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FEBRUARY 12, 2004 - Issue 23
Readers send tips on SBS 2003
By Brian Livingston
The last issue of Brian's Buzz on Jan. 29 featured a review of Small Business
Server (SBS) 2003, Microsoft's new bundle of Windows Server 2003, Exchange
Server 2003, Outlook 2003, and other products. The thrust of my article
was that the list price of SBS 2003 with 5 users ($599 in U.S. dollars)
was far below the list price of a similar configuration of Windows Server
2003 ($999) and Exchange Server 2003 ($1,034) alone, not to mention the
price of the other components that are included in the new
version of SBS. Microsoft, under competitive pressure in the small-server
space from Linux, is definitely making its bundled pricing very
attractive.
This article stimulated a number of very thoughtful tips that were sent
in by readers. I've included as many of these below as possible. My
thanks to everyone who submitted suggestions, even those I couldn't print
because of duplication or whatever.
A few other readers sent in brief, worried comments along the lines of,
"How can you recommend another Microsoft product?" and "Aren't Microsoft
products buggy?"
I'd like to reassure those correspondents, and all of my readers, that I'll
always remain critical of Microsoft when it's done something dumb. I'm
not wedded to Microsoft products. My own Web sites - BriansBuzz.com,
BrianLivingston.com, and others that are still in
development - are located on a Linux Web host running Apache software and my
own in-house code written in PHP.
At the same time, when Microsoft is offering a bundle of software with a list
price that's only 1/3 of its customary list, I think it's news that's
worth seriously looking into.
My review specifically stated that SBS 2003
was primarily for small businesses that have decided to install a network
based on Windows Server 2003 and Exchange Server 2003. If that's not the
direction you're heading in, then SBS 2003 won't be very interesting
to you. In my own small business office, most of my staff's half-dozen PCs -
which now log on to an SBS 2003 server - will continue to
run Windows 2000 rather than being upgraded to Windows XP,
because W2K is a solid product and my dislike of many XP "features" is
well known.
Having said that, let's get right into the useful tips that readers have
sent in about the new edition of Small Business Server:
Don't overlook Windows Server for Small Business Server
Mike Smith writes in about a separate product called, confusingly,
Windows Server for Small Business Server 2003.
-
"Besides SBS 2003, Microsoft also has a product named Windows Server for Small
Business. The Open License ERP with 5 CALS is $379, additional CALS are 5 for
$303. I don't know if a retail package is available. Uses of this include
providing application terminal services (no longer possible on SBS 2003, it was
on SBS 2000), additional domain controllers, SQL servers, etc. I do not believe
that you are required to have SBS 2003 in order to purchase this."
Windows Server for Small Business Server is a limited server product,
which includes the same version of Windows Server 2003 that is
in SBS 2003 but without Exchange Server 2003, Outlook 2003, or any of the
other bundled products. In addition, the limited server can support only
up to 15 concurrent users, not 75 as with SBS 2003.
Microsoft says the list price for Windows Server for Small Business Server
is $479 with 5 user Client Access Licenses (CALs). Up to 10 additional
CALs can be purchased for a list of $79 each. Street prices are shown
in reader Smith's remarks above.
For information about this product, visit Microsoft's
FAQ page on SBS 2003. Click the box that says, "View all answers." After
the FAQ has expanded to show both questions and answers, search the page for
"Windows Server 2003 for Small Business Server" and "Windows Server for
Small Business Server" (these are two separate Q-and-A sections).
Retail may offer better support
Peter MacEwen compares his experience of buying retail versions of SBS
with OEM versions:
-
"The big difference we have seen with OEM vs. retail copies of SBS is
the support offered. OEM copies require that the OEM support the product, which
some do well, others not well at all. Retail copies, while requiring you to do
a full install, receive support from MS. We have found MS support for SBS much
better than the OEMs.
"Nice to see that SBS now installs from the DVD, SBS 2000
included the DVD but could not be installed from it.
"Oh, one other thing. We have long suggested that users use a proper hardware
router to connect their network to the Internet, rather than rely on MS's
rather porous and hard to configure software firewall."
Limitations of SBS and when it's appropriate
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Frank Revi provides an excellent overview of the pros and cons of
choosing SBS, especially the difficulties when a business already
has an Active Directory installation:
-
"You might want to mention some of the limitations inherent in Windows Server
in SBS. As an IT consultant in the target space, I find the following things
relevant:
• SBS must be installed at the root of a new Active Directory domain
structure and must perform all the Operations Master Roles;
• Domain trusts are disabled.
"This combination makes it difficult and expensive to integrate into existing
Active Directory environments, which a lot of small businesses already have.
