Which version of Windows Server is right for me?

[pzs22]

Hi. My company is going to update our main server. As of right now, we have two old servers. One is running Windows Small Business Server 2003 Standard Ed. The other is running Windows Server 2003 and is the backup domain controller/filer server. We run exchange on the SBS which hosts all company email and all of the "higher ups" have roaming profiles wich backup to the SBS incase they lose/damage their laptops.

We are having space issues and are in need of a new server... not to mention the fact that the other two servers are pretty old and have little redundancy. I am going to go with a Dell server and have to stay under $11,000 which seems very feasable. The question I have for you all is what do you think is the best move for our company. We have around 70 users right now, we will be at 100 by 2007 and should keep growing if all goes well.

Should I get the new server with Windows Small Business Server 2003 Enterprise Ed and format the SBS we have now with Windows Server 2003? Does this seem like the best option/bang for our buck?

The Server I am looking at now is a PowerEdge 2800, dual Xeon 3.0gig processors, 3GB DDR2 400mhz memory, 300 gig raided HDD's, Reduandant Power Supplies, etc.

I would take the other two servers and put Windows 2003 on each of them, make one a backup domain controller, and use each as file servers (our company uses a lot of space due to the business we are in).

Let me know if this sounds good, bad, if anyone has any suggestions at all on ways to improve any of this. I appreciate your feedback greatly. Thank you for your time!

[glc]

It looks to me like SBS is only available in 2 editions - Standard and Premium. For over 100 users, I think you will need something heavier. I don't know offhand what the user licensing limits are these days on either SBS edition.

[faulkner132]

SBS has a limitation of 50 user connections.
Definitely go with Standard Edition.

[zadrian]

Advise :

For the exact price, please refer to your Dell dealer as the price differs from Country.
The Dell system I based on have 3yrs 4 hrs onsite service

I am from Singapore.

For AD & Backup AD
Dell PE 1850, 1x P4 3.0Ghz CPU, 2 GB RAM (USD 3000) - Windows 2003 Std
OR
2 units Dell PE 850, 1x P4 2.8Ghz CPU, 2 GB RAM (USD 2000) - Windows 2003 Std

You will not need high CPU & RAM usage, its always better to have 1 dedicated Active Directory Server, if you can afford, 2 dedicated AD servers to replicate the AD data incase 1 fails and your users cannot logon. You can run DHCP on 1 server and DNS & WINS on both of them. The client User CALs are taken care of if you are using windows 2000/XP/2003.

For File Server
Dell PV 745, 1x P4 2.8Ghz CPU, 2GB to 4GB RAM, SATA Storage of 600GB (USD 2500) - Windows 2003 Storage

You may want to pay more attention on the amount of RAM and try not to save too much on the CPU, although you'll not need a high-end CPU. Celerons may cause a bit of lag. The Windows 2003 storage does not require any user CALs (huge savings).

Gigabit (10/100/1000) Switch
You may want to re-organise your network switches/hubs.
Technically speaking, a 1000/100/10 mbps applicance will transfer at higher rates than a 100/10mbps at 100mps & 100/10 mbps applicance will transfer at higher rates than a 10mbps at 10mps. This is due to internal stuff like buffer, processors and technology advances (if applicable, as compared with same model series of the same brand).
I would directly connect the Dell Servers (with Gigabit NIC) to the Gigabit switch, then link each of the user's switch to this hub.

Hope this helps.

[zadrian]

Originally Posted by pzs22 The Server I am looking at now is a PowerEdge 2800, dual Xeon 3.0gig processors, 3GB DDR2 400mhz memory, 300 gig raided HDD's, Reduandant Power Supplies, etc. I would take the other two servers and put Windows 2003 on each of them, make one a backup domain controller, and use each as file servers (our company uses a lot of space due to the business we are in). Let me know if this sounds good, bad, if anyone has any suggestions at all on ways to improve any of this. I appreciate your feedback greatly. Thank you for your time!

Sorry missed this point...
Quite a bad idea to run applications on your AD (active directory or domain controller).
Note:
a. Exchange or file server = high read/write
b. AD = high read + high traffic (authentication,security, rights+token issue etc)
c. AD Server (in my case) running DHCP, WINS DNS

1) Your AD, Exchange & File server will serve 100 users each. If you run 1 or more of these major applications, your server is serving at least 200 or 300 users.
2) File servers have extremely high read/write, at times users tend to screw up the files, you may have to perform backup, recovery and may even need to restart server at night regularly to clear buffer/RAM.
3) Exchange is very prone to virus attacks and email servers are often exposed to Internet, are you sure you want to expose your AD directly to the Internet ?
4) You may want to run heavier or enterprise-wide services such as time server, DNS , DHCP and WINS

[zadrian]

did it help ?

[pzs22]

Are you saying I should get away from small business server and just run windows server 2003 with exhcange on one box, and my Active directory on another?

[glc]

SBS is fine, but it has a 50 user limit. If you need more users, you need a different version. For your scope, you need 2 servers - trying to run Exchange and all your other apps on a single server/domain controller is gonna create quite a bottleneck.

[zadrian]

Originally Posted by pzs22 Are you saying I should get away from small business server ?

Like all the others also stated. Wondows 2003 SBS have a 50 user limit.
You might also want to check the microsoft website for the other differences between the Windows 2003 server editions.

Originally Posted by pzs22 run windows server 2003 with exhcange on one box, and my Active directory on another?

Probably one of the best idea.
Active Directory have a very high read/write (mostly read) + high access overhead.
The domain controller sends out many authentication requests for folder rights & permissions, sharing rights & permissions, PC log in/out, user log in/out etc