Microsoft has taken a lot of heat recently regarding security and bug fixes for its' products.  Say what you want about them but, in our opinion, they deserve to get big points on the plus side for coming up with Windows Small Business Server 2003.

What is Small Business Server?

SBS is a suite of Microsoft server products specially optimized to work together.  It is comprised of limited user versions of Microsoft enterprise class products.  But the great thing about it is that the price tag for the whole suite is just a fraction of that of just one of the component products if you were to buy the enterprise versions.

Why Get Small Business Server?

OK, so the price is great.  If you ran out and bought everything that was priced great you would have a warehouse full of useless junk and an empty bank account!  Why should you get Small Business Server 2003?  If you are a small business and you want all of the IT benefits that the big boys have and you don't want to have to pay for them like they do, then get SBS.  If you aren't big enough to justify installing the full enterprise class products but would like all of the advantages and the flexibility to move up to the individual products, then get SBS.

Which Version of Small Business Server Should You Get?

Small Business Server comes in two editions: standard and premium.  Which version is best for you depends on which components you need.  If you are just looking for a file server and internal communications then go with the standard edition.  If you think you might want internet access, both inbound and outbound, or that you may need to have shared SQL databases or that you may want to customize SharePoint™ sites then go with the premium edition.

What Are the Hardware Requirements for Small Business Server?

Small Business Server 2003 needs four sixteen-way servers each with two terabytes of RAM and twelve 72GB SCSI drives.

W-A-I-T   -  J-U-S-T  -  A  -  M-I-N-U-T-E  !!

Sorry, that was our shopping list for the ultimate gaming system!  Actually Small Business Server 2003 hardware requirements are very small.  SBS-2003 is designed for ≤75 users/devices, and since it is limited to running as the root of an Active Directory domain, on a single server, you can only need one server to run the whole show!  How's that for easy?