Issues with going from XP Pro -> Server 2003?

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magik20

[H]ard|Gawd
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im in a situtation where i really want a server in my office, but im not at the point where i feel like dedicating a really fast machine to the purpose.

I was wondering if there would be any downfalls to converting my current desktop (pretty fast machine) to windows 2003 server.
 
Unless it's a gaming and multimedia machine, it will be pretty seemless. There is some extra work to get it set for regular usage. Also, depending on what "serving" your doing...XP Pro might be able to handle it as well.
 
i want to run exchange 2003 on the server thats one big reason i want it.

also, i do want to play games, anything on the market.
 
adarrell said:
i want to run exchange 2003 on the server thats one big reason i want it.

also, i do want to play games, anything on the market.
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It's not going to mesh with your wishes, but I would seriously consider separate machines for this. You don't want to game on a system running Exchange 2003. It's not feasible to be doing anything like this.
 
i was afraid u were going ot say that.


2003 server doesnt run games well?
 
adarrell said:
i was afraid u were going ot say that.


2003 server doesnt run games well?
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It can...but there are quite a few extra tweaks that must be done to get it performing on an acceptable level. But, if your going to Exchange running in the background, it's not really going to matter. That's too much for one system.
 
It's not the OS per say, it's the resources...

AD+excahnge+games= :eek:

In general: AD+exchange, or games, you decide.
 
If this is a small office (< 75 employees) you might want to look into Small Business Server 2003. For $600 you get both Windows Server 2003 and Exchange 2003 with 5 CAL licenses. It also has much more simplified administration tools that are less confusing to a small environment than the proper Exchange System Manager. The two major restrictions with SBS though are 75 users max and you can only have one server in your AD domain. It won't let you add a second domain controller to an SBS network.
 
any issues with playing games on server 2003? I may do the upgrade anyways and convert another machine to a dedicated server

although i dont want to :(
 
What's the hardware like, how many users do you intend to have on the Exchange server, what volume of e-mail traffic do you expect? The issue with playing games on this particular setup is that you want AD + Exchange to run on it as well. You need to tell us what's higher priority and what exactly you want Exchange for. Other than that, I believe running games on server 2003 only requires installing DirectX and video card drivers.
 
its a small office, probably at most 5 users will be connected to it at once (probably 2 -3 normally)

when playing games there will probably be no one in the office as it'll be during off hours.
 
Bateau said:
and you can only have one server in your AD domain. It won't let you add a second domain controller to an SBS network.
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This is not true. MS encourages the use of second DC in SBS. You can not have child domains because there is no two way trust relations ability in this server. It is recommended that you install a second server for AD replication.
 
Oh, I run 2K3 standard and exchange on one box. It is a dual AMD 2500 Tyan with 4 GB of ram and SCSI drives and there is no way in hell I would consider gaming on it. The exchange server tax's it pretty hard.
 
Sid said:
This is not true. MS encourages the use of second DC in SBS. You can not have child domains because there is no two way trust relations ability in this server. It is recommended that you install a second server for AD replication.
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Learn something every day. I should be reading their team blogs more often. The second server can be Win2003 but not another SBS2003.
 
Bateau said:
What's the hardware like, how many users do you intend to have on the Exchange server, what volume of e-mail traffic do you expect? The issue with playing games on this particular setup is that you want AD + Exchange to run on it as well. You need to tell us what's higher priority and what exactly you want Exchange for. Other than that, I believe running games on server 2003 only requires installing DirectX and video card drivers.
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hardware = AMD xp 3000, 1.5 gig ram, 500 gb storage

email traffic is light, maybe 50 at the most messages a day.
 
Just get a laptop for gaming.

You're going to fuck up your server eight ways from Tuesday if you use it for a workstation as well. I see that every day. Spyware, viruses, TONS of software being installed on it. A server is not meant, nor was it designed, to be used that way.

Save yourself and your employees a huge headache and keep serving and gaming seperate.
 
S1nF1xx said:
Just get a laptop for gaming.

You're going to fuck up your server eight ways from Tuesday if you use it for a workstation as well. I see that every day. Spyware, viruses, TONS of software being installed on it. A server is not meant, nor was it designed, to be used that way.

Save yourself and your employees a huge headache and keep serving and gaming seperate.
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i agree servers shouldnt be used as workstations

but im not the average user, i think i could keep the machine free of viruses & spyware.

if it could handle the workload.
 
Bateau said:
Learn something every day. I should be reading their team blogs more often. The second server can be Win2003 but not another SBS2003.
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Well actually it can be. You have to demote it right after the install then repromote it to a secondary. But no, in its present form you cannot use SBS as a secondary controller.
 
adarrell said:
i agree servers shouldnt be used as workstations

but im not the average user, i think i could keep the machine free of viruses & spyware.

if it could handle the workload.
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Not wise. Why don't you just buy one of those $399.00 dell boxes and use it?
 
Yoblad said:
why not just dual-boot?
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Oh I don't know, maybe his business would like to still get mail in the evenings while he's playing games on company property?
 
adarrellbut said:
im not the average user, i think i could keep the machine free of viruses & spyware.
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You Are Not A Beautiful & Unique Snowflake.


It's not just the viruses & spyware - it's system resources, general security & stability. To even browse the web comfortably, you have to turn off a bunch of the default security stuff on 2k3. If you can afford the license for SBS, you should be able to put it on a dedicated machine. Of course, you're not going to listen.
 
ameoba said:
You Are Not A Beautiful & Unique Snowflake.
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I am, my mommy told me so. Oh, and pure, you forgot pure... :D

Anyone who thinks it's a good idea to run a business server as a workstation, in any form, should be taken out to the shed.
 
Yeah I'm a little surprised this is still going on (the debate). It's a bad bad idea to do both on the same machine. I was under the impression that was clearly stated by several people, but apparently not.
 
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