"Also, the included Exchange Server and SQL Server components must run on the
SBS server machine itself, which is much different than the regular licenses
for these products.
"Even in firms with only a handful of people, best practices are to put these
functions (and even the AD domain controller functions) on different machines.
That way they can be maintained separately, and when any one of the major
pieces breaks, the others don't have to come down to fix it. Even if not done
initially, it's shortsighted to foreclose those options.
"So I find SBS appropriate only in situations where there's little existing
infrastructure and where the IT system is not mission critical to the operation
of the business. Or where budget trumps absolutely everything, but that
typically precludes the professional help you astutely recommend for its
implementation."
SharePoint is part of Office XP, not Office 2003
In my review, I didn't include a list price for SharePoint Services, which is
included with SBS 2003, because I said it was a part of Office 2003.
Mike Walsh, a reader in Helsinki, Finland, points out that it's actually
a part of Office XP:
-
"I found your SBS 2003 article very interesting, but noticed a minor error in
the list of products included with SBS 2003 Standard Edition.
"SharePoint Services (actually correctly named Windows SharePoint Services) is
not part of Office 2003.
"Whereas the earlier SharePoint Team Services (STS) product was supplied with
FP [FrontPage] 2002 and with Office XP versions that included FP 2002, Windows
SharePoint Services (WSS) is considered by Microsoft to be a (free) add-on
to Windows 2003 Server.
"It is included in Project Server 2003 and SBS 2003; and is the foundation
of SharePoint Portal Server 2003 but is not included in any Office 2003
package beyond those.
"Although development work on it was (and is) done by the Office team at
Microsoft, you will find the
support page for it at the Windows Server 2003 part of the Microsoft site."
Customer Relationship Management now bundled
A reader named Eric sent word of another bundling deal that's being offered to
entice small-business owners to install yet another Microsoft product:
-
"Microsoft recently announced an offer that includes with SBS 2003
Premium a bundle of MS CRM with 5 Standard Sales Clients. That's about
$3,000 of CRM software included in the bundle.
"Just as you suggested on the install of the server software, find a technology
partner to help. Best to find a certified CRM partner that has actually
assisted a company with CRM before. With the new license of CRM, any MS partner
can sell it. And there is a very big difference between SQL knowledge and
Customer Relationship Management knowledge."
According to a recent
article in CRN, formerly Computer Reseller News, Microsoft
in January starting offering remarkably cheap pricing on its CRM product
to owners of SBS 2003 Premium, the SBS version that includes SQL Server 2000
as well as Exchange Server 2003. The offer is available solely to users
of SBS 2003 Premium because Microsoft's CRM software requires SQL Server.
SBS 2003 Premium owners can now get copies of
Microsoft CRM Sales 1.2 for up to five users at only $99 per seat, CRM says.
The list price for the CRM 1.2 product, which became available near the
New Year, is $395 per named user.
If you're interested, Microsoft has a
TechNet page with several tips about using MS CRM Server with SBS 2000,
most of which should also apply to SBS 2003.
Thanks to you, too
Finally, I'd like to take a moment to print a compliment. Alex Bakaysa was one
of several readers who sent in remarks such as the following, lauding me
for installing SBS 2003 and describing its features and quirks
in simple language:
-
"The January 29, 2004, Issue 22, on SBS 2003 was simply fantastic. CALs,
installation hassles, tips, etc. Thanks for your explanations! You boiled down
a lot of technical stuff with easy 'how to' stuff and tips. I never had the
patience to try to understand the official Microsoft spiel on the basics that
you went over."
It makes all the research I do for Brian's Buzz worthwhile
when I hear that the information I dig up on the wide world of Windows
is helpful to you out there. In case I haven't said so recently, thanks
again to everyone for sending in the tips that spark my research into all
the various dark corners of computing.
To send me more information about SBS 2003, or to send me your findings on
any other subject, visit
WindowsSecrets.com/contact.
RECOMMENDED READING - my book reviews of tech topics
Degunking Windows: how to cure slowness in the OS
I once wrote a four-part series in InfoWorld about correcting
what I called "Windows arthritis." This is the lethargy that seems to overtake
the operating system as little as six months after it's installed.
(If you missed that topic, the columns appeared on
June 14,
June 21,
June 28, and
July 5, 1999, and still contain relevant information.) Now Joli Ballew
and Jeff Duntemann have compiled an entire book on the subject, and it's a
good one. The authors start with fixes that take only 10 minutes to
complete and work their way up from there. They call this "degunking."
