Exchange and SharePoint Services
Two core components that are present in both SBS 2003 Standard Edition and SBS 2003 Premium Edition are Exchange 2003 and SharePoint Services. The version of Exchange 2003 included with SBS 2003 is essentially identical to the standalone product. The only difference is that Exchange in SBS 2003 is limited to 75 users and the management of the product is made simpler by the addition of SBS wizards, which can simultaneously add users to Windows as well as set up mailboxes in Exchange 2003. Likewise, the version of SharePoint Services included with SBS 2003 is essentially the same as the service that ships with Windows Server 2003. SharePoint Services lets you easily create Web-based share points. These share points can be thought of as the next generation of a Windows file system share: End users can set up share points to share documents with other users. However, their Web integration also extends the file-sharing capability. For example, with SharePoint Services share points, you can manage who checks in and checks out a document, review document usage, and run Web applications. SBS 2003's built-in Help Desk function is an example of how you can use SharePoint Services for more sophisticated Web-based collaborative applications. Although all client systems can use SharePoint Services shares, to make the most of SharePoint Services, the client systems must be using Microsoft Office 2003, which includes built-in options for using SharePoint Services share points. Figure 5 shows the interface for using SharePoint Services to set up a collaborative share point.
Licensing
The licensing cost for SBS 2003 Standard Edition is $599, and the licensing cost for SBS 2003 Premium Edition is $1499. The base licensing for SBS 2003 includes all the server components, and no additional licensing costs are required for the server. In addition, SBS 2003 ships with five CALs—if you plan to attach more than five clients, you must purchase additional CALs. You can attach up to 75 clients to SBS 2003. If you need to attach more than 75 client systems, you must upgrade to the standalone versions of the server components. Fortunately, Microsoft provides an upgrade path for those businesses that outgrow SBS 2003. However, upgrading to the standalone editions of all the products contained in SBS 2003 is a costly and involved move. At the time of this writing, Microsoft hasn't established final costs, but the company did say that the cost to upgrade SBS 2003 to the standalone servers will essentially be the cost of the new server licenses minus the cost of the SBS 2003 license.
Meeting the Needs of Today's Small Business
SBS 2003 makes the process of setting up the most commonly required Windows business components such as AD and Exchange easier than ever before. Even so, Microsoft has built this latest version to be installed and maintained by a consultant, VAR, or VAP. A reasonable degree of technical networking expertise is required. After the system is configured, a local business manager can perform most of the common maintenance tasks. Likewise, SharePoint Services makes the task of setting shares easy and user-friendly.
For businesses that are close to the 75-user limit or have more than 75 users, the complications of upgrading SBS 2003 to the full version of the constituent standalone products make it a poor choice. For business with fewer than 75 users and with some room to grow, Microsoft's aggressive licensing makes SBS 2003 a compelling solution.
Web Table 1 in the article does not seem to exist. Can you guys update the link?
Brian December 08, 2003
Where is the Web Table for comparisons?
