[MovedGoalPosts]

By the looks of things you are getting quite committed to this solution. May I suggest that before you progress too far, you set up a small test environment. Get yourself the server, load it up in default, and connect up a PC or two only to it, so you can see how it all works. Then you can have a play around, find out what needs tweaking. Meanwhile the rest of the company isn't disrupted. Only then will you realise how best to setup the server for the live environment, including drive partition sizes, exchange limitations (do you have SMTP feed or POP for incoming mail - you really want the former for versatile email so you can control the addys). I learn't the hard way, loading it all as the default, running on a live network for a few days, with everyone screaming at me due to problems. Even then I've reloaded and the system twice so as to optimise for my needs, and each server reload has often meant reloading the Workstations too, simply because they didn't pick up the new network configurations properly.

The SBS software is not the only thing to consider. Look at antivirus - you must protect the server, and that needs to update automatically at least once a day. The A/V soft3ware needs to be SBS compatible. I use Pandasoftware, but there are others especially Trend.

How are you going to backup? The SBS includes windows NT backup which is OK, but limited especially for Exchange i.e. it backusp up the whole exchange Database as one. You can't reinstall just one users mailbox, you have to do the lot. You must use an exchange aware backup though or the various logs won't delete and you run out of HD space. Make sure whatever medium i.e. tape will have enough capacity now and in the future.

You need to sit down and price it all out. If you get an off the shelf server, and add some bits to it, you will be able to get OEM versions of SBS, but do allow for the client licences for it (also available as OEM).

My experience, now that I know what I am trying to do, is that the server load and basic configuration of users, etc takes at least a day, especially if there is existing data to be moved over. Then you need time on each workstation to make that speak to the server properly, download software and settings such as Outlook and the ISA client, set the various file paths etc. Some of that is automated, but not all and inevitably you have to do some tweaks.

Yes they may want it done cheap, but they will also want a scapegoat if it doesn't work. Are you prepared for that. Few firms these days are happy once their computers go down.