Summary - Features of Windows Small Business Server 2003

Summary
Welcome to the Windows Small Business Server 2003 Feature Guide.
Windows Small Business Server 2003 is a server solution that provides small businesses with great features, such as e-mail, secure Internet connectivity, business intranets, remote connectivity, support for mobile devices, file and printer sharing, backup and restore capabilities, and an application platform for collaboration.
Windows Small Business Server 2003 is a fourth-generation release. It has been designed to incorporate the highly dependable and manageable Microsoft® Windows Server™ 2003 operating system as the core engine of the product, as well as Microsoft® Exchange Server 2003 and Microsoft® Windows SharePoint™ Services. Using this combination of technology, and by incorporating innovative management tools, small business customers and technology providers can create a faster and more efficient business environment.
Features of Windows Small Business Server 2003
Microsoft built Windows Small Business Server 2003 with considerable input from small business technology providers and customers about what they envisioned in a small business server operating environment.
This guide provides an overview of key features in Windows Small Business Server 2003. It also includes information about how the features differ from similar features in earlier versions of Small Business Server.
E-mail, Networking, and Internet Connectivity
Internet access is a must for small businesses in today’s marketplace. Windows Small Business Server 2003 has everything a business needs to take advantage of Internet connectivity. The out-of-the-box tools provide a manageable solution for shared access to the Internet, a firewall to help protect your local network, Internet e-mail based on Exchange Server, and productivity tools such as Outlook® Web Access and the Remote Web Workplace to help users continue to work and collaborate from any computer with Internet access.
Small Business Intranet with Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services
Windows Small Business Server 2003 provides a preconfigured internal Web site based on Windows SharePoint Services. Using this intranet site, co-workers can share information in a collaborative environment. This site includes shared document libraries, announcements, events, and links.
Remote Access
To accommodate an increasingly mobile work force, Windows Small Business Server 2003 includes the new Remote Web Workplace, a Web site for remote users that provides access to e-mail, remote desktops, the company’s internal Web site, and remote server management capabilities for Administrators. Windows Small Business Server 2003 also includes virtual private network (VPN) capabilities that are easy to set up and use through the Remote Access Wizard.
Mobility
Windows Small Business Server 2003 provides a compelling mobile user solution that enables users to access their e-mail, schedule, calendar, and task information using their cell phones and other portable devices when they are away from the office. This feature is built on the Exchange Server 2003 Outlook Mobile Access (OMA) feature. Windows Small Business Server 2003 simplifies the set up and configuration of the portable devices.
Server Administration and Management
Windows Small Business Server 2003 includes updated, end-to-end network administration features to help ensure that the network runs efficiently. Wizards simplify common or repetitive tasks, and preconfigured management consoles provide the necessary tools to manage the network.
Adding Users and Setting Up Client Computers
Windows Small Business Server 2003 includes updated Client Setup features for creating user accounts and setting up client computers quickly and efficiently. New features include: client network configuration using a Web site instead of a floppy disk, user templates, the ability to preconfigure client applications, integrated wizards, and enhanced mobile and remote-user tools. These new features make it easier to deploy, configure, and administer user and computer accounts.
In previous versions of Small Business Server, only one user account could be added at a time. In Windows Small Business Server 2003, you can add multiple user accounts based on the same user template by using the Add User Wizard.
Setting Up Additional Server Computers
With Windows Small Business Server 2003, one or more additional servers can be added to your network. Additional servers can run client or server applications or can be used to enable a Terminal Server connection.
Monitoring and Reporting
Windows Small Business Server 2003 provides enhanced tools that enable technology consultants and business owners to monitor server activity and receive performance and usage reports in e-mail or online. The monitoring and reporting tools can be used to ensure that the server remains healthy and can help reduce downtime by enabling you to respond quickly when issues arise. These tools help increase business productivity and customer satisfaction.
Backup and Restore
Windows Small Business Server 2003 offers an integrated backup solution that helps technology providers and novice administrators develop their backup strategy, prepare complete backups, and restore the entire server and all of the data that was backed up. This backup solution also provides a reminder for the onsite tape changer and reports the success or failure of each backup operation via e-mail.
Setup
The improved Windows Small Business Server 2003 Setup experience provides an end-to-end solution, new tools to improve productivity, and the ability for OEMs to fully preinstall Windows Small Business Server 2003.
E-mail, Networking, and Internet Connectivity
Out-of-the-box e-mail and secure Internet connectivity
Windows Small Business Server 2003 provides a robust e-mail solution using Exchange Server 2003. Additionally, using one wizard you can easily configure settings for your network, firewall, secure Web site, and e-mail to properly connect the computer running Windows Small Business Server to the Internet. This helps ensure that connectivity and security are properly set up, right from the start.
E-mail, Networking, and Internet Connectivity
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Description
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The Configure E-mail and Internet Connection Wizard enables you to easily configure the Windows Small Business Server network to connect to the Internet. This wizard provides:
Support for using broadband and dial-up (including Point-to-Point over Ethernet (PPPoE) connections and external router devices) Internet connections.
