Who should read this book...and do the work?

This book is for those people who are about to install and use SBS 2008—either migrating from a SBS 2003 server or installing their first SBS 2008 server—and want to know how to set up an SBS 2008 system that works.

If you have no IT experience, I warn you, it will be a tough journey, although not an unachievable one if you are determined. However, a word of advice: if you are the small business owner or an employee and you're concerned about your skills, go and find someone with the "SBSC" blue badge below and get them to explain why they should do some, if not most or all, of the work for you and then you will more confident of success.

SBS 2008 server should be the IT foundation on which your business can survive and thrive. Like all foundations, it needs to be reliable. It should also be serviceable and expandable in the future. You may be able to save money doing all the work and management yourself, but this will, at the least, cost time and in the worst case, wasted money or lost customers. Time is often more precious in a small business than money, which is often pretty tight too, so spending a little bit more at the beginning may well save you a whole lot in the near future if you get it wrong.

Finally, you might think in some parts of this book that I'm teaching my grandmother to suck eggs. Experience has taught me that people sometimes gloss over details and then can't find their mistakes. If you stick with me and use those more familiar sections as revision for what needs doing, you should end up with a problem-free installation.