The first real task you must perform on the To Do List is to set up your Internet connection and email configuration. The Configure E-Mail and Internet Connection Wizard guides you through the process of selecting what type of Internet connection you want SBS 2003 to use. At first, this process seems simple enough as you select between a broadband and dial-up connection; however, as the wizard progresses, it asks more complicated questions that require a fair amount of networking knowledge. For example, as Figure 2 shows, when you configure the DSL connection type, you need to know whether you have a local router device with an IP address, a connection that requires a username and password (Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet—PPPoE), or a direct broadband connection.

The wizard displays a network diagram link that visually describes each connection type and helps you pick the right one. The types of information that the wizard requested made it clear that the configuration, albeit simpler than any prior version, is still too complex for the typical small-business manager. All these settings are relatively easy for an experienced administrator to provide but will be a mystery for most business managers. Microsoft's real target for the SBS 2003 setup is the consultant, the Value Added Reseller (VAR), or the Value Added Provider (VAP).

After you configure the connection type, the Configure E-mail and Internet Connection Wizard helps you configure your SBS 2003 server's email connection. The wizard lets you configure the traditional Exchange deployment in which Exchange 2003 sends and receives SMTP mail for employees who use the company's registered domain name. You can also configure Exchange to use a POP3 connector to retrieve employee email from MSN.com, Hotmail.com, or any other email service provider that supports POP3.

To use the direct Exchange connection, you must use an MX record to register your Exchange server in your ISP's DNS setup. The POP3 connector lets Exchange connect to an email server hosted by your ISP. In this later scenario, the POP3 server will periodically use the POP3 protocol to connect to the ISP's email server, download all the messages from one or more POP3 accounts, then automatically forward the messages to the appropriate Exchange mailboxes. After you complete the Internet and email connection configurations, SBS can begin to send and receive email.

Next, you can complete the Configure Remote Access Wizard to set up the SBS 2003 server's VPN and firewall features so that you can remotely access and administer the server. After you successfully complete the Network Tasks section of the To Do List, the system's Internet connections and email will all be working.

The Management Tasks section of the To Do List lets you perform the initial administrative-oriented tasks such as adding users and printers. However, most administrators will primarily use the Server Management console, which Figure 3 shows, to perform the ongoing management of the SBS 2003 system. The Server Management console is automatically displayed when SBS 2003 first starts, or you can access it later by selecting the Server Management option from the Start menu.

Designed with an eye on being managed by a remote VAR or VAP, SBS 2003 includes several remote management features. One of these new features is the Remote Web Workplace, which Figure 4 shows. You access the Remote Web Workplace remotely by pointing a Web browser to the address http://www.registered domain name.com/remote. The Remote Web Workplace lets you connect to the server so that you can perform local management and connect to client desktops to perform troubleshooting. For remote desktop connections, the client desktop systems must be running Windows XP. The SBS 2003 server acts as a proxy by redirecting incoming remote connections to the locally networked client.

As the URL in Figure 4 indicates, Remote Web Workplace connections use HTTP over Secure Sockets Layer (HTTPS), which reduces the need to set up a VPN connection to create a secure remote link. The Monitor Help Desk option lets you access SBS 2003's Help Desk feature, which uses SharePoint Services. Using the Help Desk feature, you can view and respond to existing call tickets as well as generate reports and enter new items. To help the remote administrator monitor and manage the system, SBS 2003 comes with several predefined reports that list system alerts and detail server usage such as disk quotas. You can generate the reports interactively or set them to run on a predefined schedule and be emailed to a remote administrator. The Use Outlook Web Access option shown on the right-hand side of the Remote Web Workplace screen launches Outlook Web Access (OWA) and connects the browser's HTTPS session to the SBS Exchange server.

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Reader Comments

Web Table 1 in the article does not seem to exist. Can you guys update the link?

Brian- December 08, 2003

Where is the Web Table for comparisons?

