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Question

Have an existing network with nt 4.0 server and 24 port unmanaged switch with 7 computers and dsl modem all hooked to switch. Pretty simple network. No mail servers in house. Can I just hook new server Dell PE 2800 to this same switch with crossover cable and complete installation of SBS premium edition?  In theory, I should be able to logon to either server and transfer data between them but I do not know if this is the best approach? I have only completed new installs without any deadlines or service interruptions. Now I have to get everything ready except data transfer (3gb) on 5/1 and remain operational in between.

jmwills · Answer

I know that you can have two DC's on the LAN for a period of about 7 to 10 days then the previous one will stop working. I don't remember if that was avialable while an NT box was running however.

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bhughes2621 · Answer

You can have as may member servers and domain controllers as you want on your sbs network.  The sbs has to be the PDC or network will fail.   Does the 2800 have dual nic's? For SBS 2003 to work correctly it needs two nics.  External and Internal.  Make your internal Network yourdomain.local  and connect the dsl modem/router directly to your external nic.   With NT 4.0 it has a hard time moving security settings and such because of the AD.  I would add your users, and prep your new local network.  When complete then add your computers to the new network.   Add in the Server Manager Wizard first.  Then remove computer from old network, reboot logon as local machine admin.  Open IE go to your domain controller local IP http://192.168.16.2 and click the connect computer wizard, and it walks you through the rest of the setup.

jmwills · Answer

Why would you need more than one Domain Controller on a network limited to 75 users?

wlprice · Answer

Fault tolerance. Assume average hourly cost with overhead for users at $60 and downtime costs are $4500 per hour. Couple hours restoring the OS, AD structures and accounts and the server has paid for itself - think of it as insurance. BTW, you should have a UPS for same reason.

jmwills · Answer

I will stand corrected but I am about 99% sure the SBS box can be the ONLY DC on the network. That's one of the reasons its called Small Business Server. If you back up your server on a regular basis, have a standy by drive ready to go in case of a drive failure, downtime should be at a minimum.

From the Fact sheet:

There can be only one Windows Small Business Server 2003 server in a domain. Each Windows Small Business Server 2003 server is typically connected to the Internet either directly or through a firewall. Windows Small Business Server 2003 does not support trusts between domains; therefore, user names and resources could not be shared between those Windows Small Business Server 2003 servers. Further, Windows Small Business Server 2003 installs at the root of the Active Directory forest, and it cannot be demoted, or have the flexible single-master operation (FSMO) roles removed.

wlprice · Answer

Question was general, and so was my answer.

If SBS only allows one DC, then your choice is either to upgrade to standard Windows or do fail-over hardware (as you suggested).

Oh yes, regarding previous question: one of PE 2800 standard configurations is with a "Dual embedded Intel 10/100/100 Gigabit NIC". I guess I'd better be specific, too - what is on the specific server in question depends on how it was ordered and configured. smileywink:

SCollins1313 · Answer

Although jmwills is correct about you can only have 1 SBS server in a network, you can have secondary Domain Controllers in an SBS network.  The SBS server just has to remain the primary/root DC.

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