Their 320-page volume is written for everyone from beginners to experts, so
you'll have to skip over a bit of introductory matter here and there. But
I think you'll find the results to be worth it.
More info
Security Warrior: the dark side of intrusion prevention
If you want to know the latest about how black-hat hackers
break into Windows, Linux, and even handheld operating systems such as
Windows CE, then Security Warriors is a read you need.
Written from the perspective of a bad guy who's trying to break into
your machine, the work is guaranteed to show you exploits that you didn't
already know. The going isn't always easy, what with several sections of
assembly language and the like. But for the true IT professional this is
the kind of stuff that's essential to understand. Another security classic
from O'Reilly Publishing.
More info
FORWARDING INSTRUCTIONS - news gains value when it's shared
Please share this information with your colleagues
You're encouraged to refer your friends and colleagues to this free
newsletter. Because most e-mail programs don't correctly display a formatted
message that's been forwarded, simply call people's attention to
the permanent Web address of this issue:
BriansBuzz.com/w/040212.
HERE'S A TIP - you'll get a better newsletter if you choose the paid version
You're reading the free version of Brian's Buzz on Windows
Subscribers to the paid version receive additional information in each issue.
The extras this week include not one but two article-length Special
Reports on coming virus threats and serious problems with a new Windows
update:
- Special Report: Protecting yourself from
the coming ASN.1 attack. Microsoft announced on Feb. 10 a
major security hole affecting Windows NT, 2000, XP, and
2003. Experts are calling the new problem a more dangerous
threat to PCs than other virus epidemics such as Code Red. I agree, and
I give you detailed instructions.
- Special Report: MS04-004 corrects some problems, adds others.
Microsoft released on Feb. 2 a patch for another security weakness
entitled MS04-004 (KB 832894). I've found that it has serious negative
side-effects, many of which are acknowledged by Microsoft.
For this reason, I recommend that you do not install it. Instead, read my
description of the problems so you can choose an informed course of
action.
You choose your own contribution level. In addition to this week's
Special Reports, contributors to Brian's Buzz will also receive the next
24 issues of the longer, paid version of the newsletter, and instant
access to all past paid content.
If you make a contribution before February 25, 2004,
you'll immediately be sent the full, paid version of this week's newsletter.
To upgrade to the paid version, please visit
WindowsSecrets.com/upgrade.
Thanks in advance.
BRIAN'S BOOKSHELF - new e-books from the author
Spam-Proof Your E-Mail Address
This 27-page e-book in PDF format gives you step-by-step instructions
that can eliminate 97% of the spam that would otherwise clog your e-mail
account. You could call it "Brian Livingston's Spam Secrets." The book
is the result of months of experiments and tests I conducted, and I now
receive little or no spam to the addresses I used as guinea pigs. These tests
show that you can actually reduce your volume of spam to practically nothing,
not just battle an unstoppable and ever-growing flood. The methods I describe
work with Windows, Apple, and Linux and don't require any filters or block
lists - but you can use those in addition to the book's techniques, if you wish.
More info
WACKY WEB WEEK - playing for you the Internet's greatest bits
Everyone will be married to Britney Spears for 15 minutes, study finds
One of my favorite news sites on the Web is Chortler.com, which calls itself
a satirical online newspaper. Every day, they come up with great stories
such as this: "A report by a team of sociologists has found that Jason
Alexander, a complete unknown just days ago, has started a whole new wave
in wedding trends - everyone will be married to Britney Spears for 15
minutes." The site doesn't dwell merely on entertainment news, however,
digging equally into candidates from Democrats to Republicans and events
both large and small. ("Pretzel attack planned before September 11, Paul
O'Neil claims.") Take a look for yourself.
Chortler.com
CLOSING REMARKS - the best is yet to come
In this section, I provide links to columns I've published recently that you
might find useful.
eWeek: The future of e-mail
Wouldn't it be great if you could get rid of the lion's share of your e-mail
but still get a coherent flow of the information you need? Some companies are
implementing pilot programs with that goal in mind.
More info
Datamation: How many pop-ups can a pop-up stopper stop?
There's a war going on between people who want to put pop-up ads on all of your
computer screens and those who are determined to stop them. The battle has just
escalated to a new level, with the announcement on Jan. 20 of cutting-edge
technology that is designed to defeat today's widely-used pop-up blockers.
(Part 1 of 2)
More info
Datamation: Pop-ups are coming to screens near you
Unicast, a New York-based advertising agency, has developed a new online pop-up
format that can evade the "pop-up blockers" used by many companies. Now,
pop-up blocker companies are planning to strike back. I predict the war for
control of your monitors has just begun. (Part 2 of 2)
More info
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