SBS 2008 Book If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you know that I’m a big fan of Small Business Server, and that I have written quite a few blog posts (mainly around the RTM period) about Windows Small Business Server 2008.  I was recently contacted by Packt Publishing to see if I’d be interested in reviewing a book they just recently published about SBS2008 — “Small Business Server 2008 – Installation, Migration, and Configuration” by David Overton.  The book itself is an enjoyable size — 387 pages including miscellanea — perfect for zipping through in a few evenings. It is divided into 13 chapters:

  • Chapters 1 and 2 give an introduction to the book and SBS.
  • Chapters 3 through 8 cover installing and migrating to SBS2008.
  • Chapters 9 and 10 cover configuration.
  • Chapters 11 and 12 user-related topic.
  • Chapter 13 covers ongoing management.

Overton begins his book with a well-written introductory chapter that focuses on the business, rather than technical, aspects of an SBS installation or migration. I was particularly pleased that Overton advises readers to turn to an expert for more complicated situations, and to look for a consultant that is a Microsoft Small Business Specialist (perhaps my affection for this advice stems from Info et Cetera Consulting holding this designation). Since this is an introductory level book, I throughly appreaciate that he stresses the need to turn to someone with more experience for the more difficult aspects. Overton also discusses the need to evaluate the net economic impact of any SBS upgrade or installation and verify that the system change will result in a positive benefit for the business.

My favorite thing about this book is the abundance of screenshots. Overton does an excellent job preparing users for a real SBS installation and migration by getting readers familiar with the error messages and screens that they’re going to run across during the process.

One topic that Overton touched on that I haven’t seen covered much elsewhere is migrating Small Business Server using Hyper-V or other virtualization technologies. Of course, running SBS2008 under Hyper-V is officially supported by Microsoft, but I haven’t seen any official advice from Microsoft regarding using Hyper-V during the migration process. Overton mentions two methods for using Hyper-V as a means of reusing your SBS2003 hardware to eventually become your permanent SBS2008 hardware. The coverage of the procedure is kept at an overview level, but Overton includes a link to more detailed instructions on his website.

The core migration steps covered in the book are essentially the same as those included in Microsoft’s official migration whitepaper, or those outlined on my previous blog posts. However, I can’t imagine someone actually performing their first SBS2008 migration without a resource such as Overton’s book. Not only does Overton provide excellent screenshots, but he also gives much-needed detail around topics such as the preparation that needs to be done to SBS2003 before starting the migration. His coverage of pre-migration preparation is actually more thorough than any coverage I have seen elsewhere.

My least favorite part of SBS2003 to SBS2008 migrations is certainly SharePoint migration. Moving a SharePoint site from one server to another is straightforward enough, but moving from SBS2003 to SBS2008 also involves upgrading from Windows SharePoint Services version 2 (WSS2) to version 3 (WSS3). Fortunately, Overton covers the WSS database migration tasks in depth, and even touches on some of the more minute details such as graphics.

As an experienced SBS’er, much of the information in the book was simply a recap of what I already know. Additionally, since the book is aimed at even a novice skill level, much of the information was presented in sometimes painstaking detail. However, I was pleased to find little gems throughout the book. A good example is in Chapter 8, when discussing migrating shared files; Overton provides a link to scripts on his website, along with Microsoft-provided tools, that streamline the process of duplicating the configuration of file shares and permissions on the new SBS server being migrated to. Another example is how Overton explains how to make pre-existing user roles appear in the SBS console using some ADSIedit trickery. Overton even describes how to get the new SBS server to respond to requests for resources using the old SBS server’s name. Overton even makes a point, in the maintenance chapter, to show some of the more common error messages that administrators may run across, along with an explanation of their cause. These “gold nuggets” of information distinguish the book from being simply a more elaborate version of Microsoft’s SBS migration whitepaper, and offer real value to even a seasoned SBS veteran.

This certainly is not the first SBS 2008 book in the marketplace (thank you, Cris Hanna, for the input on this point).  Other books available include:

  • “Small Business Server 2008 Unleashed” by Eric Neale (Sams Publishing, 816 Pages)
  • “Windows® Small Business Server 2008 Administrator’s Companion” (Microsoft Press, 720 pages)
  • “Microsoft Small Business Server 2008 Blueprint” by Harry Brelmsford and Philip Elder (SMB Nation, 613 pages)

However, I don’t feel that Overton’s SBS2008 book is a direct competitor of these other resources.  “Small Business Server 2008: Installation, Migration, and Configuration” does not purport to be the more comprehensive SBS2008 reference book available. Instead, it takes a practical approach — guiding a user through the migration process so that he or she becomes comfortable with it even before ever touching a live SBS box. Overton’s combination of technical detail with practical advice (e.g. How long steps will take, and the impact of procedures on end users) makes this an enjoyable read. An experienced IT Pro may find some of the material (such as the overview of how to use Outlook) a bit too introductory, but I believe that even an experienced IT Pro (who maybe isn’t an SBS expert yet) can find enough helpful advice to warrant spending some quality time with this book, and someone with less experience will find the book a nice introduction into SBS2008, which will hopefully spark his or her desire to dig deeper and learn more.

Interested in purchasing this book?
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