The first real task you must perform on the To Do List is to set up your Internet connection and email configuration. The Configure E-Mail and Internet Connection Wizard guides you through the process of selecting what type of Internet connection you want SBS 2003 to use. At first, this process seems simple enough as you select between a broadband and dial-up connection; however, as the wizard progresses, it asks more complicated questions that require a fair amount of networking knowledge. For example, as Figure 2 shows, when you configure the DSL connection type, you need to know whether you have a local router device with an IP address, a connection that requires a username and password (Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet—PPPoE), or a direct broadband connection.
The wizard displays a network diagram link that visually describes each connection type and helps you pick the right one. The types of information that the wizard requested made it clear that the configuration, albeit simpler than any prior version, is still too complex for the typical small-business manager. All these settings are relatively easy for an experienced administrator to provide but will be a mystery for most business managers. Microsoft's real target for the SBS 2003 setup is the consultant, the Value Added Reseller (VAR), or the Value Added Provider (VAP).
After you configure the connection type, the Configure E-mail and Internet Connection Wizard helps you configure your SBS 2003 server's email connection. The wizard lets you configure the traditional Exchange deployment in which Exchange 2003 sends and receives SMTP mail for employees who use the company's registered domain name. You can also configure Exchange to use a POP3 connector to retrieve employee email from MSN.com, Hotmail.com, or any other email service provider that supports POP3.
To use the direct Exchange connection, you must use an MX record to register your Exchange server in your ISP's DNS setup. The POP3 connector lets Exchange connect to an email server hosted by your ISP. In this later scenario, the POP3 server will periodically use the POP3 protocol to connect to the ISP's email server, download all the messages from one or more POP3 accounts, then automatically forward the messages to the appropriate Exchange mailboxes. After you complete the Internet and email connection configurations, SBS can begin to send and receive email.
Next, you can complete the Configure Remote Access Wizard to set up the SBS 2003 server's VPN and firewall features so that you can remotely access and administer the server. After you successfully complete the Network Tasks section of the To Do List, the system's Internet connections and email will all be working.
The Management Tasks section of the To Do List lets you perform the initial administrative-oriented tasks such as adding users and printers. However, most administrators will primarily use the Server Management console, which Figure 3 shows, to perform the ongoing management of the SBS 2003 system. The Server Management console is automatically displayed when SBS 2003 first starts, or you can access it later by selecting the Server Management option from the Start menu.
Designed with an eye on being managed by a remote VAR or VAP, SBS 2003 includes several remote management features. One of these new features is the Remote Web Workplace, which Figure 4 shows. You access the Remote Web Workplace remotely by pointing a Web browser to the address http://www.registered domain name.com/remote. The Remote Web Workplace lets you connect to the server so that you can perform local management and connect to client desktops to perform troubleshooting. For remote desktop connections, the client desktop systems must be running Windows XP. The SBS 2003 server acts as a proxy by redirecting incoming remote connections to the locally networked client.
As the URL in Figure 4 indicates, Remote Web Workplace connections use HTTP over Secure Sockets Layer (HTTPS), which reduces the need to set up a VPN connection to create a secure remote link. The Monitor Help Desk option lets you access SBS 2003's Help Desk feature, which uses SharePoint Services. Using the Help Desk feature, you can view and respond to existing call tickets as well as generate reports and enter new items. To help the remote administrator monitor and manage the system, SBS 2003 comes with several predefined reports that list system alerts and detail server usage such as disk quotas. You can generate the reports interactively or set them to run on a predefined schedule and be emailed to a remote administrator. The Use Outlook Web Access option shown on the right-hand side of the Remote Web Workplace screen launches Outlook Web Access (OWA) and connects the browser's HTTPS session to the SBS Exchange server.
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