Automatic configuration of network services, such as Domain Name Service (DNS), Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), and Windows Internet Name Service (WINS).
Easy configuration of firewall services on the server.
Support for configuring your server’s Web site so that Internet users can access Outlook Web Access, Remote Web Workplace, and the company’s internal Web site.
Support for configuring Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) to help protect connections between Web browsers and your Web site.
Easy configuration of Exchange Server for Internet e-mail.
Support for configuring your server to a “known good” state when trying to troubleshoot network issues.
Configure E-mail and Internet Connection Wizard Script. Each time the wizard runs, a Visual Basic® script is generated. You can use this script (Config.vbs) with its current settings to restore the configuration of the computer from which the script was generated, or you can customize this script and use it to configure another computer running Windows Small Business Server 2003.
Microsoft Connector for POP3 Mailboxes enables you to migrate your existing Post Office Protocol 3 (POP3) mailbox accounts to use Exchange. Using the connector, you can regularly download e-mail from existing POP3 accounts and have the e-mail delivered to the recipient’s inbox in Microsoft® Office Outlook® 2003, creating an integrated e-mail experience.
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How It’s Enhanced
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The Configure E-mail and Internet Connection Wizard provides several new security enhancements:
Support for Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) to configure Web sites.
Support for filtering file attachments from incoming e-mail messages.
New scripting capabilities. You can now configure a computer running Windows Small Business Server 2003 to connect to the Internet by using a script file to easily replicate network configuration across multiple Windows Small Business Server 2003 sites.
Support for PPPoE Internet connections.
Configure E-mail and Internet Connection Wizard Script. This is a new feature for Windows Small Business Server 2003.
Microsoft Connector for POP3 Mailboxes provides the following enhancements:
Support for Secure Password Authentication.
Improved reliability through a complete redesign.
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How to Start
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To start the Configure E-mail and Internet Connection Wizard, click Start, and then click Server Management. In the console tree, click Internet and E-mail. In the details pane, click Connect to the Internet.
To use the Configure E-mail and Internet Connection Wizard Script, first run the wizard to generate the Config.vbs file. Then copy the Config.vbs file to a floppy disk, and open it by using Notepad. Modify values in the script as needed for configuring the second server, and then run the script file on the second computer.
To open the POP3 Connector Manager, click Start, and then click Server Management. In the console tree, click POP3 Connector Manager. In the details pane, click Open POP3 Connector Manager.
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Internet E-mail Using Exchange Server
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Description
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Exchange Server 2003 provides a messaging solution for Internet and intranet e-mail. Exchange also integrates with Outlook 2003 for scheduling meetings or online conferences. In addition, Exchange Server provides users with remote Web access to e-mail, scheduling, and contacts through Outlook Web Access.
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How It’s Enhanced
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Rich, Internet-enabled e-mail. When using Outlook 2003 with Exchange Server 2003, users can access new features:
Search Folders are virtual folders that find content based on set criteria across multiple physical folders. For example, one of the default search folders is “Large Messages.” When you click this search folder, all large messages in your mailbox are displayed. You can create new search folders to find messages based on custom options.
Cached Mode is a combination of online and offline modes, and is the default mode in Outlook 2003. When a user starts a client computer, Outlook 2003 registers its presence with Exchange Server and receives new e-mail notifications. However, instead of reading all folder data directly from the server, the mailbox folders are downloaded into a cache on the local computer. The advantage is that when the user attempts to reopen the message, or if server connectivity is lost, the message can be opened locally without any server interaction.
Smart Change Synchronization by Outlook 2003 is done on a per-item level. This means that if changes occur to a message object or any part of the headers, the item has to be resynchronized. This has an unfortunate side effect when messages are flagged for follow-up, or when a message is replied to or forwarded (and the icon indicator changes in the Inbox view). For example, if a mobile user synchronizes a large message to a local OST file and then replies to it, the large message has to be resynchronized with the server even though only a portion of the header was changed. Outlook 2003 treats reply/forward header information and message flags as special attributes. When these change, a synchronization of the entire object does not recur.
Outlook Web Access offers a redesigned user interface, attachment blocking, content filtering, address book enhancements (including Global Address List property sheets), session inactivity timeout, and the ability to create and read messages with digital signatures and encryption.
RPC over HTTP. Exchange Server 2003 and Outlook 2003 combined with Windows Server 2003 now supports remote procedure calls (RPCs) over HTTP. This enables Outlook 2003 to securely connect across the Internet to RPC server programs and execute remote procedure calls. If the client computer can make an HTTP connection to a computer on a remote network running Internet Information Services (IIS), it can connect to any available server on the remote network and execute remote procedure calls. The RPC client and server programs can connect across the Internet — even if both are behind firewalls on different networks.
Multiple Public Folder Trees. Exchange supports multiple public folder trees, providing greater flexibility for deploying collaborative applications. Collaboration databases can be grouped by function, business, or geography. For example, one public folder tree could hold all applications for the Human Resources department, another for accounting, and a third for research and development. This provides you with better administration, replication, and organization of data.
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How to Start
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To configure Exchange Server, use the Configure E-mail and Internet Connection Wizard.
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