Microsoft has announced that their venerable Small Business Server line-up will be released later this year. According to a press release, Microsoft will be including one-year trial subscriptions to Microsoft Forefront Security for Exchange Server Small Business Edition and the new Windows Live OneCare for Server. It also promises to integrate with Microsoft Office Live Small Business to setup and manage web sites and private online work spaces. They also promise an improved Remote Web Workplace and support for Windows Mobile devices.
They will be offering SBS 2008 in both standard and premium versions. They did not elaborate on the limitations for each version, but I have heard that it will be about the same as today’s versions of SBS.
A new addition to the family is going to be Windows Essential Business Server 2008. This product is intended for mid-size companies with 25 to 250 computers.
For those not familiar with Small Business Server, it is a stripped down version of Microsoft’s current version of server software with a light version of Exchange incorporated. When the last version was released in 2003 it was I think a good choice for small businesses. In 2008 it might not be such a good choice.
Bloat
It requires a serious amount of hardware power to run Small Business Server with more than a handful of users. Linux alternatives requires far less processing power.Cost
The initial cost for Small Business Server is very high at about $550.00 for the server and 5 user licenses. Additional licenses run about $76 per user.Watered-Down
I mean simplified. Management of Small Business Server is supposed to be simplified for non-IT users. The problem is that the interface is so simplified that you cannot effectively manage the server.Incompatibility
Conceivably any software designed to run on Server 2003 should also run on Small Business Server. The problem is that software developers generally do not take the time to test software on SBS, so there is usually the scary warning that they do not support installation on SBS. Many times a call to the vendor will result in a, “Well, you will probably be okay,” you will still be warned that they may be unable to assist with issues before the call ends.
Do not rule out Small Business Server, but know that there are alternatives to explore. Other server software vendors have built more powerful, lighter weight, and easier to use server software for businesses of all sizes.
In April, I will have an opportunity to see Small Business Server 2008 at a Microsoft event. I will report my first impressions.
Hey, I’m on the SBS 2008 beta, and I thought I would share some comments.
1. Not Watered Down
SBS 2008 components aren’t watered down or lite versions — they’re technically the same versions that ship outside of SBS. There is one exception with the Active Directory in that you can’t establish domain trusts, but I can’t see small businesses doing that.
2. Full Admin tools do exist.
SBS does provide a streamlined admin console that makes something like the top 20 tasks easy to complete. However, in addition to those tools, all of the native management tools for Windows Server Exchange Server, SharePoint, etc, exist. So, you aren’t prevented from doing anything — it’s more like you get extra tools designed for the small business than anything else.
3. SBS Premium app compat story.
Premium contains a 2nd version of windows standalone for software apps. This one was a change from SBS 2003, specifically to address the application compatibility issues you listed above. Bascially, with premium, you get a 2nd copy of windows server to run the apps on, and with hyper-v, I think that server can be virtually run on a single piece of hardware along with the SBS server.