Re: Migrating "up" from XP Pro

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Gary Richtmeyer <glricht5-removeme-@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I work with a small business that has a PC (Dell Optiplex 320, SATA,
no raid) running Win XP Pro which is used to simply hold files that
are shared among their 8 users in a simple workgroup. It's a pretty
straight-forward file sharing environment; they're even using the
simple file sharing technique.

However, their business is growing and they will soon have 13 users,
which exceeds XP Pro's 10-user limit, so they will need to upgrade to
a Windows server environment. (Linux and other non-Windows OSes are
not an option.)
My challenge is that I'm not very familiar with the Windows Server
arena other than casual reading of various announcements and the
like. They don't need a domain or any of the other server-type
features -- at least, not yet. All they need is a PC that will hold
an share files for more than 10 concurrent users.

From the research I've done, it appears that Windows Server 2003 R2
Standard is what we need. Does that sound right? Also, I'm not sure
how the licensing works. If I understand correctly, they need a
license for the OS itself and then a license for each concurrently
logged-on user. True?
Looking for some general guidance.

Thanks,
Gary Richtmeyer

If you're going through the bother of doing this, *do* put in a domain.
Workgroups simply do not scale. More than a small handful of users & they're
a nightmare to manage...why not bite the bullet? Workgroups are not
generally suitable for businesses as there's no central management,
security, administration, whatnot.

I strongly suggest you take a look at SBS2003 - it's less expensive than
regular W2003, comes with extra stuff (Exchange...which, if you support
e-mail at all, is a very good thing to have- no more PST files & POP3
accounts to manage), and is designed with loads of setup assistants/wizards
to help you get it up and running. I'd say that the vast majority of
businesses who migrate to a domain & Exchange are very pleased & never look
back. Try posting in microsoft.public.windows.server.sbs. If you haven't
set up a server before you may wish to have a consultant help you out, to
make sure everything is covered, and


.

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