SBS 2003 Limitations

[msteinblock]

I know SBS has a limitation of 75 users. I just got done counting and I have 85 users on mine. What constitutes a user? How many users/machines should a SBS comfortably handle and when should I start looking at transitioning to a regular server os?

Thanks!

 

[LWComputingMVP]

It depends on how you are licensed - per device or per user. Most are licensed per user, so you are violating the license agreement right now, if that's the case. If it's per device, then your fine. Examples:

You have a shop with 2 shifts - say 80 workers, sharing 40 computers, then you're best off if you licensed things per device, because you'd only need 40 client access licenses.

But if you're a development shop where you employ programmers and each programmer has 3 computers, then you would license per user so you're not paying for 2 computers to be licensed when they don't have to be.

You have to select ONE and it had to have been done at the time you started buying additional CALs (if not when you installed SBS).

If you're violating licensing because you are licensed per user, then you should immediately purchase the Transition Pack to migrate away from SBS in the most economical manner possible - though be warned - I've heard some nightmares of people using it when IE7 had been installed on the SERVER.

 

[msteinblock]

Thanks! I assume I am per device then, as the licensing says I am using 25 of the 40 licenses. I am not sure how that works either, because I count 50 machines actually joined to the domain. I wish Microsoft licensing was a little easier to understand.....

So, that goes back to my original question. At what point should someone consider going with a transition pack to get out of the SBS? How much is too much for the SBS to handle. Right now mine is doing all of the domain authentication, DNS, DHCP, Exchange, a couple websites. Just about everything in the network except the terminal server. Would it help things at all to make the terminal server a secondary dc?

 

[ShackDaddy]

Don't make the TS a secondary DC. The permissions and logon rights for a DC make it an unideal/insecure environment to run TS on. You will introduce all sorts of permissions hassles.


Dave Shackelford
Shackelford Consulting