Accessing Windows SBS Console

Updated: August 21, 2008

Applies To: Windows SBS 2008

You can access Windows SBS Console by using of one of following methods. The method you choose depends on whether you are accessing the Windows SBS Console from the server, a client computer that is connected to the Windows SBS 2008 network, or a remote computer.

Access Windows SBS Console from the server

Note

You must be a network administrator to complete this procedure.

To access Windows SBS Console from the server

  1. Click Start, click All Programs, click Windows Small Business Server, and then click Windows SBS Console.

  2. In the User Account Control dialog box, click Continue.

Access Windows SBS Console from a client computer

To access Windows SBS Console from a client computer that is connected to the network

  1. From the client computer, open an Internet browser, such as Internet Explorer.

  2. If you have set up your Internet presence by using the Internet Address Management Wizard, advance to step 3. If you have not, advance to step 4.

  3. In the Internet Address bar, type **https://remote.**DomainName, where DomainName is the external domain name of your organization (such as contoso.com).

  4. In the Internet Address bar, type https://sites/remote.

  5. Use your network credentials to log on to Remote Web Workplace.

  6. On the Remote Web Workplace Home page, under Administration links, click Connect to server.

  7. In the Remote Desktop Connection warning message, click Yes.

  8. Enter your network administrator credentials.

  9. Open the Windows SBS Console.

Note

To open the Windows SBS Console, click Start, click All Programs, click Windows Small Business Server, click Windows SBS Console, and then click Continue in the User Account Control dialog box.

Access Windows SBS Console from a remote computer

When you are working from a remote computer, you can access Windows SBS Console by using Remote Web Workplace. However, to access the Remote Web Workplace Web site, it is recommended that you first install a security certificate.

When the security certificate is installed on remote computers and devices that connect to the network, the certificate establishes a secure and "trusted" connection with the server. The security certificate helps secure your Remote Web Workplace, Outlook® Web Access, and Outlook Mobile Web sites. It also helps secure the Outlook Anywhere feature.

If the security certificate is not installed on a remote computer that is used to access Remote Web Workplace, users receive a "Certificate Invalid" error message. To resolve this error, install the certificate on the remote computer.

Installing the security certificate on home and mobile computers

To configure remote computers to trust the Windows SBS 2008 server, remote users need to install the security certificate on their home or mobile computers.

To install the server’s security certificate on a remote computer

  1. From a computer that is in the Windows SBS 2008 network, open a Web browser and type the following address into the address bar: \\sites\public\downloads.

Note

You should only download the certificate installer package from a computer that is directly connected to your organization's network. Do not download this package over the Internet.

  1. Copy the file Install Certificate Package.zip to portable storage media, such as a floppy disk or a USB drive.

  2. Insert the floppy disk or USB drive into the computer that is not joined to the Windows SBS 2008 domain and from which you want to access Remote Web Workplace.

  3. In Windows® Explorer, navigate to the location where you copied Install Certificate Package.zip.

  4. Right-click Install Certificate Package.zip, and then click Extract All.

  5. In the Extract Compressed (Zipped) Folders dialog box, type the folder location where you want to extract the files, and then click Extract.

  6. Open the folder where the extracted files are located, and then double-click Install Certificate.

  7. Select Install the certificate on my computer, and then click Install.

Using Remote Web Workplace

After you install the security certificate on a remote computer, you can access the Windows SBS Console from the remote computer from your organization's Remote Web Workplace Web site.

To access Windows SBS Console from Remote Web Workplace

  1. From the remote computer, open an Internet browser, such as Internet Explorer.

  2. In the Internet browser address bar, type **https://remote.**DomainName, where DomainName is the external domain name of your organization (such as contoso.com).

  3. Use your network credentials to log on to Remote Web Workplace.

  4. On the Remote Web Workplace Home page, under Administration links, click Connect to server.

  5. In the Remote Desktop Connection warning message, click Yes.

  6. Enter your network administrator credentials.

  7. Open the Windows SBS Console.

Note

To open the Windows SBS Console, click Start, click All Programs, click Windows Small Business Server, click Windows SBS Console, and then click Continue in the User Account Control dialog box.