Small Business Server. This venerable Microsoft product is well known among small business technology experts. Throughout its 15-year history, it has adapted to meet the challenges of the small business, has been updated regularly to accommodate new technologies and best practices, and has become the cornerstone for many small businesses.
Some Interesting Commonalities
2011 will see a refresh of SBS, but it also brings us something new; a modification in SBS that poses the potential to be as game-changing as SBS itself. Small Business Server is no longer a single product, but has become a brand with three distinct products.
It would be easy to assume that with a shared name comes a shared platform, with similar features and functionality. However, this is certainly not the case. The Small Business Server brand represents a shared purpose of servicing the small business market, but as businesses have evolved and their needs diverged in an ever-increasing marketplace, so too do these products represent the vastly different needs of small businesses. Making the choice on which product best fits means understanding the core focus of each product. So which is right for you? Small Business Server 2011 Essentials? Small Business 2011 Standard? Does that premium add-on provide enough “value-add? Understanding these products, their similarities, and their differences will be important in making future plans and purchases.
First, while each product has a specific focus to help fulfill a niche in the small business space, at their core they do have some things in common. They are all built on Windows Server 2008 R2. With a few licensing restrictions, you receive all of the functionality of the Windows Server platform. All of the common features are there for file sharing, printer sharing, a DNS server, and IIS for hosting some web content. Some of the less used features are there as well, such as NPS which has a solid RADIUS server for rolling out a more secure Wi-Fi network, and RRAS, which can be used for controlling remote access. Beyond the core of Windows Server, each product adds its unique superset of features to distinguish itself from the rest.
What About SBS-E?
Small Business Server 2011 Essentials (SBS-E) is the new kid on the block. An entirely new product, despite its name, this server is built for the small business that is on the verge of outgrowing “workgroup” status. It installs itself as a domain controller, providing strong central management of users, passwords and policies on the network. Taking a page from the Windows Home Server playbook, it offers a client PC backup engine to help the small business protect essential data. It has a dashboard to help monitor the health of the server, the network and a plethora of wizards to help the day-to-day office manager maintain the system. Its primary purpose is to offer an easy server for the business, small footprint, easy to manage, and otherwise stay-out-of-the-way installation. And, of course, SBS continues its presence on SBS-E. Formerly called RWW, the latest incarnation of Remote Web Access (RWA) offers a unique web-based solution for accessing client PC desktops, shared files stored on the server, and even streaming media via Silverlight.
For those familiar with previous versions of SBS, what is missing is as notable as what is new. Gone are the components that require extra administration such as Exchange and SharePoint. As many “first-server” businesses will still have ad-hoc solutions in place, these “missing” pieces strategically place this server to be an ideal complement to more informal solutions such as Google Apps or hosted Exchange for email solutions. Similarly, a company can leverage their existing collaboration solutions, including hosted Sharepoint, Google Apps, or any of the offerings from IBM, Cisco and others. The lightweight nature of SBS-E makes it particularly adept and nimble to meeting new small business models where previous SBS editions were an ill fit.
Like all versions of SBS, SBS-E does have some limitations. First and foremost, it is limited to 25 users and 25 computers. As a solution targeting the smaller side of “small business” this usually won’t be an issue. If you are looking for a higher user count, you may want to investigate other products, such as SBS Standard or even stand-alone Windows Server deployments, depending on features. Also, like previous versions of SBS, “enterprise” features have been intentionally disabled. SBS does not support multiple-domain forests, it must be the root of the domain, does not support trusts or federation, and must hold all FSMO roles. If all of that is Greek, don’t worry; these are all features intended for large businesses. Not even mid-sized businesses will use those features often, if ever. The small business, properly installed and managed, will never even know they aren’t there.
Small Business Server 2011 Standard
Small Business Server 2011 Standard is the next edition of the traditional SBS product line. There won’t be many surprises for long-time SBS aficionados, but there are some refreshing changes and updates. Of course, first there is the name. That “standard” tacked on the end is a result of the SBS name becoming a brand instead of a product, but will be important when seeking support. As the differences between SBS Standard and SBS Essentials are fairly significant, what fixes problems on one server can be completely meaningless advice on another. Get used to the new product name; it will save you hassle down the road.
SBS Standard takes Windows Server 2008 R2 and makes it a domain controller so like SBS-E, it becomes the core of a more manageable network. It then builds in Exchange 2010 SP1 and SharePoint Foundation 2010 to offer a complete email and collaboration solution out of the box. Next is the SBS Dashboard designed to help monitor the server’s health and provide quick and (usually) logical access to myriad of management tasks. And finally, each task is usually managed by a wizard specifically written for SBS that hides the more complex details, making the process of managing a server with this many components look deceptively simple. SBS Standard also includes an updated RWA interface, a shared fax solution similar to previous versions of SBS, an integrated patch management solution via Microsoft WSUS, and basic reporting to help keep track of the whole thing.
Like its SBS Essentials counterpart, SBS Standard, too, has its limitations. It has the same enterprise domain features stripped out and has the same enterprise restrictions that were listed for SBS-E. It also has a limit on users or computers; although instead of 25, it is 75 for SBS Standard. In addition, a common limitation that some larger businesses run into is in trying to deploy a Remote Desktop (formerly Terminal Services) server solution. The SBS Standard server cannot host remote desktop applications and should never have standard users logging directly into the server. If RD roles are needed, a second server and licenses will need to be added to the network.
SBS Premium Add-On
Finally, the third product in the SBS 2011 line-up is the Small Business Server 2011 Premium Add-on. The Premium Add-on takes a copy of Windows Server 2008 R2, bundles a copy of SQL Server 2008 R2 for Small Business, and makes it available for the SBS customer that needs some extra functionality. Since the copy of Windows Server 2008 R2 is not customized, this allows it to act as a Remote Desktop application server or it can act as a redundant domain controller. It could be dropped in a DMZ on the network and host external website content or extranet data. The Premium Add-on adds significant flexibility to both SBS-E and SBS Standard.
As with all SBS products, there are a few restrictions. First, the Windows Server install *must* be a part of the SBS network. There won’t be any splitting the product off and running a second business from it. Similarly, the SQL Server for Small Business also has licensing restrictions that require it exist on the SBS network. Neither restriction is a deal breaker and, for those who play by the rules, won’t ever be noticed.
Of note, gone is the “Premium Edition” of previous SBS versions. The SBS Premium Add-on helps fill the void left by the SBS 2008 Premium Edition, but adds more flexibility. As an Add-on purchase, it can be purchased as a business grows instead of forcing a user to make the decision up front. This also allows it to be purchased as an add-on for SBS Standard, but also is an add-on for SBS-E. While the latter may not be a common scenario, there are certainly environments such as a small manufacturing plant, where SBS-E is the better fit, but they need a second server for RD or a LOB SQL app. SBS-E coupled with a Premium Add-on provides a comprehensive solution in these cases.
In summary, 2011 represents both an evolutionary step for the SBS product line and a revolutionary one at the same time. As Microsoft repositions its products to better serve emerging trends, the SBS product line now has offerings in both the familiar and the exceedingly new. While it will take some time to see how adoption pans out, it is good to see that small businesses now have greater choice in finding a product tailor fitted to suit their needs. For more information about SBS 2011, please contact HBR Solutions Inc. at info@hbrsolutions.com