portlandia IT

The small business server community is the focus of portlandia IT, which entails researching products and applications that best suit their needs.

Microsoft has also recognized the needs of the small business community and has been producing a product specifically for this market since the late ’90s. This product is called the Windows Small Business Server and it began with SBS 4.0.

Small Business Server 2011 is a significant improvement over past versions of the server platform:

1. Small Business Server 2011 is 64 bit, bases on Windows Server 2008 R2
2. The email server is Exchange 2010
3. Incorporates SharePoint Foundation 2010
4. Uses Windows Server Update Services to centrally manage update deployment to server and end-user PCs
5. Easy to manage Central Console

Most of Small Business Server 2011 software I have installed, the 75 user limit is not an issue. The main problem with prior versions of SBS was the mail store size limit.

SBS 2003 used Exchange 2003 Standard and it has a mail store limitation of 75 GB. I found that even small shops were soon reaching that threshold.

With the introduction of Small Business Server 2008 and Exchange 2007, thankfully that limitation is gone.

SBS 2011 is improved upon by the addition of Microsoft Exchange 2010 and is also not limited.

There are several things to consider when looking at adding to or upgrading your existing server environment.

Given the proper circumstances, offices that need a server to manage users, user data, and want access to email in-house, the Small Business Server 2011 makes a good fit.

It is easy to manage, easy to back up and given the right hardware is very robust.

There are times when a single server will not adequately service the needs of an office, when such times arise, Microsoft has available the Small Business Server 2011 Premium Add-on. This adds a second Server 2008 R2 license and a SQL server to use with the existing Small Business Server 2011.