's a key factor that you might have used to choose the right plan.
Updated Aug 7, 2005
Overview
This is probably the most straight-forward comparison to date. There are 5 MSDN plans (Library, OS, Professional, Enterprise, and Universal) and 2 TechNet plans (Standard and Plus). The TechNet plans come in single user and single server options, so I'll compare those seperately, even tho the only difference is the price.
If a cell is blank, the feature has been neither confirmed nor denied. Positive or desired responses have also been highlighted. The score accounts for the number of desired responses.
Development Tools
It's no surprise that TechNet is focused on system administration while MSDN is focused on development. This is the reason why you don't see any Visual Studio (VS) tools listed for TechNet. That kind of blows TechNet out of the water for my purposes - I need to have VS to play around with stuff. There are two options here: (a) go buy a copy separately, or (b) use the betas in hopes that they meet your needs. As far as I understand, VS betas and CTPs are available to TechNet subscribers (betas are covered in the Technical Resources section).
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Continuously Updated Resources
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Technical Resources
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Operating Systems
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Servers
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Productivity
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Business Solutions
TBD
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My Conclusions
[Aug 7, 2005]
I've already done my analysis, I just need to get the information all put into the site. Expect it up within the next week.
Helpful Links
Here're a few links that might be helpful in choosing the best option for you or your team. Hopefully you find them useful, too.
- TechNet Comparison
- http://www.microsoft.com/technet/abouttn/subscriptions
- MSDN Comparison
- http://msdn.microsoft.com/howtobuy/subscribers/compare