Hi gang - I am harry brelsford, the author of the Windows
Small Business Server 2003 Best PRactices book. Each day I am
posting up several pages of the book to have it completely posted
before SBS 2008 ships or I will eat a floppy disk!
Today we COMPLETE the SBS 2003 installation and read a guest
column from Frank Ohlhost!
enjoy...harrybbbb
Harry Brlesford | CEO at SMB Nation | wwws.smbnaiton.com
I am a Small Business Specialists! (SBSC)
# # #
BEST PRACTICE: If for some reason you’ve had a
faulty installation with failed components, the Components
Messages screen will be displayed describing the failure. After
reading this screen, click Next to continue.
If your SBS installation was
unsuccessful, you must stop and troubleshoot the failed
components. Typically, a reinstallation of the failed components
will cure the problem. However, I’ve had to call
Microsoft’s Product Support Services (PSS) in the past to
solve the really tough ones!
Specific to SBS 2003, I had a failed
installed in a test lab where the second disc wasn’t
detected correctly and Exchange didn’t install on the first
pass. I reran the SBS 2003 setup and Exchange correctly installed
on the second pass. But shortly thereafter, I noticed that the
new cool company-related Public Folder (Springer Spaniels
Unlimited Archive) and the company contacts (Springer Spaniels
Unlimited Contacts) weren’t created because the script to
create those apparently doesn’t run on a second pass of the
SBS 2003 setup wizard. So I manually created these Public Folder
objects (which I discuss much more in Chapter 6) and all was
well. The only other setup oddity I’ve experienced to date
derives from this same second pass scenario. Apparently, the
Shared Fax Service, which did correctly install on “round
two” wasn’t completely whole. When I clicked the
Configure Fax link from the To Do List, the fax configuration
wizard failed because it said the Shared Fax Service wasn’t
installed (even though it was installed and running at the time).
I share these insights with you so you’ll not fall victim
to your own imagination if you encounter setup problems (that is,
you’re not imaging what is happening to you because it
might have happened to me!).
30.
Click OK when notified that setup
must restart your computer. The core SBS 2003 setup is now
complete. Take a bow!
BEST PRACTICE: Be sure to remove the
fourth disc from the disc
drive
at this point and store it safely with your other SBS 2003 media.
So
assuming otherwise that all went well, let me be the first to say
congratulations! You have now completed the base installation of
your SBS server machine using the SPRINGERS methodology. Now,
more configuration items await you.
BEST PRACTICE: After the computer
restarts, SBS performs some background housekeeping duties.
Don’t be alarmed. These are onetime configuration
events.
SBS is completely installed. When the
logon dialog box is displayed, provide your username
(Administrator) and password (Husky9999!).
Time Flies (Not!)
The
basic SBS setup process from Phase A to the end of Phase D should
take anywhere from 90 to 240 minutes, depending on the speed of
your computer. I’ve noticed installation time breaks down
as follows:
Phase A — Windows 2000 Server Character-Based
Setup: 15 percent
Phase B — Windows 2000 Server GUI-Based Setup: 20
percent
Phase C — SBS Installation and
Setup: 60 percent
Phase D — SBS Completion and Initial Boot: 5
percent
Guest Column
CRN Test
Center Review: Small Business Server 2003
By Frank J. Ohlhorst
With
the release of Small Business Server 2003 expected on Oct. 9,
Microsoft
has fired a shot across the bow of the
SMB server appliance market. The new,
slimmed-down version of SBS 2003
standard edition offers everything most
small businesses would need, and at an
attractive price point, making the product
an alternative to low-priced,
proprietary server appliances.
Microsoft has gone to great lengths to
integrate key back-office applications
into SBS 2003, without overly
complicating the product, reducing initial setup
to less than 15 minutes when purchased
with OEM server hardware bundles.
Aggressive hardware bundling deals from
leading server vendors should bring
the overall cost of a new five-user SBS
2003 standard edition server to less than
$1,500, while the reduction in
administrative and setup chores helps to greatly
reduce installation costs.
SBS 2003 standard edition combines
Windows Server 2003 with Exchange
2003, Share Point Services, networking,
faxing, a network health monitor and
several other
components aimed at easing administration and setup. The premium
edition adds ISA Server, SQL Server and a specialized
edition of BizTalk 2004. Both versions of SBS 2003 are limited to
single-server installations and 75 users.
CRN Test Center engineers put SBS 2003
standard edition through its paces and were impressed with the
improvements offered. Starting with an HP Proliant server
configured with an OEM install of SBS 2003 standard edition, Test
Center engineers were able to set up a basic SBS 2003 network in
less than 45 minutes, including configuring Internet access, VPN
connectivity and five user accounts.
The basic installation process shows
that Microsoft has accepted the fact that many businesses now use
broadband connections that leverage broadband routers.
The Test Center used a D-Link DI-624
broadband router connected to a cable modem as the interface to
the Internet. SBS 2003’s installation wizard recognized
that router using universal plug and play and then offered
several scenarios to best integrate the device into the network.
Test Center engineers chose to have DHCP assignments remain with
the D-Link router and then configured port forwarding on the
router to pass specific services on to the SBS 2003 server.
The key advantage offered by that setup
is that solution providers can leverage an existing hardware
firewall, without overcomplicating the deployment of an SBS 2003
network. Furthermore, solution providers could choose to
integrate a broadband security appliance into the mix to perform
content filtering, ant-virus filtering and antispam technology.
In the past, most of those services were installed directly on
the server, impacting performance and further complicating
deployments.
Setting up VPN access was just as easy.
Test Center engineers simply used the “configure remote
access” wizard found on the setup “to do” list
to add VPN functionality. That wizard offered to use DHCP
assignments from the D-Link router, further simplifying setup.
The only caveat concerned setting up appropriate port forwarding
on the router to pass PPTP VPN traffic on to the server.
Solution
providers looking to support SBS 2003 networks remotely will
appreciate not only the ease of VPN setup, but also the inclusion
of remote desktop support. That feature can be set up to work
with or without VPN
functionality. Furthermore, SBS 2003 offers the ability
to establish remote desktop connections to Windows XP
professional workstations located on the network. That feature
adds the ability to establish a remote workforce or to remotely
troubleshoot desktop options. Microsoft could have scored big if
that connectivity could have been extended to Windows XP’s
Remote Assistance capability, a true remote control application
suitable for remote training and support. For those wanting true
remote control, products such as PCanywhere or GotomyPC will be
required.
One of the limitations often
encountered by broadband users is the lack of a static public IP
address. That limitation prevents the registration of public
domain name that can be assigned to the SBS 2003 server. Test
Center engineers overcame that problem by using Tzolkien’s
TZO service, a Dynamic DNS provider. That service runs as a small
client application on the server and associates a domain name
with the assigned public IP address and updates that association
whenever an ISP issues a new IP address to a broadband connected
device. For those looking to host Web sites, or use services
remotely, Dynamic DNS becomes a key add-on element.
Simplicity abounds throughout SBS 2003.
Wizards to add users, set up shares, modify security and many
other tasks ensure that even a technician with basic knowledge
can deploy SBS 2003. The product’s enhanced simplicity does
come at a cost for solution providers: a reduction in billable
installation and configuration hours, along with a reduction in
billable support costs. But, that is also the case with most
server appliances on the market at this time.
For most businesses, the combination of
the standard edition of SBS 2003 and a broadband router should be
adequate and offers probably the best platform for business
tasks. Solution providers should only consider the premium
edition if there is a distinct need for SQL Server or if it is
possible to leverage business-process management chores using
BizTalk. All things considered, SBS 2003 hits the nail on the
head when it comes to networking small businesses.
