So the much anticipated SBS 2008 R2 never was, but we got a lot more than an R2 refresh..
Indeed a whole new version, SBS v.Next codenamed SBS “7” which we can now talk about with its final name ‘Windows Small Business Server 2011 Standard’ AKA SBS 2011. SBS 2011 is likely to be launched in December.. I’ve got a good idea when due to our involvement in the UK Early Adopter Program but can’t be specific due to NDA commitments.
SBS 2011 is the latest version of Microsoft’s on-premises small-business bundle, built around 64-bit version of Windows Server 2008 R2 core. SBS 2011 will include Exchange 2010 SP1, SharePoint 2010 Foundation and Windows Server Update Services 3.0. Microsoft will make available for an additional fee an add-on with SQL Server 2008 R2 Standard Edition for Small Business. Microsoft is touting as SBS 7’s biggest new feature its support for Office Web Apps, as a result of the inclusion of SharePoint 2010 in the bundle.
In addition to the new names, the Official SBS Blog also revealed the ERP (Estimated Retail Pricing) of the new offerings as well as pricing for the Premium Add-on – I’ll let you get that specific info from the official blog. It also revealed that SBS 2011 Standard should be available in December 2010 and that the Essentials will be available in the H1-CY2011 time frame. There are also links on the official blog page for datasheets on both servers, as well as a brochure with info on the SMB server family, AND a link to where you can download the previews if you’d like to get started evaluating one or both of them right away.
I’d like to point out that one of the key new features in the SBS 2011 Standard Edition is the update to SharePoint 2010 Foundation which brings Office Web Apps (OWA) into the picture. Of course, Essentials customers will likely leverage the BPOS/Office 365 applications which also include SharePoint, so they’ll have access to OWA as well. This will be a key opportunity for our partners to bring collaboration to new customers, who have yet to experience the business impact that a collaboration solution can have, as well as extend and enhance the SharePoint platform for existing SBS/Server customers.
Small Business Server 7 Overview Interview: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/small-business-server-7-overview-interview.aspx?query=1 Bjorn Levidow, Group Program Manager for SBS, tells us about some of the new enhancements in the next version
- Backup, Backup, Snapshot, and Backup!
- Install pre-reqs:
- Windows PowerShell 2.0 and WinRM 2.0 for Windows Server 2008 x64
- Microsoft Baseline Configuration Analyzer 2.0 (MBCA 2.0)
- Install and run the Migration Preparation Tool to check the schema and scan the source server for problems..
and if you do find an issue, correct it..
..we’ll be needing Exchange SP3 then!
which may take a while… ours was 1hr 45mins! -
Review the Migration Guide
- Create an answer file
