Windows Essential Business Server 2008 RC 1

The logic

The idea behind Windows Essential Business Server was clearly to make administering a midmarket network easier. The first step of the setup process is to run a downloadable tool that basically examines the current environment. It identifies any of 91 health and configuration issues that have proven to be troublesome in the past, including problems with Active Directory, networking, Exchange, the overall configuration of Windows Server in general and so on.

The team at Microsoft analyzed records of customer support calls and looked for ways to, in an automated fashion, identify these issues and offer best practices advice in correcting them. One bonus of all of this: You don't need to be considering EBS, or purchase EBS, to use these tools. They're free for everyone, so if you're just looking for a better environment, you, too, can take advantage of the guidance from these "automated assistants." You can find these tools here.

For those folks moving on with the EBS implementation, a second tool in the package helps out with planning how the network will look after EBS is deployed.

Once you have the suite installed, the one-stop metaphor continues -- into the Windows Essential Business Server Administration Console.

Third parties are also integrating status monitors, single-click management tools and other functionality into the administration console view. These tools are not yet available for EBS, but they will be soon.

The idea is for the midmarket administrator to come into the office in the morning and within just a few seconds view his network's health; verify that licensing requirements are in check and that the organization is compliant; make sure mail is flowing, users can log on, Internet access is up and security is in place; and manage any hardware that can be monitored through ISV plug-ins to the console. It's something that has no parallel in the 50- to 300-user market and is a creative idea.

Additionally, the logic of a one-stop suite extended to licensing. If you bought all of these products in an ad hoc fashion, you would absolutely pay more than the combined suite price. To stay in compliance with each product's licensing requirements, you would also be required to purchase client access licenses, or CALs, for your users or devices that corresponded to each product. This definitely adds a layer (or two) of complexity to a midmarket administrator's job.

But with EBS, you buy one product -- the suite -- and one CAL for the suite for each user or device on your network, up to 300. With traditional Microsoft pricing, you'd have to buy one CAL per device for each of the three or four affiliated server products. In other words, you save one-third or one-fourth the cost, roughly speaking.

EBS allows you to manage these licenses through the integrated administration console, so you always know what you have. Kudos to Microsoft for clearing up a big burden that, to be fair, it imposed on its customers.

There's also some polish for the users: EBS "stole," or integrated, the Remote Web Workplace (RWW) from Small Business Server. RWW is a Web site designed for network users to come in and access Web mail, connect to their computers at the office via Remote Desktop Protocol and access their business applications like Windows SharePoint Services (WSS). Although WSS wasn't accessible in earlier test builds, I like the new look of RWW. I had some problems using the "Connect to my Computer" function, which I am still working with Microsoft to solve, but ultimately this is a great addition and another value point for the "suite" approach.