THE OFFICIAL BLOG OF THE SBS DIVA

A server for the rest of us: hands-on with Windows Server 2012 Essentials | Ars Technica:
http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/09/a-server-for-the-rest-of-us-hands-on-with-windows-server-2012-essentials/

1. Server Essentials is intended as a “first server”—and by “first,” I mean “only.” It comes with two installation options, both of which end with the server being the master of its domain.

As a long time "SBS can only have one DC, SBS is the only server" I'm wincing to see this myth start up again with Essentials.

No you can have additional DCs, additional Servers, it can be the root, it does not have to be the ONLY server.   It does have to hold the FSMO roles, it does have to be a domain controller and not a workgroup.  But it does not have to be the "only" server in the domain.

2. Essentials as a hosted server

It has also drawn the interest of several companies looking to provide Server Essentials as a hosted service, according to a Microsoft spokesperson. But it’s unlikely that many will follow through. That’s because, unlike the full version of Server 2012, Server Essentials has no reduced-GUI “Server Core” installation option. (Part of the reason for the full GUI is that Server Essentials uses Windows Terminal Services’ RemoteApp feature to allow remote administration of the server using Server Essentials’ Dashboard.) And you don’t just get the full GUI version of Server when you install Server Essentials—you get the full Windows 8 experience, including the Windows 8 app store.

While you'd prob want a multipoint server to host desktops, this can't be a parent HyperV.  You put full GUI servers UNDER HyperV parents.  So I don't get this bit about how it's unlikely that this server will be hosted because it doesn't have server core.  Dude, it's not the HyperV hosting parent.  It's meant to be the client/child.  And what Win8 app store is he talking about?  I'll have to go look.