Just a quick outline that may help. And, I realize that people are already locked into certain configurations which would cost money to get out of. But, if you are planning a network or thinking of changing one, think of either two configurations:
1. A server with a server OS and all clients running XP Pro.
2. If no server and no server OS so peer-to-peer, run AC on an XP Pro machine and all clients/PCs which will connect to it should run XP Pro. The computer with the main database would be the computer you want the best hardware, i.e. most RAM and processing speed.
Disclaimer: Some people like Vista and Vista Business or Vista Ultimate are fine. It's just that SP1 is just coming out, and one day, there will likely be an SP2. Plus, seven different versions is five or six too many. Microsoft would save everyone a lot of headaches if they would simply release one version for all. But XP Pro is a rock solid OS (probably Microsoft's best to date) which has proven itself over and over in a networking environment. Getting Home versions for business network environment is not ideal as the home version is not set up to network well. For instance, XP Home won't even connect to a domain. Mixing and matching can also make troubleshooting more difficult.
Disclaimer 2: I am comparing apples to apples in the Microsoft world. I am not saying anything about Linix or Mac or others.
