Small Business Server Migration in Raleigh: 2003 to SBS 2011; SBS 2008 to Server 2012

Windows-Small-Business-ServerConsider the following situation: an organization, in the Raleigh-Durham area, is running a computer network based on a Small Business Server (SBS) 2003 or SBS 2008 that is approaching the end of its life (or already operating beyond its life expectancy) and thus there is a need for upgrading to an IT solution that would work for four to six more years. There is no universal answer to the question of which platform to choose when it comes to the migration. A popular choice is a Small Business Server 2011 which would deliver those desired years of solid performance (supported still by Microsoft) while few changes would be necessary for the network infrastructure, training personnel, and the overall philosophy of IT. Other organizations might find a cloud route more suitable for them, and some would explore a hybrid approach by running an inexpensive Windows Server 2012 Essentials in accompaniment of a Hosted Exchange. We'd like share our perspective, in this article, on these migration options based on experience of migrating SBS for over a decade.
  1. Small Business Server 2003 migration to SBS 2011
  2. Migration of SBS 2008/2003 to Windows Server 2012 + hosted Exchange
  3. SBS migration to a cloud solution (Office 365 , Google Apps)
  4. SBS migration to a hosted SBS 2011

SBS 2003 (2008) migration to SBS 2011

There are two options available in this scenario. The first is a clean installation of SBS 2011 followed by manual recreation of user accounts, and importing of the data. The second choice is performing a migration type of installation of Small Business Server 2011 which would, over time, slowly take over all tasks from the old server before the latter would be decommissioned. Let's discuss the PRO's and CON's of each approach and then compare them for the common office network.

Clean installation of SBS 2011

PROs:
  • Starting fresh guarantees that the server setup is going to be the best it can be
  • If there has been a large need for a drastic change (domain name, data folder structure), this is the perfect time to make it happen
  • This approach typically coincides with  some spring cleaning and re-evaluation of important aspects of the network. These things are good to do every few years but often get neglected
  • It's easy to estimate the time required for the migration fairly accurately
  • The old server stays intact. This can be a crucially important factor for certain specialty applications, and/or a need to reference the past during the few months following the transition period
  • Any wounds, scars or illnesses of the old server will naturally be cut off and left behind
CONs:
  • A lot of workstation labor is required: disjoining the old domain and completing some clean up and house-keeping, then joining the new domain,  configuration of profiles, etc
  • Company's network will be completely UNAVAILABLE during the transition time (1-2 days)
  • Each user account has to be remade by hand
  • All existing group policies have to be recreated
  • Permissions have to be reconfigured from nothing: Shared Folders, Mailboxes, Exchange Public folders, etc.

Migration to SBS 2011 (in-place upgrade)

PROs:
  • No drastic changes will be made to workstations
  • No significant network down time
  • Complex sets of permissions and policies automatically migrate to the new domain controller
CONs:
  • The migration wizard is made up of of hundreds of steps and it won't finish until every stage is completed
  • There are strong prerequisites to the condition of the old server resolving. This could potentially become a project of its own
  • Old problems and unexpected issues could possibly contribute significantly to the amount of labor required to conduct the migration. This makes it harder to predict time-frames for the migration
  • All existing group policies have to be recreated
  • Permissions have to be reconfigured from nothing: Shared Folders, Mailboxes, Exchange Public folders, etc.
As you can see, there is a lot to consider. Generally speaking, a server network with less than 10 workstations would benefit the most from a Clean Installation route as it would be neat and cheaper. Networks consisting of more than 20 workstations would heavily lean towards the migration scenario to avoid a lot of labor at each workstation, which would require a two-man job. We would strongly recommend hiring an IT consultant to assess your situation and to help identify your best options.

Migration of SBS 2003 or SBS 2008 to Windows Server 2012 Essentials + cloud Exchange

microsoft exchange migrationFor a company with  around 5 workstations there exists a very appealing network solution of Windows Server 2012 Essentials accompanied by a cloud player - Hosted Exchange. Price-wise, we are looking at approximately $1500 server hardware, $440 server OS, $400 AntiVirus and $1200 for Exchange Hosting of 5 mailboxes for 5 years: Just over $3500.

The situation changes quickly and dramatically as number of users goes up. If you have 20 users, in this case SBS 2011 route is much better (five year span):
$800 SBS 2011 +$1000 CALs + $2500 AntiVirus / AntiSpam + $2000 Hardware < $6500
vs
$440 Server 2012 Essentials + $2000 AntiVirus + $2000 Hardware + $4800 Hosted Exchange > $9200
One could say that outsourcing to Cloud Solutions (aka Hosted Exchange) is much like financing: you will likely get lower up-front costs, but you can rest assured that the marketing gurus at Microsoft or Google would maximize their profit wherever possible once all is said and done.

Windows Server 2012 Essentials is limited to a maximum of 25 users, above 25 would require the more expensive edition Windows Server 2012 Standard and costly CALs. If money is a factor this sounds like pretty poor option, especially when considering some of the new features of Server 2012 like anti-GUI approach or questionable competition with VMware which wouldn't benefit a small business what-so-ever. The cherry on top of the Windows Server 2012 cake: unlike SBS 2011, there's no SharePoint.

Migration options for the versions here are very similar to SBS 2011 discussed above (Clean Install vs Migration) and many of the same considerations apply. Most likely the choice would be a Clean Install path since there would be fewer than a dozen computers.

SBS migration to a cloud (server-less) solution

With cloud, two options instantly come to mind:
The main aspect to consider for the migration is STORAGE. It is highly unlikely that you would be able to squeeze your business needs into a 5-25 GB cage.

Office 365 Small Business Plan comes with 10GB storage in SharePoint and it does NOT allow for adding more storage other than the 500MB allotted for each new user (up to a total of 35GB). There are also other strong limitations (discussed here), the most important of which being the fact that you CANNOT switch plans. So, if a current server carries about 200GB of data that an organization wouldn't want to part with, then Office 365 Small Business is completely out of consideration. A more expensive option, Mid-size business plan is $15 per user/month. Before one decides to migrate along this route, consider the cost. It's important to understand that just five years with 10 users and 200GB storage would cost over $11,000.

Google Apps is not anywhere near as expensive, and there are fewer fences and "catch 22's". 10 users with 200GB storage over five years would cost thousands less, at about $4000. Unfortunately, Microsoft Office is not included and that would add another ~$2000 unless the employees can preserve their productivity using other available Office applications such as in a browser window.

The migration itself would be split into Email, File (and SharePoint for Office 365) export-import operations. In the case of Office 365 some tasks such as Email migration could be somewhat automated, as described in this article. However, in general, the migration to the cloud would require a large amount of custom labor and IT expertise.

SBS Migration to a hosted SBS 2011

The final type of migration that we'd like to highlight is switching to a hosted SBS 2011. You can see the features and pricing of SBS 2011 managed hosting here. It's slightly difficult to run a side-by-side comparison with a local server approach since a Managed hosted solution incorporates the cost of the setup, support labor and customer service which constitutes 40-70% of the price-tag, as well as the value of Bandwidth and Electrical Power. Our intention here was to come up with a product that would facilitate the migration with the expertise of Allora's IT consultants, bring a predictable monthly cost to make setting a budget easier, deliver ongoing server support, and, most importantly, provide a cloud solution and all the benefits it comes with. (We completed a study using 10 years of our accounting data and our pricing was set to make it more advantageous for a client to switch to a managed SBS 2011 hosting vs in-house server over the term of five years.)

Please, don't hesitate to Contact Us and we'd generate a plan that suits your preferences and budget.

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