Jeff Holsinger December 09, 2003
I'm disappointed with Michael Otey's article "SBS 2003 Overview" (December 2003, http://www.winnetmag.com, InstantDoc ID 40708). The author doesn't seem overly familiar with Microsoft Small Business Server (SBS) 2003 and the way it works. First, he states that you can configure the Exchange POP3 connector to retrieve email from Hotmail.com and MSN.com. Aside from the fact that Hotmail.com and MSN.com are one and the same, you can't use POP3 to retrieve email from these types of Web-based email services. These services want you to have to go to their site to read your email so that they can present you with advertising. Otherwise, what's the point of offering free email services?<P> Second, the article omits mentioning Terminal Services in SBS 2003. The version of Windows Server 2003 that comes with SBS 2003 won't go into application mode. I've confirmed this fact with Microsoft and have experienced it firsthand. Windows 2003 in SBS 2003 will work in admin mode, but the function is restricted to two users with Administrator rights. Microsoft wants you to purchase a second server, with a second Windows 2003 license, to run Terminal Services in SBS 2003. This is a major "gotcha" in SBS 2003 and not a well-known one. Microsoft justifies this requirement as being necessary for security because the SBS server is a domain controller (DC). However, you can switch any other Windows 2003 server that's also a DC into application mode. In my opinion, this restriction in SBS 2003 is unfair. Many small businesses are interested in remote access. Given that SBS 2003 is targeted at the Value Added Resellers (VARs) and Value Added Providers (VAPs) that support these small businesses, those VARs and VAPs should be making the decisions about what is or isn't secure in an SBS 2003 installation. <P> Third, how can the author recommend small office/home office (SOHO)level firewalls while also stating that a small business doesn't really need Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2000? These boxes do very little to stop real intrusions from the Internet, plus they have little or none of the other features that ISA Server 2000 includes. The price of ISA Server as bundled with SBS 2003 is a bargain, and the product is excellent. <P> Finally, a point that's important to include in any article about SBS is that if you approach the upper user limit (75 users in SBS 2003), you'll need a hefty server to service all the users, unless all they do is type Microsoft Word documents and send and receive only a handful of email messages every day. In past SBS versions, the 75-user limit has applied to user logons, not to the number of users you can set up in Active Directory (AD). You can set up 500 users if you want, but only 75 can log on to SBS at the same time. <P>
Walter is correct that Hotmail.com doesn't have a POP connector and therefore wasn't the best example of a POP mail provider. However, he's mistaken about MSN.com's ability to support POP. I get mail through POP from MSN.com every day. In any case, the point is that SBS 2003's POP connector can and does retrieve mail from POP accounts. <P> Walter is also correct that SBS 2003 doesn't support Terminal Services application mode. I didn't mention that in my article because I don't consider it a major shortcoming in SBS 2003, which isn't designed to function as an application server. I believe there are two reasons why Microsoft didn't design SBS 2003 to be an application server. First, the system is targeted toward smaller businesses, which are unlikely to require Terminal Services. Second, a potential performance problem exists when you run Terminal Services applications on a system that also runs Microsoft Exchange Server, file and print services, and DNS and functions as a DC. If you want to run Terminal Services in application mode, I think you're better off getting a second server. <P> Regarding ISA Server, I didn't intend to recommend that businesses don't use SBS 2003 Premium Edition, which includes ISA Server. I believe that firewalls are necessary, and ISA Server includes a good firewall. If your business doesn't have a firewall, SBS 2003 Premium Edition would be a good value. However, many standalone firewall products can provide protection that's as good as or better than the protection ISA Server provides. Most businesses that I'm familiar with already have firewall products in place. For those businesses, little will be gained with a second firewall. <P> My article does state that SBS 2003 is licensed for use on a single server. It also addresses the 75-user limit. <br> --Michael Otey
Walter Muma January 23, 2004
You must be a registered user or online subscriber to comment on this article. Please log on before posting a comment. Are you a new visitor?
Register now
An often irreverent look at some of the week's other news, including some more Windows 7 sales momentum, some Sophos stupidity, Microsoft's cloud computing self-loathing, more whining from the browser makers, Zoho's "Fake Office," and much, much more ...
Let Your Users Reset Their Own Passwords: Free Download Try a 30 day free trial of Desktop Authority Password Self-Service – it provides an easy-to-use, robust system for allowing users to reset their own forgotten passwords or locked accounts.
Get Windows IT Pro & Mark Minasi’s Favorite Power Tools Guide Order Windows IT Pro now and get "More of Mark Minasi's Favorite Power Tools"--a in-depth guide to the most useful Windows commands --FREE with your paid order! Subscribe today, and save 58% off the cover price!
Deep Dive into VMware vSphere, eLearning Series Join John Savill to explore the major functionality capabilities of the vSphere virtualization platform, including identification of the changes from ESX 3.5.
Register
Brian December 08, 2003