Windows Server: Is it possible to run Certificate Authority while having Essentials experience installed

I recently went through the process of migrating from an Enterprise Online Root CA to a two tier PKI. Generally the process you will want to follow will contain these steps:

1. Provision a server that will not be joined to your domain and Install Active Directory Certificate Services. Configure it as a standalone offline root certificate.
2. Publish your Root CA to the forest.
3. Provision a second server online and domain joined. Configure that as your intermediate Certificate Authority.
4. Create a CSR from your intermediate CA and go through the process of issuing a cert from your offline root CA.
5. Migrate the Certificate templates to the new Intermediate CA and remove the templates from your original PKI. (This will only start issuing new certs from your Intermediate CA NOT invalidating certs issued from your original CA.)
6. From here you can decide to leave your old CA up until all certs expire or go through the process of forcing your network systems to re-enroll on the new PKI.

The Directory Services Team at Microsoft has a nice high level walkthrough for this.

For more in depth information, here is the walkthrough I followed.

Additionally, here is a Technet Guide and some planning information on the process.

I've been testing Server 2012 Essentials. In short, you can connect XP clients to the domain and use the shared files/folders and printers. However, XP and Vista are second class citizens on Server 2012.

• You cannot use the server's Connect Wizard (http://servername/connect) to connect XP or Vista clients. You can use the standard XP Network ID wizard to connect to the domain. I believe this means you won't be able to use the user's current profile. (Several years ago I remember using a registry hack which allowed us to redirect to a different user profile. We had to change file and folder permissions on the old profile first. I do not know if this registry hack still works.)
• There is no special client software for XP or Vista unless Microsoft releases something separate in the future. I think this software is what performs the backups. What else it does I don't know.
• XP and Vista clients cannot be backed up using the server based backup solution.
• Oddly, on the server XP clients do not show up under Dashboard > Devices or under Dashboard > Home > Quick Status > Computers. However, XP computers do show up in Active Directory > Computers.
• The Implement Group Policy option in the Dashboard > Devices does not affect XP or Vista clients. However, you can administer Group Policy to XP and Vista clients using the standard Server 2012 Group Policy Management Editor.