Small Business Server 2003 and Multiple Companies

Hello to all,

I'm currently evaluating purchasing Small Business Server 2003 for my company. The question that I'm having a hard time finding an answer for, is does Small Business Server 2003 have support for multiple companies/businesses?

Basically I have three businesses, a mortgage company, a web design company, and a photography business. I'm looking to have e-mail services for all of them (each with their own domain names), shared calendars, shared contacts, etc while keeping them separate for each company. There would never be any higher than 25 users--ever.

Does Small Business Server 2003 have support for this, or is it limited to a single "business identity "? I'm not too concerned about sharepoint, and other things like that. Mainly Exchange.

-Tim

 

No it will not support 3 domains. But you could create a generic domain that would be appropiate for all three companies.

 

So to be clear, you're saying it wont support 3 "domain names ". I'm aware of the constraint on a single domain (in terms of windows networking) but when it comes to the three domain names - and specifically keeping the information for each company separate (different contact groups, calendar groups, etc) - is that even a possiblilty?

Thanks,

-Tim

 

No way.
You would have to be creative to even get that to work on the same subnet with 3 domain controllers.

 

timothyuhl - we have 3 different companies (well, 7 if you count the fact that lines-of-business are treated as different companies in this context) in one domain. No problems and they are seperate for most everything and combined for the few features where this makes sense.

I can't speak about SBS since we are too large for that solution but with over 50 exchange servers, at least double that many domain controllers and global catalog servers, and well over 75K users in the combined companies within our master domain, I feel fairly safe saying you could make it work for your setup as long as the companies were on different networks (subnets).

 

If i may disagree with scott for a point on this one. You set this up just like anything else, 3 MX records, 3 web sites, 3 smtp connectors and you are good to go.

Support WebCast: Hosting Web Sites on Microsoft Small Business Server 2000
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;325061
John Morello: Today's topic is "Hosting Web sites on Microsoft Small Business Server 2000." Just to briefly cover what our agenda today (slide 2) is going to be, the first thing that we're going to look at is using host headers and destination sets to host multiple Web sites.

I'm not enough of an exchange guy to field your question in detail on "specifically keeping the information for each company separate (different contact groups, calendar groups, etc) - is that even a possiblilty ". The answer to that question becomes more of what you mean by seperate.

 

I could not find a direct answer to your question but I found some hints.

Q. Can I use more than one Windows Small Business Server 2003 server in the same company?

A. There can be only one Windows Small Business Server 2003 server in a domain. Each Windows Small Business Server 2003 server is typically connected to the Internet either directly, or via a firewall. Windows Small Business Server 2003 does not support trusts between domains; therefore, user names and resources could not be shared between those Windows Small Business Server 2003 servers. Further, Windows Small Business Server 2003 installs at the root of the Active Directory forest, and it cannot be demoted, or have the flexible single-master operation (FSMO) roles removed.







Q. Can Windows Small Business Server 2003 be attached to a larger corporate network, effectively working as a branch office server?

A. Windows Small Business Server 2003 cannot be used in a branch office scenario because it does not support Active Directory trusts and must be installed at the root of the forest.







Q. What number and types of servers can exist in the Windows Small Business Server 2003 domain?

A. There are no limits on the number or type of servers that can exist in a Windows Small Business Server 2003 domain, with the following exceptions:

• Only one computer in a domain can be running Windows Small Business Server 2003.

• Windows Small Business Server 2003 must be the root of the Active Directory forest.

• Windows Small Business Server 2003 cannot trust any other domains.

• A Windows Small Business Server 2003 domain cannot have any child domains.

• Each additional computer running Windows Server 2003 must have a Windows Small Business Server 2003 client access license (CAL).

• A Windows Small Business Server 2003 domain can have no more than 75 CALs. You can use CALs for each user or for each device.






General Frequently Asked Questions About Windows Small Business Server 2003

 

Small Business Server 2003 (along with Exchange 2003 by itself) can support multiple SMTP domains and you can maintain separate Global Address lists for each company. Even though all the users (therefore, mailboxes) will be hosted in the same domain, using permissions you can create 3 separate GALS, 3 separate Offline Address Books and use permissions to scope who can utilize which GAL. Believe it or not, with a little testing, I think you will discover that it isn't too difficult.

Best regards

Desiree

 

Excellent information. I think we're going to give this a try, I'll let everyone know how it works out!

-Tim

 

I'm looking forward to hearing how it goes for you.

Best regards

Desiree

 

Desiree,
Sounds like you have a pretty good handle on Exchange.
Where were you when I was drowning?

 

awwww shucks