Back Office Computer operating system choice

Posted by Dusty on August 14, 2006, 8:43 pm

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I get stufff dumped in my lap. Customer has 2 computers and 8 POS terminals
all running Windows XP Pro. Wants to add more terminals, which means
upgrading the operating system on the computer acting as the pos "server" The
hardware is up to the task, Intel motherboard with 533 FSB, 3Gb cpu, 2 GB 533
DDR2 memory, SATA drives running Raid 5, GB nic on board. The question is
which server software to go with. From reading other posts it looks like
Small Business Server 2003 Standard is not the way to go, it wont load SQL
server, and the "built in" SQL data base in RMS will be over whellemed in
short time. So what about Small Business Server 2003 Premium edition? I see
R2 only has workgroup edition SQL, where as in the past SBS 2003 Premium
used to include SQL Server 2000. Or should the customer be pushed to Server
2003 and SQL 2005 Sandard edition?
Life was sometimes easier before 2000 Pro and XP Pro.
--
Dusty

Posted by Glenn Adams [MVP - Retail Mgmt on August 15, 2006, 12:13 am

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SBS Premium edition is often recommended as the most economical way to
get a server OS and a 'full' version of SQL Server. This cost
differential between SBS and going with the OS and SQL as separate
items is less obvious now that SBS is including workgroup edition
rather than a standard edition, but it's still a good value for a
small business. It includes setup wizards that make it easier to
configure and maintain than the 'regular' version of Win2K3 Server.

As far as the SQL Server edition, you need to evaluate the the varios
versions available. See http://www.microsfot.com/sql - there is a link
to a feature comparison.

SQL 2005 Express is limited to 4GB databases (If you are currently on
MSDE, that is double your current limit). It's also limited to 1 CPU
and 1 GB of memory - that really may fit your hardware pretty well...

Sql 2005 Workgroup removes the data size restriction, supports up to 2
CPUs and I think 4 GB of RAM. Unless you intend to seriously upgrade
your hardware, WG is probably enough.

You really need to evaluate things like item count and transaction
volume to properly size the hardware and software, but based on the
hardware specs you posted, it looks like SQL 2005 workgroup edition is
a good fit.

Glenn Adams
Tiber Creek Consulting
http://www.tibercreek.com
glenn@tibercreek.com
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On Mon, 14 Aug 2006 17:43:02 -0700, Dusty

>I get stufff dumped in my lap. Customer has 2 computers and 8 POS terminals

>all running Windows XP Pro. Wants to add more terminals, which means

>upgrading the operating system on the computer acting as the pos "server" The

>hardware is up to the task, Intel motherboard with 533 FSB, 3Gb cpu, 2 GB 533

>DDR2 memory, SATA drives running Raid 5, GB nic on board. The question is

>which server software to go with. From reading other posts it looks like

>Small Business Server 2003 Standard is not the way to go, it wont load SQL

>server, and the "built in" SQL data base in RMS will be over whellemed in

>short time. So what about Small Business Server 2003 Premium edition? I see

>R2 only has workgroup edition SQL, where as in the past SBS 2003 Premium

>used to include SQL Server 2000. Or should the customer be pushed to Server

>2003 and SQL 2005 Sandard edition?

>Life was sometimes easier before 2000 Pro and XP Pro.

Posted by Dusty on August 15, 2006, 7:09 pm

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Glen, thank you for this information, it is exactly what I needed to know.
In conversation with a Microsoft support tech on the phone I was lead to
believe SQL 2005 Workgroup edition only supported 4GB, which made me nervous.
--
Dusty

"Glenn Adams [MVP - Retail Mgmt]" wrote:

> SBS Premium edition is often recommended as the most economical way to

> get a server OS and a 'full' version of SQL Server. This cost

> differential between SBS and going with the OS and SQL as separate

> items is less obvious now that SBS is including workgroup edition

> rather than a standard edition, but it's still a good value for a

> small business. It includes setup wizards that make it easier to

> configure and maintain than the 'regular' version of Win2K3 Server.

> As far as the SQL Server edition, you need to evaluate the the varios

> versions available. See http://www.microsfot.com/sql - there is a link

> to a feature comparison.

> SQL 2005 Express is limited to 4GB databases (If you are currently on

> MSDE, that is double your current limit). It's also limited to 1 CPU

> and 1 GB of memory - that really may fit your hardware pretty well...

> Sql 2005 Workgroup removes the data size restriction, supports up to 2

> CPUs and I think 4 GB of RAM. Unless you intend to seriously upgrade

> your hardware, WG is probably enough.

> You really need to evaluate things like item count and transaction

> volume to properly size the hardware and software, but based on the

> hardware specs you posted, it looks like SQL 2005 workgroup edition is

> a good fit.

> Glenn Adams

> Tiber Creek Consulting

> http://www.tibercreek.com

> glenn@tibercreek.com

Posted by Glenn Adams [MVP - Retail Mgmt on August 15, 2006, 9:57 pm

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Probably a miscommunication between the 4GB Database size limit in
Express and the 4GB RAM limit in Workgroup.

Make sure you check out the edition comparison though, just in case my
summary didn't have all the info you need...

Glenn Adams
Tiber Creek Consulting
http://www.tibercreek.com
glenn@tibercreek.com
----------------------------------------------
Please DO NOT respond to me directly but post all responses here in the
newsgroup so that all can share the information.

Dusty wrote:

> Glen, thank you for this information, it is exactly what I needed to know.

> In conversation with a Microsoft support tech on the phone I was lead to

> believe SQL 2005 Workgroup edition only supported 4GB, which made me nervous.

> --

> Dusty

> "Glenn Adams [MVP - Retail Mgmt]" wrote:

>> SBS Premium edition is often recommended as the most economical way to

>> get a server OS and a 'full' version of SQL Server. This cost

>> differential between SBS and going with the OS and SQL as separate

>> items is less obvious now that SBS is including workgroup edition

>> rather than a standard edition, but it's still a good value for a

>> small business. It includes setup wizards that make it easier to

>> configure and maintain than the 'regular' version of Win2K3 Server.

>> As far as the SQL Server edition, you need to evaluate the the varios

>> versions available. See http://www.microsfot.com/sql - there is a link

>> to a feature comparison.

>> SQL 2005 Express is limited to 4GB databases (If you are currently on

>> MSDE, that is double your current limit). It's also limited to 1 CPU

>> and 1 GB of memory - that really may fit your hardware pretty well...

>> Sql 2005 Workgroup removes the data size restriction, supports up to 2

>> CPUs and I think 4 GB of RAM. Unless you intend to seriously upgrade

>> your hardware, WG is probably enough.

>> You really need to evaluate things like item count and transaction

>> volume to properly size the hardware and software, but based on the

>> hardware specs you posted, it looks like SQL 2005 workgroup edition is

>> a good fit.

>> Glenn Adams

>> Tiber Creek Consulting

>> http://www.tibercreek.com

>> glenn@tibercreek.com

Posted by timgale on July 20, 2007, 1:14 pm

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Can RMS Store Ops be installed on the same box that has Small Biz Server and
SQL? Occassionally, I need to open Store Ops Manager in that part of my
building. Also, is it o.k. to have the HQ Client running on that box? I've
always been able to do these things on my XPpro/MSDE box, but I want to put
in a SBS 2003 box.

Thanks,
Tim

"Glenn Adams [MVP - Retail Mgmt]" wrote: