14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is making it extremely easy for customers to test-drive Windows Small Business Server 2008. A number of demos and virtual labs can be accessed online completely free of charge, courtesy of the SBS 2008 and TechNet Teams. According to Eric Ligman, Global Partner Experience lead Microsoft Worldwide Partner Group, Microsoft has taken the decision to make the resource available in order to help small businesses that lack the necessary hardware infrastructure test Windows Small Business Server 2008. At the same time, the online demos and virtual labs simplify testing because no deployment is required. Small business users can simply fire up the demos or virtual labs in their browser.
“I’m very excited to announce the availability of three virtual labs now available for you to use on TechNet! These virtual labs are: Migration from SBS 2003, Administration Console, Working with Clients. In addition to these virtual labs, we also have some demos available for you to download as well, including: SBS 2008 Administration Console, SBS 2008 Installation, SBS 2008 Migration from SBS 2003 and SBS 2008 Working with Clients,” Ligman stated.
At the start of this month, Microsoft announced that it would be discontinuing the future development of Windows Essential Business Server (EBS). However, this decision only impacts midsize businesses that were running EBS. The promise from the software giant is that the discontinuation of Windows Essential Business Server will have no impact on Windows Small Business Server.
“This decision not to ship future versions of EBS does not come lightly and will not impact any other Windows Server products and solutions, including the next version of Windows Small Business Server (SBS). As a matter of fact, we are working hard to build the next version of SBS and look forward to a second decade of success with this award winning small business offering,” a member of the Windows Essential Business Server Team noted. “There is a tremendous amount of talent and expertise on the EBS product development team and Microsoft is committed to transitioning members of the EBS product team to work on other projects within the Microsoft Server and Cloud division.”