Microsoft Small Business Server 2008 - Great Value?

I've used Small Business Server and for the most part have found it to be a pretty good product at a pretty good price. I was surprised recently to learn that they've removed ISA Server from SBS 2008, and decided to go see exactly what you still get in the latest version SBS.

From Microsoft's own SBS feature list:

1) Windows Server 2008 Standard. Ok, that's sort of expected.

2) Exchange Server 2007 Standard. Ok good, this is necessary in the age of Outlook.

3) Windows Sharepoint Services 3.0. Um...this is a "free" product.

4) Forefront Security for Exchange. 120 day TRIAL VERSION? Odd...

5) Windows Server Update Services 3.0. Hm, this is another "free" product.

6) Windows Live OneCare. Another 120 trial version! Wha??

7) Microsoft Office Live Small Business. Yet another trial!!

8) 900 Free Minutes of America Online! Just kidding.

9) SQL Server 2008 Standard for Small Business. Ok, whew. It's something anyhow.

So let's see what we've got here. It looks like 3 major server products, two free products, and three trial products.

Ok, so for the three products you actually get (note, only the Premium version gets you SQL Server), the price is still pretty good. However, I wouldn't recommend running SQL Server in a small business. It's just not worth the lock-in. Free database servers like MySQL are powerful enough for just about any small business need, and you aren't restricted to how many instances you can install and on which machines, etc.

So really with SBS 2008, it looks like the real benefit is that you get Windows Server and Exchange at about half price. It's not a bad deal, but you are trading some flexibility.

ISA Server will be missed. Although it was a bloated pain in the ass product, it does offer one feature that most external firewalls don't: management of rules and policies and even reporting for specific active directory groups and users. The integration is what sold it. Oh well.