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Back Office Computer operating system choice

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.
Reply to
Dusty
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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

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- there is a linkto 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

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snipped-for-privacy@tibercreek.com----------------------------------------------Please DO NOT respond to me directly but post all responses here inthe newsgroup so that all can share the information.

Reply to
Glenn Adams [MVP - Retail Mgmt]

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:

Reply to
Dusty

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

Reply to
Glenn Adams [MVP - Retail Mgmt]

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:

Reply to
timgale

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