Why SBS 2008 is better than SBS 2003
Actually, let me rephrase that title. I think it should be "Why? Is SBS 2008 better than SBS 2003?"
There are few if any people on the planet more familiar with Small Business Server than Microsoft’s Sean Daniel. Sean recently posted a feature comparison between SBS 2003 and SBS 2008. What strikes me about this list is how little is striking. Almost all the new features are benefits for the network administrator, not the end users, and many of those new features apply only to the initial installation and configuration of the product.
I’m still not seeing any compelling reason to upgrade from SBS03 to SBS08 unless there’s a particular feature of Exchange 2007 that the organization wants to deploy. I’ve heard a lot of folks saying "we’ll upgrade our clients to SBS08 when it’s time to replace their server hardware." But when will that be? I’ve got servers that are four-plus years old running SBS03 and doing just fine. What exactly is going to warrant a server hardware replacement? Have there been any changes in CPU technology that would have a meaningful impact on the productivity of a typical small business?
I hope I’m missing something. The leaps between SBS 4.5, SBS 2000, and SBS 2003 were simply extraordinary. I’d hate to think that the SBS 2008 is going to be a big fat "ho-hum." So please comment and tell me where I’m wrong.
Funny, when Exchange 2007 first launched and I was on my high horse signing up Exchange 2007 mailboxes left and right and upgrading people to 2007 and telling everyone how great it was… virtually every SBSer told me they would wait for SBS 2008.
I’ve even been bashed on a few blogs for the audacity to suggest that Exchange 2007 feature set alone is worth ditching SBS for a high-messaging type of an organization that needed built in compliance and information management.
Now with 2008 I’m hearing exactly the opposite, as you’ve summed up: Not much worth while in 2008 to upgrade to.
Personally, and I realize thats worthless, people that needed Exchange 2007 have moved to it long ago. So SBS 2008 just presents a more modern OS. It’s like trading in an older car for a 2008 model cause you want built in GPS instead of the one you’re connecting through the cig lighter.
-Vlad
You mention servers taht are 4 years old. Do you recommend scheduled replacement of servers after x years? What’s X? Do you replace just the hard drives? An older machine is more likely to fail than a new one. How do you, if at all, practively deal with this?
@Mike: I used to recommend server replacement every 3 years, but that was when it made more sense because there would be significant gains from upgrading both hardware and software. Now I no longer see the same ROI. I’m not terribly worried about proactive hard drive replacement because (a) hard drives generally give some warning these days before they fail and (b) if you have a RAID array with a hot spare in place, you can generally get through a sudden single drive failure unscathed. To be honest, managing “aging” hardware is unchartered territory for me and perhaps I’ll live to regret the decision. On the other hand, if I see two or three servers completely croaking after their fourth or fifth birthday, you can bet I’m not going to let all my other servers get that old.
David,
I believe you missed point of Sean Daniel’s article about comparsing SBS 2003 to SBS 2008. His article states, “In this table, I’m comparing directly with the 2003 feature set, I am not discussing added functionality or more robust/secure functionality of which is a lot of the extra effort.” He is not listing any of the new features in SBS 2008.
Have you changed your opinon about SBS 2008? Thanks.
JeffC
Jeff C, that is an excellent point and I’m surprised no one has called me on it before now.
That being said …. No, I have not changed my opinion about SBS 2008. I’ve attended a number of presentations about SBS08 and I still don’t see a compelling reason for any of my clients to move from SBS03 to SBS08. If I come across a server-less client that could use SBS, I might very well recommend SBS08 (although I am very intrigued by some of the SaaS/cloud computing offerings that are coming online).