Recommended hardware for upgrading SBS2008

[Huntergreene]

New owners have taken over our shop and have brought their clients with them. I've been given a server and been asked to make it do file sharing and exchange. Here are the specs:

Windows Server 2003 Standard 32 Bit
Pentium D 2.8 Ghz processor (64 bit capable)
2 GB DDR2 RAM
Intel SE7230NH1-E entry level server mainboard
2 160 GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 SATA drives in RAID1 using the mainboard's LSI SATA controller

They want the server to do file sharing and Exchange for 30+ users. A local ISP is handling the email but the server would be handling internal messaging and shared calendars.

The server does not have Exchange and I understand the last version to support a 32 bit OS was Exchange 2003. My questions are: Can you still get Exchange 2003 from Microsoft? As CALS would have to be purchased for the Server and Exchange, would it be more economical to replace Server 2003 with SBS2008? What hardware upgrades should be done to suit the requirements however I must use this processor/mainboard combo.

I thought RAM should be upgraded to the max 8GB the mainboard supports, and I would like to see more storage space. We could add two more 500 GB SATA drives and mirror them but it has been suggested that faster SAS drives should be used.

What do you fine people think?

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

8-12 gigs of RAM
Yes SAS drives...real server drives, not desktop drives (SATA) trying to run in a server. SBS needs fast drives, SATA will run SBS like molasses.

Pair of drives RAID 1 for the OS, and 3 or more drives RAID 5 or 10 for the data and infostore.

Bring e-mail to Exchange..utilize SBS.

 

[Huntergreene]

As a cost savings measure would 10K RPM SATA2 drives cut it? Is spindle speed the main issue?

 

[Captain Colonoscopy]

I would highly recommend against any SATA or near-line SAS drives for an SBS2008 or Exchange server in general. You're going to need a quad-core CPU, 8GB RAM MINIMUM, 12GB prefered, and a decent RAID5 or RAID6 array for acceptable performance.

I wouldn't use any part of that existing server to run SBS2008. That being said, you could probably get SBS2003 to run half-decent on it by upgrading the RAM to 4GB and adding a fast drives for RAID5 on a decent controller.

 

[TranceSphere]

SBS2008 is a heavy beast and would run like crap on that machine (even if you upgraded it).

 

[marley1]

yes i wouldn't reuse that for SBS 08. Remember SBS 2011 is suppose to be released December....

I would suggest a new server and reuse that server for something else...

 

[Huntergreene]

I'm thinking we might stay with Server 2003, do the upgrades and buy Exchange 2007, CALS, and the Exchange 2003 media kit for downgrading. Scrapping the whole server isn't an option. Still any advice is welcome and thanks for the input so far. In fact it may explain why a previous server I've seen with SAS drives, 4 GB RAM and a 2 year old Xeon processor outperforms one with a i7 Extreme, 12 GB RAM, and SATA drives when doing some things in SQL databases.

 

[Red Falcon]

8-12 gigs of RAM
Yes SAS drives...real server drives, not desktop drives (SATA) trying to run in a server. SBS needs fast drives, SATA will run SBS like molasses.

Pair of drives RAID 1 for the OS, and 3 or more drives RAID 5 or 10 for the data and infostore.

Bring e-mail to Exchange..utilize SBS.

I could not have said it better myself. 64-bit is good too.

 

[marley1]

you may be better off with sbs 2008 and downgrade then, will be cheaper.

i dunno 30 users on that box is a bit much, how much will you really save by upgrading and the software + a new machine? If anything use that box as your DC and FS, and grab a new Raid 6 Exchange Box.

 

[C7J0yc3]

Taking that box and dumping another 2 or 4GB of RAM into it and turning it into the File / DC box and then getting a second box for exchange would be preferable.

Microsoft recommends for a 2007/2010 exchange server of your size, 1 processor with 4 cores, 8GB of RAM (if all roles are on the same box, which they should be), and then 2MB to 5MB per mailbox depending on the size of the mailbox (I usually use the 5MB for calculation). Also remember that Exchange 2007/2010 has to run on an x64 OS (x32 is available but not supported in production).

Alternatively if you want all the exchange features without the cost, get your exchange hosted. You will have all the benefits without having to buy another server (remember with the exception of SBS, Exchange 2007/2010 CAN NOT BE ON A DC) and if / when email goes down it isn't your headache. Hosted Exchange is much better the hosted pop and is usually only a couple dollars more then hosted POP per mailbox per month.