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Microsoft Backoffice Small Business Server
Windows Hardware And RamThere's a good chance, depending on the availability of software drivers for your existing hardware, but unless your existing server is less than 3 ..... What are the advantages of Windows 2003 over NT?
The standard version of Windows 2000 server will be the appropriate choice for the vast majority of companies.
Microsoft occasionally have promotional deals on Advanced Server making it only slightly more expensive than the Standard version (it's usually double the price of the Standard version) which may appeal to some companies with an eye towards expansion.
Microsoft doesn't sell Datacentre Server directly to end users. Instead you have to buy it from authorised resellers as part of a hardware and support package. The price of a server with Windows 2000 Datacentre installed on it starts around £30,000 and goes rapidly upwards.
Microsoft Backoffice Small Business Server was launched in 1997 and is a bundle of several Microsoft server products.
The word Backoffice was dropped from the name in 2000 and the current product is called Small Business Server 2000 (SBS 2000). The package includes Windows 2000 Server, Exchange 2000 Server, SQL 2000 Server and Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) server.
Microsoft has attempted to hide the complexity of the various servers in SBS 2000 by developing a unified, wizard-driven installation and setup procedure as well as a simplified administration interface to encourage small businesses to install the product themselves without the need to enlist expert help. This has only been partially successful s there are still plenty of ways to get into trouble.
If your company uses 3 out of the 4 servers in SBS 2000 then, for 50% more than the cost of Windows 2000 server alone, it represents great value.
The only slight catch is that all the different servers must be installed on the same machine. As Exchange, SQL and ISA run on top of Windows 2000 the only situation where this would be a problem is if you'd bought SBS 2000 and another copy of Windows Server 2000 and wanted, say, to install Exchange on one server and ISA on another.
SQL Server is a heavy-duty database which may be over-the-top for companies with under 100 users (remember, someone's got to design and maintain the database).
Exchange is too complicated for all but the largest of companies. There are cheaper alternative mailserver programs that are easier to maintain yet still offer most of the features of Exchange.
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