Plan Server and Network Resources

Updated: March 10, 2009

Applies To: Windows SBS 2008

For optimal performance and user experience, ensure that your server and network hardware are sufficiently upgraded and configured. The primary tasks involved in planning server and network resources are the following:

• Plan the capacity of your terminal server.

• Plan your network connectivity.

• Plan for printers.

• Install the terminal server, and then join it to the Windows SBS 2008 network.

Plan the capacity of your terminal server

The capacity of your terminal server can vary depending on the type of users, the configuration of the server and the network, the applications you are hosting, and other factors. Your terminal server must meet the system requirements for Windows Server 2008, which are at the Microsoft Web site (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=127776).

Use the following guidelines to determine the capacity needs of your terminal server:

• User demand   The amount of RAM and CPU that terminal server users need depends on the application features that they use, how often they use the application, and how much work they accomplish in any unit of time.

• Application requirements   Carefully check the system requirements for each application that you plan to install on your server. Consider that RAM and CPU requirements increase according to the number of user sessions expected to run simultaneously. Because a terminal server shares executable resources among individual users, the memory requirements for additional users running the same program are typically less than the requirements for the first user who loads the application.

Monitor the server load after deployment to ensure that your server has adequate capacity.

Plan network connectivity

The terminal server works well over low bandwidth connections, and it uses whatever IP connection you provide. However, you can optimize the performance of both the application and the overall network by ensuring that the type of connection is appropriate for the work that is done. For example, a single user can connect over a low bandwidth modem line and experience high grade performance, but a 28.8 kilobit line cannot optimally be shared among an active office of 100 users.

Plan for printers

Terminal Services Easy Print, a new feature in Windows Server 2008, enables users to print from a RemoteApp program or a desktop session to a local or network printer that is installed on the client computer. Printers are supported without the need to install print drivers on the terminal server. When users want to print from a RemoteApp program or a desktop session, they can view the Printer Properties dialog box on the local, client computer, and they can access all of the printer’s functions.

Install the server and join it to the Windows Small Business Server 2008 network

After you install the second server, join it to the Windows SBS network by doing the following.

To join the second server to the Windows SBS 2008 network

1. On the second server, click Start, right-click Computer, and then click Properties.

2. In the System window, in Computer name, domain, and workgroup settings, click Change settings.

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

4. In the System Properties dialog box, click Change.

5. In the Computer Name/Domain Changes dialog box, type a new Computer name if needed, and then in Member of, click Domain, and then type the Domain name.

6. Type the username and password for the user.

7. Click OK to close the dialog boxes, and then restart the computer.

Move the terminal server to the SBSServers organizational unit in the Windows Small Business Server 2008 network

Next, on the Computers page of the Windows SBS Console, the second server is listed in Client computers (not in Servers). Additionally, all of the Group Policy settings for client computers are applied to the second server, except for the Small Business Server Update Services Client Computers Group Policy setting.

You must move the second server to the SBSServers organizational unit (OU) in order to apply the Group Policy setting for servers before you can deploy Terminal Services on it.

To move the second server to the SBSServers OU and to apply Group Policy settings for servers to it, use the Users and Computers administrative tool in Microsoft® Active Directory® Domain Services, as follows:

To move the second server to the Server OU

1. On the server that is running Windows SBS 2008, click Start, click Administrative Tools, and then click Active Directory Users and Computers.

2. In the console tree, expand the root node, and then expand the node for your domain.

3. Click to expand MyBusiness, click to expand Computers, and then click SBSComputers.

4. In the details pane, right-click the second server, and then click Move.

5. In the Move dialog box, click to expand MyBusiness, and then click to expand Computers.

6. Click SBSServers, and then click OK.

It may take several minutes to refresh the Group Policy setting on the second server. To manually refresh the setting, do the following:

1. On the second server, click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.

2. At the command prompt, type gpupdate /force, and then press ENTER.

3. Close the command prompt: Type exit, and then press ENTER.