Windows Small Business Server and Essential Business Server Documentation : Windows Essential Business Server

Migrating from Windows Small Business Server 2003 to Windows Essential Business Server

sbsdocsteam — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 01:50:00 GMT

The migration process can be complicated and depending on your circumstances, it can be frustrating. To help alleviate this frustration, we updated Migrating from Windows Small Business Server 2003 to Windows Essential Business Server. The following sections have been updated or added:

Prepare the Windows SBS Environment
Install Windows EBS
Migrate Settings and Data
(shared folders and data, Fax Service, DHCP Server, DNS, Exchange Server, trusted certificates,
and Windows SharePoint Services)
Demote and Remove the Server Running Windows SBS 2003 from the Network

You can also download the document from the Microsoft Download Center.

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

Free Health Check: New Microsoft IT Environment Health Scanner

sbsdocsteam — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:48:00 GMT

Does your network need a checkup? The team that develops Windows Essential Business Server (Windows EBS) just released a new tool that administrators of small and mid-size networks are sure to want to download: the Microsoft IT Environment Health Scanner. In just a few minutes, the tool runs more than 100 checks to help you assess the overall health of your Active Directory and network infrastructure, including the configuration of Active Directory Domain Services, DHCP, DNS, Exchange Server, network adapters, and domain controllers. If the tool detects problems, it links to Microsoft Knowledge Base articles and other Web content for resolution information. The IT Environment Halth Scanner doesn't change anything on your network -- it just reports the information.

Besides being a great addition to your adminstrative toolkit, the tool is invaluable for finding subtle (or not so subtle) issues in your Active Directory and network environment that can hang up server deployments, infrastructure upgrades and migrations, and the like. For example, we've heard that it has been a big help to some of our partners preparing for a migration from Windows SBS 2003 to Windows SBS 2008.

Note for those of you who are deploying Windows EBS or are considering it: the tool runs almost the same set of checks as the Windows EBS Preparation Wizard, which makes sure that your existing network environment is functioning properly and ready for a Windows EBS deployment. For more information about that, see Preparation and Planning for Windows EBS in the TechNet Library.

Here's to your continued good (network) health!

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

EBS Has a Community Corner

sbsdocsteam — Fri, 08 May 2009 19:33:00 GMT

The talented SBS MVPs are making contributions to the SBS documentation in the Windows SBS MVP and Community Corner.

Now the EBS folks have the same opportunity in the newly opened EBS Community Corner. Interested? E-mail us at ebsdocfb@microsoft.com.

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

Coming soon . . . Windows Essential Business Server 2008 Administrator's Companion!

sbsdocsteam — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 19:45:00 GMT

Microsoft Press just announced their first book on Windows EBS:

Windows Essential Business Server 2008 Administrator's Companion, by J.C. Mackin and Charlie Russel

Publication date is May 13, 2009, so order your copy today, or check soon with your favorite bookseller. List price: $49.99.

According to the Press, "We decided to focus first on the many aspects of Windows EBS that are unique to the product — aspects such as planning for your Windows EBS network and using the Windows EBS Administration Console. In the remaining chapters, we provide an overview of the Windows EBS component technologies so that you can get started administering your network. As a result, Windows Essential Business Server 2008 Administrator’s Companion is an indispensable guide for Windows EBS deployment and administration, as well as a great introduction to this exciting new product if you are simply exploring it as a solution."

Sounds like super content to us, and we look forward to seeing more titles on EBS from MS Press and other publishers!

Meanwhile, be sure to visit the Windows EBS Technical Library for the latest (did we mention free-of-charge?) technical documentation about this server suite for midsize businesses.

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

New Documentation: Extend Windows Essential Business Server with the Premium Edition

sbsdocsteam — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 01:57:00 GMT

Have you wondered how the Windows Essential Business Server Premium Edition might help you? If you have identified a need for SQL Server 2008, or maybe you have line-of-business applications that you would like to run on a separate server, the Premium edition of Windows EBS might be the right solution for you.

To learn more about how the Premium edition can be used to extend the capabilities of Windows EBS, see the new solution paper titled Extend Windows Essential Business Server with the Premium Edition.

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

SCE Season for EBS

sbsdocsteam — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 03:19:00 GMT

Windows Essential Business Server (EBS) just launched (woo hoo!), the winter gloom has settled here in Redmond, and our thoughts turn to … SCE! No, not skiing, although that will come soon enough. We mean Microsoft System Center Essentials 2007, one of the key server technologies that make up the Windows EBS server suite. SCE provides the monitoring and management capabilities that help you see the health of your network at a glance from the Windows EBS Administration Console.

In the spirit of the season, we've published Monitoring Windows Essential Business Server in the Windows EBS TechNet Library. (You can also download the document here.) When you're not on the slopes, get acquainted with the monitoring data from SCE that shows up the Administration Console, learn how to manage alerts, plus start finding out about all the other monitoring-type stuff you can do with SCE (agentless exception monitoring, anyone?). Happy reading!

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.