Jeff Holsinger- December 09, 2003

I'm disappointed with Michael Otey's article "SBS 2003 Overview" (December 2003, http://www.winnetmag.com, InstantDoc ID 40708). The author doesn't seem overly familiar with Microsoft Small Business Server (SBS) 2003 and the way it works. First, he states that you can configure the Exchange POP3 connector to retrieve email from Hotmail.com and MSN.com. Aside from the fact that Hotmail.com and MSN.com are one and the same, you can't use POP3 to retrieve email from these types of Web-based email services. These services want you to have to go to their site to read your email so that they can present you with advertising. Otherwise, what's the point of offering free email services?<P> Second, the article omits mentioning Terminal Services in SBS 2003. The version of Windows Server 2003 that comes with SBS 2003 won't go into application mode. I've confirmed this fact with Microsoft and have experienced it firsthand. Windows 2003 in SBS 2003 will work in admin mode, but the function is restricted to two users with Administrator rights. Microsoft wants you to purchase a second server, with a second Windows 2003 license, to run Terminal Services in SBS 2003. This is a major "gotcha" in SBS 2003 and not a well-known one. Microsoft justifies this requirement as being necessary for security because the SBS server is a domain controller (DC). However, you can switch any other Windows 2003 server that's also a DC into application mode. In my opinion, this restriction in SBS 2003 is unfair. Many small businesses are interested in remote access. Given that SBS 2003 is targeted at the Value Added Resellers (VARs) and Value Added Providers (VAPs) that support these small businesses, those VARs and VAPs should be making the decisions about what is or isn't secure in an SBS 2003 installation. <P> Third, how can the author recommend small office/home office (SOHO)level firewalls while also stating that a small business doesn't really need Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2000? These boxes do very little to stop real intrusions from the Internet, plus they have little or none of the other features that ISA Server 2000 includes. The price of ISA Server as bundled with SBS 2003 is a bargain, and the product is excellent. <P> Finally, a point that's important to include in any article about SBS is that if you approach the upper user limit (75 users in SBS 2003), you'll need a hefty server to service all the users, unless all they do is type Microsoft Word documents and send and receive only a handful of email messages every day. In past SBS versions, the 75-user limit has applied to user logons, not to the number of users you can set up in Active Directory (AD). You can set up 500 users if you want, but only 75 can log on to SBS at the same time. <P>

Walter is correct that Hotmail.com doesn't have a POP connector and therefore wasn't the best example of a POP mail provider. However, he's mistaken about MSN.com's ability to support POP. I get mail through POP from MSN.com every day. In any case, the point is that SBS 2003's POP connector can and does retrieve mail from POP accounts. <P> Walter is also correct that SBS 2003 doesn't support Terminal Services application mode. I didn't mention that in my article because I don't consider it a major shortcoming in SBS 2003, which isn't designed to function as an application server. I believe there are two reasons why Microsoft didn't design SBS 2003 to be an application server. First, the system is targeted toward smaller businesses, which are unlikely to require Terminal Services. Second, a potential performance problem exists when you run Terminal Services applications on a system that also runs Microsoft Exchange Server, file and print services, and DNS and functions as a DC. If you want to run Terminal Services in application mode, I think you're better off getting a second server. <P> Regarding ISA Server, I didn't intend to recommend that businesses don't use SBS 2003 Premium Edition, which includes ISA Server. I believe that firewalls are necessary, and ISA Server includes a good firewall. If your business doesn't have a firewall, SBS 2003 Premium Edition would be a good value. However, many standalone firewall products can provide protection that's as good as or better than the protection ISA Server provides. Most businesses that I'm familiar with already have firewall products in place. For those businesses, little will be gained with a second firewall. <P> My article does state that SBS 2003 is licensed for use on a single server. It also addresses the 75-user limit. <br> --Michael Otey

Walter Muma- January 23, 2004

 
 

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