Microsoft Small Business Server alternatives

[koster]

What are the alternatives to Microsoft Small Business Server? One of the major limitation of it is that every client machine has to have XP Professional or Vista Business.

Perhaps there is an open source alternative?

[vehelpfulguy]

Well Microsoft Small Business Server is just a packaging option of a number of Microsoft products, such as Exchange, SQL Server and so on.

and if you are going to set up a network that uses all those products you will almost certainly set it up as a domain network rather than peer to peer network.

and the problem is that while XP Pro and Vista Business CAN connect to a domain, XP Home and Vista Home CANNOT connect to a domain.

This is one of the reasons why they have a HOME version and a PRO or BUSINESS version of windows. The function (and cost) are different.

Few people at home would join a Domain, whereas almost anyone in a business with a network would connect to a domain.

[vehelpfulguy]

This article is a copule of years old but does introduce the concept of Windows Domain Network.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/netwo rking/expert/crawford_02january14.mspx

[ChuckFickens]

You have asked a rather wide open question as you haven't said what you would be expecting this server to do, but generally the answer is yes, there are several Linux based server packages available that will do pretty much anything that a SBS server will do, I use clarkconnect (http://www.clarkconnect.com ) in several locations as servers on windows networks with great success .

Probably best to check the site for a full list of what it can do but asides from running the very occasional application that is server based and demands to be run from a windows based server I've found it to do everything you could want from a server.

It is worth baring in mind what VHG said that the restriction on needing XP pro is due to the home version of windows not being able to join a domain and if you where to setup a linux based server as a domain controller then you will still have this problem