MS Server 2003 Basic help

[VanHlebar]

I am considering upgrading my Windows 2000 server up to 2003. This biggest question that I have relates to sharing calendar information with company employees?

Currently we use a third party software that allows us to share our calendar data within the office. Each person can add/edit/delete other users appointments if they are given the rights to do so.

If I were to upgrade to MS Server 2003 Basic or Small Business one, would I be able to share this data thru Exchange without purchasing any additional software? Would I then be able to use Exchange ActiveSync to sync my X50v while away from the office?

I know this is a bit off topic, but I was hoping that there might be some techies about that could shed some light on this for me.

Thanks,
-Eric

[Janak Parekh]

I am considering upgrading my Windows 2000 server up to 2003. This biggest question that I have relates to sharing calendar information with company employees?
You're in the right ballpark, but let's be precise: Windows Server 2003 itself does not have a mechanism for sharing calendars. You need to install additional software to do so.

One such option is Exchange Server 2003, which has great public and private calendar support. You can have individual calendars for users, and can set permissions so that others may access them as appropriate. You can also set up a public calendar not tied to an individual that many people can share. Note that Exchange 2003 is supported on both Windows 2000 Server and Windows Server 2003, although Microsoft recommends you use the latter for the best integration and functionality. You need to use Outlook to enable full Exchange support on the client.

Microsoft does sell a small-to-medium office solution called Small Business Server 2003, which includes WS2003, Exchange 2003, and a bunch of other server software. I'm not sure how easy it is to upgrade W2k Server to SBS 2003, however; you should check out the technical documentation on Microsoft's site about that.

Exchange Server 2003 has Mobile Information Server, including Server ActiveSync built-in. After some configuration, you can set up Server ActiveSync to support both LAN and WAN syncing with Pocket PCs, Smartphones, and Pocket PC Phones. Server ActiveSync supports calendar and contact sync. It does not support task nor note sync. It supports SMS-based push on Pocket PC Phones and Smartphones. The new WM5 Messaging and Security Feature Pack will supposedly add task sync amongst other things.

--janak

[VanHlebar]

Janak,

Thanks for the reply. Sorry for the slow response, just too busy to get back in touch over the weekend.

Let me clarify what a little bit. I have a very small office, one server, 6 employees. I need to have some reliable method of allowing all six of my employees to see and edit my calendar as needed. In addition to this, I need to be able to see each of their calendars so I know where my employees are each day.

I don't have a problem with using other software to do this, but I would like to use something easy and not overly expensive. My current method just isn't reliable enough and I have had to spend way to much time in the past month trying to keep it running. If I can purchase MS Small Business Server 2003 and get everything I need then that would be a huge benefit and step up. Like it or not, alot of people, myself included, may bash M$ at times, but their products for the most part usually work well together.

With all of the above, if I could also get remote syncing as a side benefit then, hey that's even better. :D

Thanks again for your help.

-Eric

[Janak Parekh]

Thanks for the reply. Sorry for the slow response, just too busy to get back in touch over the weekend.
No, this is a slow response. I was traveling in September...

If I can purchase MS Small Business Server 2003 and get everything I need then that would be a huge benefit and step up. Like it or not, alot of people, myself included, may bash M$ at times, but their products for the most part usually work well together.
SBS2003 would indeed do what you need, as it contains Windows Server, Exchange Server and a bunch of other server solutions. You have to look at the pricing and make sure it makes sense for you. I never bashed Exchange in this thread... it's actually a pretty decent platform for collaboration, and works pretty easily in small-scale deployments. ;)

My only warning with SBS: at least with previous versions, upgrading from a previous OS was difficult. Make sure you read the docs on Microsoft's site about "upgrading" before you jump ship. If you do a fresh install, it should then, in theory, go smoothly.

--janak