Re: Migrating "up" from XP Pro

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Gary Richtmeyer wrote:
"leew [MVP]" <useContactPage@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:480e2241$0$15195$607ed4bc@xxxxxxxxx
Lanwench [MVP - Exchange] wrote:
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


I agree - check out Small Business Server 2003. Should you decide to go with that, I would recommend purchasing it with Software Assurance through a volume licensing plan. Doing so will provide you the upgrade to SBS 2008 at no additional charge for the server software component. SBS is due to be released in the second half of this year.

(Though note: there will be no "easy" upgrade to SBS 2008 - you will need to do a fresh install and a migration).

Also, I strongly recommend you hire someone to implement this. SBS is pretty easy to manage, but if you don't set it up properly, it can become increasingly more difficult to manage and maintain and in turn, more costly.

-Lee

I probably should have mentioned two additional items: 1) about half of the users are running XP Home, and 2) they have no person with more than a passing knowledge of PCs who could do administrator-type activities.

I'm a PC tech contractor that's been working with them for about a year or so and I come in about every 2-3 weeks or so when they need something done. I agree that a domain environment (especially SBS) is in their future, but anything beyond doing simple file sharing at this point in time probably won't fly (especially when they find out the cost bump involved).

Are you all really saying that it should be a domain environment or nothing? Is there no short-term solution that addresses just the file-sharing situation, so that we can address the migration to a domain environment as a separate project (such as moving the XP Home users to XP Pro)?

-- Gary Richtmeyer



What I'm trying to suggest is that managing a workgroup is a HUGE pain and completely lacks security (and I know small businesses often don't care about security, but that's why the trusted advisor, such as yourself, is there, to help them understand that (and I realize that's not always possible). That said, in most cases, especially with that many systems, I find the workgroup is FAR more work which just costs them more.

I find that using remote access services, backup simplicity, Volume Shadow Copy, shared calendars and contacts often (but admittedly not always) is sufficient to get the deal moving.

Your first step will be to upgrade the XP home systems to XP Pro as you will need that for the domain. But if you've use SBS, you know that administration is not difficult and should not add much if anything to their bottom line - indeed, the additional benefits could provide greater revenue opportunities that easily justify the costs.

-Lee
.

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