Re: SBS 2008 Upgrade Dealbreakers?

Plus the possibilities that 64-bit opens up are things most folks haven't even begun to internalize, yet.

On the hardware issue - start on your vendors now. They don't need to change any applications that are part of that package to 64-bit native, they just need to provide 64-bit drivers. Any 32-bit applications can continue to run just fine, IF they don't have a necessary driver associated with them.

On ISA - a perfect use for that old SBS box when you're done. ;) It's already 32-bit, you just need an OS and ISA. If your customer is on SA, then there will be a make good for ISA. What that will be, no one knows at this point.

And on exchange? Sorry, not even close to an option. It's only viable (and that barely) as a demo.

--
Charlie.
http://msmvps.com/blogs/xperts64
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/charlie.russel


"Susan Bradley" <sbradcpa@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:e19yGEqxIHA.1768@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
When you have a faxtrout... consider SBS 2008 premium where you get the second server and it can be a Win2k8 32bit.

As to "can't they let us run 32bit Exchange 2007" it sucked. And you don't want to be selling to a client a version that "is not supported".

64bit folks.

SBS 2003 will be around for a long time, and that's perfectly okay.

Cliff Galiher wrote:
Inline:

"ckennylin" <ckennylin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:6679B47E-981A-4406-A545-B4C7735369D8@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hi All:

I just came back from the Windows 2008 Launch event with a preview of SBS
2008 and EBS 2008.

Given what I saw and heard, and knowing what I need to run my business, I'd
like to get a sense of what "dealbreakers" the community has in upgrading to
SBS 2008.

Going to EBS will be a major cost / complexity issue, so I'm not even
considering that as an upgrade path.
For many of my clients, EBS is overkill too. But since EBS is supposed to cover the gap above 75 users, this is understandable complexity. You should only be considering it if you have need for its greater capacities. It sounds as though you don't...so not sure why it is a 'dealbreaker' as much as just not a product that fits your needs.

For me, the biggest dealbreaker will be the mandatory move to 64-bit. I can
see a lot of resistence for current users in the Small Business segment for
forklift upgrades to new hardware, especially in a "challenging" economic
environment when more cheap memory / disk will deliver immedate benefits.
This is more of a yin-yang situation for me. I don't recommend people go out and buy Vista retail either. You *should* get Vista on a new machine and not downgrade to XP, but you probably *shouldn't* get Vista retail as your hardware won't take it well. The target audience for SBS 2k8 should be current SBS 2k3 customers who are considering hardware upgrades anyways, whether it is CPU limits, memory limits, or hard drive limits that you've reached. Or even warranty issues. Since SBS tends to be the ONLY server in small shops, it becomes MORE mission critical, so if you have a four year old Dell that is about to fall outside of its warranty, time to upgrade hardware...might as well go with SBS 2k8.

Also, as far as more cheap memory being an immediate benefit...there are shops that are already at 4 gigs, which is the realistic max on 32-bit systems. So to get more memory they have to go 64-bit anyways. I don't see 64-bit being a dealbreaker for anybody. It may delay their upgrade plans, but not break them. And long-term the benefits far outweigh any drawbacks.

Also, we are using a Brooktrout Fax board with Micorosoft Shared Fax for our
incoming faxes, and there does not appear to be 64-bit driver support from
Brooktrout from Day One. The investment in the Brooktrout hardware was
significant (more than the cost of SBS and server hardware combined!) and it
is a mission-critical device (or application?) now that we consolidated our
fax traffic.
Agreed. If you've spent money on hardware that you want to move to a new server and can't then you may have to hold off on vendor support. Then again, vendor support may *never* be forthcoming so you may have to look at new hardware. But suffice it to say, that could be a dealbreaker in some shops.

In addition, we are running other server-side processes to support the
vertical apps we use. Though 64-bit versions are available for some of these
proceses, they have yet to be certified by our vendors for the vertical apps.
I've never liked the idea of running other applications on the SBS server. But, with that said, SBS 2k8 premium comes with a second win2k8 license. And looking at the hardware requirements, the second server can be 32-bit. So that addresses running applications on the SBS server (my pet peeve) AND requiring them to be 64-bit. If that is your need, get SBS premium. Not a dealbreaker at all, in my opinion.

My understanding is the 64-bit move was forced by the inclusion of Exchange
2007 which is offered as a 64-bit only product. I thought there was a 32-bit
version of Exchange 2007 around for educational / testing purposes because
the 32-bit version wasn't optimized. Since SBS is capped at 75 users,
perhaps the 32-bit version of Exchange 2007 can be optimized for SBS's user
cap? Or why not keep Exchange 2003 instead because it works?
I'd be *ticked* to buy SBS 2k8 and get old technology. Exchange 2007 works too. If I'm paying for a server and CALs, I don't want last generation. Again, this goes back to your apparent dislike of 64-bit...but I see this as a necessary evolution. And again, SBS premium can help bridge the transition gap.

Another problem I have is the removal of ISA Server from SBS 2008 Premium.
We depend on ISA Server now to avoid spam, avoid intruders, and enhance the
users' internet experience. With the web cache, our users are often
surprised how slow our ISP connection is in reality.
I've never liked ISA on SBS. It always felt 'icky.' You'll notice I never reply to the ISA questions on this newsgroup...because I don't ever install SBS 2k3 premium. I'll sell my clients a celestix box (with ISA 2006 at that) or a standalone appliance like sonicwall or watchguard. I just don't believe a domain controller should EVER have a direct connection to the internet, even with ISA standing guard. I'm happy to see this change and I think it reflects Microsoft's recent commitment to improving security.

And if you want ISA, that is where EBS becomes a worthwhile product to look at...as it provides ISA as it should be provided...in a silo'd server. :)



So, in sum, my major dealbreakers for an SBS 2008 upgrade are:

- Box Swap to 64-bit hardware
- Brooktrout Fax board compatibility (64-bit issue)
- Unknown support for vertical apps
- No more ISA Server in Premium

What are your dealbreakers for upgrading to SBS 2008?

I suspect SBS 2003 will have quite a bit of life for a while....
In existing installations? Sure. No argument. But being sold on new hardware and surviving the way XP has? I doubt it. But I was wrong about XP too (and yes, I love Vista...despite its bad press.)

-Cliff


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