Windows Small Business Server Public Preview Is Available

Microsoft's upcoming Windows Small Business Server (SBS) 7, had a public preview yesterday, as the next step after the present SBS version.

SBS 7 is one of the three new server offers, coming from Microsoft, alongside “Vail” Windows Home Server product (which is in final test phases), and the “Aurora” hybrid cloud/on-premises small-business server, which is based on Windows Home Server (WHS) and dispenses with the bundled server products.

Microsoft General Manager Kevin Kean wrote in a blog post that “SBS7 is dedicated to providing small business customers with a highly manageable, low complexity solution to help cut costs, save time and be more efficient.

“SBS7 offers on-premise email and collaboration suite functionalities that Aurora's customers can add through online services.”

The SBS7 preview was supposed to be delivered in August, but it was delayed until September, according to Mary Jo Foley, writing for ZDNet.

Like Aurora, SBS7 is built on top of Windows Server 2008 R2 and includes Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack (SP) 1, SharePoint Foundation 2010 and Windows Software Update Services, being aimed at small businesses.

SBS 7 includes migration tools, pre-migration checks and prescriptive guidance for users that want to upgrade from older versions of the SBS suite.

SBS7 and Aurora are two products that provide completely different sets of functionality, because Aurora is very much a bare-bones server that focuses on centralized PC backup and storage, while SBS7 is a direct descendent of today's SBS products.

People that are currently using SBS cannot upgrade to Aurora, but they can evaluate the SBS7 upgrade, which, according to Microsoft, will provide “advancements in security, reliability, and connectivity technology.”

The public SBS 7 preview is available on the Microsoft Connect site and can be downloaded immediately, reports Paul Thurrott, for Windows IT Pro.