Review: Windows SBS 2003 R2 small-business server

You may or may not have noticed, but at the end of 2006 Microsoft revamped its small-business server bundle, adding an R2 on the end of the name.

However, unlike other R2 updates, there isn’t a huge amount that’s new and existing customers should think carefully before upgrading.

To recap, Windows Small Business Server (SBS) is effectively the Windows Server 2003 operating system with a lot of reworking and extra tools intended to make it easier for ‘technologically challenged’ small-business users to install and manage.

It makes setting up a domain, managing users and sharing resources, for example, a doddle, with wizards and task-based management tools to help you on your way.

It also comes with a full version of Exchange Server, complete with Outlook Web Access (OWA), again with tools to make the popular email and collaboration server easier to set up and run compared with the standard package.

So what’s new in the R2 version? For a start, not the full R2 version of Windows Server 2003 – mainly because most of the changes in that were aimed at large enterprise users. However, there are some new tools worth having, including Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), which can be used to automate the download and release of Windows and Office patches to both network servers and desktop PCs.

You can get WSUS for free, but the implementation in SBS 2003 R2 is, again, wrapped inside a much simpler interface, making it more user-friendly.

Exchange has also been beefed up. You’re still limited to a maximum of 75 users, the same as for the SBS package as a whole. However, the total mail store has been increased from 16GB to 75GB, thanks to the inclusion of Exchange Server SP2, which also provides improved mobile email services and better protection against spam.

Another significant change applies if you go for the more expensive Premium edition (£770 ex Vat for five users). This includes a bundled copy of Microsof t’s SQL Server database, as well as its Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) firewall and Office Frontpage technologies. Here, SQL Server 2000 Advanced is replaced by SQL Server 2005 Workgroup Edition, based on the latest, much improved implementation of the Microsoft database technology.

Finally, there’s a subtle but significant change in the way the client access licence (CAL) is worded, which doesn’t affect how the software works but does have legal implications. Previously, each client PC required a CAL to access the SBS 2003 server, which also allowed for connections to other Windows servers, but not those running Exchange or SQL Server. With the new CAL, no additional licences are required to legitimise access to such systems.

Whether SBS 2003 R2 is worth considering depends on what you have already. For those who are looking to deploy a Windows server for the first time, it’s a no-brainer, providing everything needed in one easy-to-use package. Moreover, it’s what most server vendors will pre-install.

If you already have SBS 2003, upgrading is less clear cut. It’s not difficult, shouldn’t cause a huge amount of disruption and you could qualify for a free upgrade. However, restrictions apply (check the Microsoft website for details) and it all takes time and effort. So if you don’t need the new features, you might want to stay as you are until a more significant release comes along.

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