Features and Benefits of

Product Overview

Microsoft’s new Windows Small Business Server 2003 is an advanced Server Platform that incorporates Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition (based on .NET technologies) plus additional Microsoft products and services (such as Exchange Server 2003) that increases the functionality of a small business network. SBS 2003 is basically a "Domain in a Box" providing a domain controller (DC), intranet, file and print server, and email functionality and possibly more all in once system.  It is designed for businesses with 50 or less users/device but can support up to 75 users/devices.

Window Small Business Server 2003 Editions

Windows Small Business Server 2003 is available in two versions, Standard and Premium.  ASI CORP sells both versions.  Premium version has more advanced features.

 Windows Small Business Server 2003 Standard Edition Windows Small Business Server 2003 Premium Edition Features
ASI SKU # 24413 ASI SKU # 24412 
Windows Server 2003 Technologies Windows Server 2003 Technologies Tools and technologies to help share, manage, secure, and back up files on an internal network
Microsoft Windows SharePoint™ Services Microsoft Windows SharePoint™ Services SharePoint Services allow an organization to much more easily organize and share documents, contacts, calendars, tasks, and other information for team collaboration.
Exchange Server 2003 technology Exchange Server 2003 technology Exchange is a full email and messaging solution that also incorporates a new version of Microsoft Outlook Web Access.  
Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 A unified place to manage e-mail, calendars, contacts, and other personal and team information
- ISA Server 2000 technology Technology to help secure Internet connections
- SQL Server 2000 SQL is a powerful relational database for running business applications.
- Microsoft Office FrontPage® 2003 Helps you to create sophisticated websites or create customer solutions for Windows SharePoint Services.

In addition to the above features, Windows 2003 SBS Standard Edition is also limited to 50 concurrent users for Web Applications, but Windows Small Business Server 2003 Premium Edition, includes Microsoft SQL Server™ 2000. Businesses running the premium edition can now establish an interactive Web presence with an unlimited number of visitors and can run as many business applications as they need.

Windows 2003 SBS has two types of Client Access Licenses (CALS):

USER CAL – a CAL for every named user that accesses the server (from any device). SBS 2003 5 USER CAL = ASI SKU # 24415

DEVICE CAL - a CAL for every device (used by any user) that accesses the server. Devices include not only desktop workstations in your office but also mobile phones that have Internet access, handheld PCs, and remote workstations.  SBS 2003 5 Device CAL ASI SKU #24414

Key Product Advantages

Microsoft has developed Windows Small Business Server 2003 with the key concept “Do more with less” in mind.  With this package customers can build and run a successful small business network geared towards increased reliability, functionality, communication and project collaboration, leading to better productivity for the whole organization.

Microsoft has specifically designed this platform to be more dependable, more secure, easier to deploy and manage, and a better overall value than any previous software platform.  Such advantages also lead to a lower TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) and prevent costly downtimes while providing the customer with a competitive edge.

In addition SBS 2003 is a real great business value, even compared to Linux.  Recent 3rd party studies show that Microsoft Products provide a lower cost of ownership than Linux products.  For more info see: http://www.microsoft.com/mscorp/facts/default.asp

Additional Features

IIS 6.0 (Internet Information Services):  A Web service for sharing information among partners, customers and employees over an intranet, the Internet or via an extranet.  It provides enhanced security and a dependable architecture that offers application isolation and greatly improved performance. The result: higher overall reliability and uptime. And Microsoft Windows Media services makes it easy to build streaming media solutions with dynamic content programming as well as faster and more reliable performance.

Server Roles

Windows SBS 2003 is a multipurpose operating system capable of handling a diverse set of server roles, depending on your needs, in either a centralized or distributed fashion.

  • File and print server
  • Web server and Web application services
  • Mail server
  • Terminal server
  • Database Server
  • Remote access and virtual private network (VPN) server
  • Directory services, Domain Name System (DNS), Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server, and Windows Internet Naming Service (WINS)
  • Streaming media servers

Minimum System Requirements for Running SBS 2003

Processor: 300 MHz / Memory: 256 MB / Hard Disk Space: 4 GB + 420MB to Install SQL Server 2000

These are minimum requirements only and much better hardware is recommended for good system performance.  We recommend DUAL XEON processor configuration using Intel or Supermicro server platform, using RAID 1 or RAID 5 SCSI disk subsystem, plus 1-4 GB of physical RAM.

Installation note: Small Business Server 2003 must be at the root of an active directory domain (it must be the first Domain Controller) 

Note: Windows Server 2003 for Small Business Server has the following restrictions:

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Only one computer in a domain can be running Windows Server 2003 for Small Business Server.
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Windows Server 2003 for Small Business Server must be the root of the Active Directory® forest.
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Windows Server 2003 for Small Business Server cannot trust any other domains.
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A Windows Server 2003 for Small Business Server domain cannot have any child domains.
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Each additional server must have a Windows Small Business Server 2003 client access license (CAL). You can use CALs for each user or for each device.

Market Segment / Potential

Right now is a fantastic time to sell Microsoft SBS 2003 because of the great value it delivers and the need for many small businesses to upgrade their IT infrastructure.  The opportunities arise from:

  • Small businesses needing a full Server Platform Solution (lower cost and easier setup than purchasing software components separately).
  • Business that need to upgrade from NT 4.0 server to more advanced systems that will save them time and money (lower TCO / ability to consolidate physical server systems)
  • Business that are still running peer to peer networks and need to upgrade to add additional levels of security, communication, and centralized IT management.

For those customers upgrading from previous server versions (such as NT 4.0) Microsoft offers many free migration tools.

Additional Resources

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/sbs/default.mspx

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/sbs/evaluation/top.mspx

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