MSR Consulting TechnoBlog

Ultimate SBS Configuration List

July 1st, 2006

There is of course, no true one size fits all when it comes to a business server infrastructure. Besides the typical constraints such as budgets, existing equipment, etc. you also have to contend with items such as legacy applications in the backoffice, multi-office scenarios, and much more. However we are constantly being asked questions regarding ‘what’s the best…” when it comes to equipment, software, and management tools for deploying Microsoft’s Small Business Server. To that end we have gathered up our favorites and evaluated discussions on the forums and newsgroups on these various topics to come up with our Ultimate SBS Configuration List. This list of hardware and software components is known to work well together since we have deployed it in dozens and dozens of our own client installations and is validated through the hundreds of other deployments by others.

Server: Dell PowerEdge 2800. We really like this product for its solid lineup of internal components, but mainly because it is by far the most flexible server we have ever come across. With multi-processor options of varying speeds and huge expandability you can configure this server for a small baseline business for less than $1500 all the way up to a mid-size firm fully decked out for over $10k. From a reliability perspective the thing just runs. The only server that has ever come close to having as solid a performance record as these have so far was the fantastic PowerEdge 2650. It’s a true monster in size but you can buy this in a minimal configuration today for your nascent business without worrying about having to replace it in a couple of years as it can expand right along with your organization. If purchasing SBS as a preinstalled OEM package with your server you should know that Dell is doing a much better job these days of insuring that there is adequate space on the system disk. Most vendors in the past (including Dell) tended to shortchange the system drive when it came to the partition size and really make it a pain to manage.
Backup Software: Veritas Backup Exec For SBS. Sure you could use the built in backup tool with Small Business Server if you want…..but I sure wouldn’t. This robust suite features backup, restore, disaster recovery, single
drive library support, Exchange Server, SQL Server, and SharePoint
Services protection and recovery. A select family of powerful agents
and options deliver robust storage management tools to meet diverse
application needs for growing and upgrading storage management
capabilities. Now includes continuous disk-based data protection
helping eliminate backup windows, improve reliability, and deliver the
first web-based file retrieval functionality. In addition, the Desktop and Laptop Option (DLO) has turned out to be one of the best benefits of this package when it comes to backing up your individual company computers. Note that it now comes in two flavors, one for Standard Edition and one for Premium. The only real difference is that the one for Premium edition comes with the SQL Server backup option, so please order accordingly.
E-mail Tools/Management: GFI MailEssentials. It seems odd to me that one of the tools that we now consider indispensable with any SBS installation is for functionality that you typically don’t think of when putting together your initial procurement list. But without question this is the one product that we simply insist on. Its main function is that of an anti-spam product for MS Exchange, but in addition it also adds functionality such as disclaimers for your e-mail messages, simple email list management, a more advanced POP-To-Exchange tool, etc. We could easily write an entire article on why doing anti-spam at the server level is so much better, and so much more important, than doing it at the email client level but this is one of those items that we just say “Trust Us”. Buy it. We have never had anyone complain about that decision. Besides, it’s cheaper than buying anti-spam software for each computer in your company anyway.
AntiVirus (Server/Clients): Sophos Anti-Virus SBE . This is by far the most contentious, most difficult question to answer…and probably the most asked. The truth of the matter is that we like the Sophos solution mainly because the procurement, deployment, and management can be done across both servers, desktops, and laptops all within a single product and a minimum of fuss. In addition we are not fans of “all inclusive” products that rollup firewall, spam, anti-virus, etc all into a single product within a corporate environment. That narrows the field pretty massively with just those two requirements. So, in our Ultimate Configuration this product makes the most sense. But we also like Kaspersky, and NOD32 products with their lightweight footprints and high detection rates. Management and deployment however will take up a lot more of your time to get everything configured correctly. Regardless of which product you use in this category, please insure that any anti-virus product running on the SBS server has all of the exclusions necessary or else you could find yourself in a heap of trouble.
Backup Mechanism: We have recently become huge fans of disaster proof hard drive systems. In fact, we are working with a manufacturer as we speak to develop one built specifically for SBS installations. In a nutshell, these are external hard drives encased in waterproof, fireproof enclosures. Typically these are USB and/or firewire and sometimes a NAS configuration, however we will be offering SCSI and eSATA options on our own units. Why is this such a big deal? In small business environments using a tape drive rotation usually means that you have a policy but it’s often forgotten, tapes gets overwritten, etc. And when you want to restore data you never seem to be able to actually put your hands on the tape you need. Don’t get us wrong, we aren’t anti-tape, we order an inexpensive internal tape drive with every server we buy. We just don’t like depending on human intervention in mission critical processes if they aren’t going to work. And as hard drive prices have decreased, and storage usage increased, the cost of tape drives and media capable of backing up all of that data is still very costly. We figured why not just use inexpensive disk-to-disk backup processes. It’s faster, it’s automated, and no tapes to remember and catalog. That’s great except for one thing….what if the building burns down, what about a flood, etc. Enter the disaster ready drive. Solves all of those issues. We’ve never looked back. We still use the inexpensive internal tape drive for periodic “archives”, but that’s it.