Server 2008 or SBS 2008 Best Practice?

Forums › IT Pro and developers › Server 2008 or SBS 2008 Best Practice?

kiwipeter

211 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 27

ID Verified

#99359 17-Mar-2012 18:46

Hi guys,

I wonder if anyone out there has a link(s) to a decent article about the best way to go about installing and setting up a typical SBS or windows server 2008 box?

I am thinking mainly the choices made during setup, AD configuration, DNS, DHCP etc

Thanks
Peter

Zeon

3926 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 759

Trusted

#596528 17-Mar-2012 18:56

TBH most of those things are suggested to you as you do the installation. A couple of points I would make:

Always try not to use xyz.local for the domain name. Register another public domain name and use this as you will limit yourself as you grow (I have this problem with a company growing from 2-50 staff). E.g. if you have xyz.co.nz have something like zyx-network.co.nz. It's incredibly hard to change this later so do it from the beginning.

Other than that I'd suggest using cloud services where possible e.g. don't put Exchange on this server as it will be a waste of management time.

Other than that just go with the defaults or ask on here!

Speedtest 2019-10-14

mrdrifter

589 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 294

ID Verified

Trusted

#596534 17-Mar-2012 19:08

Hi Peter,

Do you have an idea of which one you are more likely to be using?
Although SBS has the same core as Server Standard it is quite a different install and setup process to get things correct. SBS as you may be aware is very much a simplified wizard installation, vs. Windows Server which is base install followed feature activation.
Something to consider also, is that SBS does in some respects limit you and can cause issues if things grow/change and you then want to move to a scaled up domain setup.

Regards,
Marcus

kiwipeter

211 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 27

ID Verified

#596578 17-Mar-2012 21:42

I am pretty certain I'll be putting in a Windows Server 2008 box (Standard Ed) and probably not SBS.

What I am interested in knowing is really a 'best way of doing things' guide rather than a step-by-step. Maybe what I need is more experience!

I was sort of hoping that somewhere out there would be a best practise guide.

alexx

867 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 291

#596661 18-Mar-2012 01:05

I guess you found this already...
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd349801%28WS.10%29.aspx

If you need experience before you buy, can download a trial copy of Server 2008 R2 SP1 for evaluation.
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/server-cloud/windows-server/2008-r2-trial.aspx

#include <standard.disclaimer>

rhysb

435 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 7

Trusted

#596669 18-Mar-2012 08:00

If you are installing SBS it's pretty staight forward. It's all wizard based and will configure itself as "best practice".

Once installed you can download and run the SBS Best Practice Analyser, which will give you feedback on issues with your SBS install and how to fix it.

nathan

5695 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1630
Inactive user

#598216 21-Mar-2012 14:04

if you've got some specific questions feel free to fire them up here and we'll answer them...