Small Business Server 2008 Feature Brief
Posted on 05-05-08
Small Business Server History
Microsoft has marketed server solutions to the small business community for quite some time. “Windows Small Business Server” has a history dating back to 1997 with the release of “BackOffice Small Business Server 4.0″. Since that initial offering, Microsoft has introduced a Small Business Server product with every major Windows Server release.
These offerings have attempted to bring all of the complicated features, used regularly by larger businesses, and packaged them into a single product that can be then implemented on a small scale. The idea is to also consolidate functionality onto a single piece of hardware, minimizing investment costs and complexity of maintenance and troubleshooting. Microsoft also attempts to group complex tasks into wizard-driven interfaces, helping less technical users to administer the server and perform daily tasks such as backups and user management.
Small Business Server 2008 Overview
Microsoft has officially announced the pending release of Small Business Server 2008. Microsoft has broadly targeted the “second half of 2008″ as the release time frame for SBS 2008. With it comes some exciting new technology and polish for the ever evolving product line.
SBS 2008 comes in two editions (Standard & Premium), each taking advantage of the latest release of Windows Server 2008.
Standard & Premium Editions included technologies:
- Server 2008 Standard Technologies (Operating System)
- Exchange Server 2007 (Email Solution)
- SharePoint Service 3.0 (Collaboration Environment)
- Windows Live OneCare for Server (Anti-Virus and Backup)
- Microsoft Forefront Security for Exchange (Email Virus and Spam Protection)
Premium Edition technologies only:
- Server 2008 Standard Technologies - 2nd Copy
- Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Technologies
Small Business Server 2008 Feature Highlight
Server 2008 is the foundation of the offering, leveraging the new advances in Active Directory administration and domain management. Server 2008 brings many enhancements over 2000 and 2003 Server products. Information about the release and improvements over previous Server releases can be found here.
In addition to the latest release of Windows Server, Microsoft includes a full-featured messaging and collaboration tool set. This includes the latest Exchange Server release (Exchange Server 2007) as well as SharePoint Services 3.0. These products bring large improvements over the previous generations. Features and benefits of each can be reviewed: Exchange Server 2007 - SharePoint Services 3.0
Microsoft has also included security and maintenance applications to help small businesses secure their networks and maintain current patch levels across the entire business network. These include: for email security, including virus filtering and spam control - “Microsoft Forefront Security for Exchange Server”; for server anti-virus maintenance and backup services - “Windows Live OneCare for Server”; and for patch level management of server and workstations - “Windows Server Update Services 3.0 SP1″
Users of SBS 2008 Premium will receive a second copy of “Windows Server 2008 Standard” and “Microsoft SQL Server 2008″. This will allow a second server to be deployed on the network for SQL services.
Windows Small Business Server 2008 is the latest release in a long line of Small Business Server products. At Opti-Vise, we feel it is a strong offering with many benefits. It looks to be a fantastic value to a small business intending to use Microsoft technologies to manage and maintain their network. It will support businesses with up to 75 users or devices. The streamlined administration console allows for control of the server without in-depth knowledge of the underlying technologies. There are many other features and benefits included in Microsoft’s new Small Business Server 2008 product that are not discussed in this brief overview. You can find more information and technical documentation at Microsoft’s Small Business Server website.
Author: Kyle Hamilton
