Comments on: Which Windows Server Is Best for Your Small Business?

By: Microsoft Kills Windows Essential Business Server (EBS) |

Microsoft Kills Windows Essential Business Server (EBS) | — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:41:34 +0000

[...] funeral here. Rather than flaming Microsoft, The VAR Guy applauds the move: Microsoft had too many Windows Server software variants. Partners and customers can’t keep up with all the options. In this case less is more. [...]

By: The VAR Guy

The VAR Guy — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:23:29 +0000

Lawrence: The VAR Guy was always wary of Microsoft in the “home server” game. Many consumers were tired of big, bloated, buggy Windows PCs. Would they open their wallets wider for a Windows home server? The VAR Guy doubts it…

The VAR Guy thinks Windows 7’s arrival will restore some faith in Microsoft. But that won’t fix the Windows Home Server issue. Most consumers don’t even know what a home server is… at least not yet.
-TVG

By: Lawrence D'Oliveiro

Lawrence D'Oliveiro — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:19:38 +0000

Microsoft seems to be moving away from its original “home” focus for “Home Server”:

http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=4479

But why? I smell a failure to meet a sales target…

By: The VAR Guy

The VAR Guy — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:35:13 +0000

SOS: But do you plan to try Windows Server 2008? Why or why not?

By: sos

sos — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 10:10:30 +0000

i`ve been using windows server 2003 since year 2004, and in my 6 years working with 2003 server sistem i can say that it`s stable and easy to configure. The only downside is that after many updates it requiers a system reboot.

By: Steve

Steve — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 12:41:18 +0000

David: Unless you have another solution we are looking for file sharing, remote connectivity, and centralized backup. A server seems to fill these needs.

By: David Barrack

David Barrack — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 14:39:07 +0000

Yes, you hit it on the head. This small business is using web based billing services and is fine using mail services from their ISP, GoDaddy. So what’s left? Basically just the need for good desktops/laptops that can network easily. So it’s looking like MacBooks may be used throughout given the very easy networking and other sharing capabilities of OS X.

By: The VAR Guy

The VAR Guy — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 14:23:51 +0000

David: The VAR Guy thinks this is a case-by-case decision for small businesses. Lots of start-up companies are simply leveraging SaaS applications. But key vertical market applications, and compliance-related applications, may remain on-premise for years to come…

By: David Barrack

David Barrack — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 14:13:09 +0000

I am looking into the computer needs of a new small business. At this point I honestly don’t see the need for a “server” anymore. I must be missing something. For internet connectivity wi-fi through a router will be fine, and with the size and power of desktops or even laptops what purpose is the server providing? It’s not disk space. It’s not networking. What am I missing?

By: Angela

Angela — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 20:10:23 +0000

It would have been nice to mention the other Server OS’s available as they are not intuitively named. For instance, according to Microsoft’s website, Server 2008 has Foundation, Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter, Web Server, and Itanium.

The article could have briefly mentioned some of the other varieties and that they are more for large businesses – so SMB owners don’t get confused with the long list of MS offerings.

Otherwise, an excellent overview of what features are available from Microsoft. I am bookmarking this article!

By: Dana Epp

Dana Epp — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 03:21:01 +0000

Hey Jeff… no worries there. AuthAnvil is fully supported on Foundation Server. Check out http://blog.scorpionsoft.com/blog/2009/04/running-authanvil-on-windows-server-2008-foundation.html.

By: Jeff Anderson

Jeff Anderson — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 23:20:46 +0000

I agree with Brad – an excellent sumamry! I think the new Foundation Server is a great fit for businesses with under 5 users where SBS may be outside their current needs and/or budget. It’s a nice step up from the usual micro-business solution of a peer “server” running XP Pro or Vista, or a cheap NAS, since it provides centralized security and some remote access. Now, hopefully we can get AuthAnvil to work on it so we can provide two-factor authentication as well!