Managing SBS
After configuring my users and client machines, I started to explore the
management tools that come with SBS. From the Start menu, you can select Manage
Server, which displays a full-screen GUI that lets the day-to-day administrator
manage and support the network from one location.
SBS presents its management options on three tabs: Tasks, More Tasks, and
Online Guide. The Tasks tab provides icons for troubleshooting and managing
users, printers, email, shared folders, and backup and restore. Screen 2
displays the details for the Manage Connected Users task. Unfortunately, Screen
2 typifies the inconsistencies in this beta version: The server had seven
connected clients accessing email, but the window displayed only three
connections. (Microsoft stated that the problem I had may be a refresh problem
with this particular function.)
Screen 3 displays the Manage Shared Folders option from the Tasks tab.
Instead of having to manage groups and memberships, the administrator can
control access to folders, manage folder size, and move folders to different
drives. (You can also access Manage Connected Users from this window.)
Under the More Tasks tab, the administrator has options for managing email
distribution lists, hard disks, computers, Internet access, and faxes, and
adding or removing software and hardware and publishing on the Internet. Screen 4 shows the Manage Computers window, where you can view networked computers, add or delete a computer to or from the domain, and troubleshoot common computer problems.
The Online Guide tab provides a feature that I hope migrates to other
Microsoft products. Much like the regular Windows Help program, Online Guide
combines Contents and Find options in an interactive GUI. But in addition to
reading about a topic, you can complete operations directly from the topic
description window. For example, I wanted to explore the Emergency Repair Disk
feature. My search produced the Help window shown in Screen 5 (which I am sure
any computer novice can understand). After reading the descriptions, I just
clicked the here link and followed the directions to create the
Emergency Repair Disk. I was also pleasantly surprised that a few of my actions
requiring a restart of the server automatically generated an alert message (such
as the one in Screen 6) on the client computers.
Most of SBS's Help pages have the theme: First display an easy-to-read
explanation or description, and then provide an interactive option to complete
the task. I found a few Help pages missing, and I wanted page-forward and
page-backward capabilities. When I proceeded down the wrong Help path, I
couldn't back out a page at a time; I had to start at the beginning of the
Online Guide.
Smooth the Rough Edges
A management tool I did not get to try is Crystal Reports for Microsoft SBS.
From the Online Guide, I read that I could generate system reports from NT's
Event Viewer, and tables and graphs on email usage, Internet access, Web server
statistics, and fax usage. Seagate Software Information Management Group makes
Crystal Reports for Microsoft SBS, and Microsoft does not provide technical
support for it. All my attempts to generate a report produced application error
messages.
Overall, I was pleased with SBS, and I'm excited about its potential.
Microsoft has taken the powerful applications in the BackOffice suite and
packaged them for the small business market. Giving small companies the network
performance and communications they need without requiring full-time MIS support
is a good idea. The SBS interface simplifies installation, configuration, and
day-to-day administration. Based on what I saw in the beta version, however,
Microsoft has some work to do to smooth SBS's rough edges.
If you've worked in the reseller channel, you know how painful growing and
upgrading technology in a small business environment can be. With SBS, I
installed and configured a robust applications server and seven client
workstations in just 1 day. I easily created user accounts with permissions and
access rights. Setup floppies let users effortlessly install and configure their
workstation.
Next month, in the second part of my SBS coverage, I'll describe how SBS
handles applications support, Internet connections via an Internet Service
Provider (ISP), and Web publishing. I'll conclude my report by looking at the
remote control utilities available through SBS and by evaluating how effective
the product is for Dr. John's Health Services.
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