Maximum number of email users

[JMAldrich]

I was just hired as the IT manager for a small company. We are currently outsourcing our email to a local provider. We are considering bringing the email in-house. I got a listing of all the current email accounts from our email provider and we currently have about 170 email boxes (not counting distribution lists, etc.) I would say we definitely have less than 250 total email addresses here, and I would say that it it unlikely we will hit 250 any time in the forseeable future.

Is that within the limitations of SBS2003? Would I be better served by purchasing a couple Server 20003 machines and adding Exchange to one of them?

We have maybe a couple dozen mobile users who would need access to OWA, and maybe a dozen others would want to check their email from home, etc.

 

[ShackDaddy]

Since the licensing for SBS handles up to 75 users, it sounds like you may be headed toward a problem. I've seen networks where 85-90 users are still connecting to an SBS2003 server with only 55 licenses installed, but a lot of these details depend on the type of connection being made to the server. I know that there's no particular limit in the number of actual users or mailboxes that can be created, since those aren't directly tied to CAL use.

How would the bulk of these users be connecting to your server?

So it really comes down to the number of concurrent connections. SBS won't allow more than 75 connections at a time. But will it impose that limit on a second server with Exchange installed that had the right number of Exchange CALs? Normally in an SBS domain, you'd license per seat, and those licenses would be shared with the second server, and you still might run up against that 75-connection limit, depending on the type of connection.

I don't think I'd go the SBS route if you think you may need more than 75 users connected simultaneously. And it depends on whether you purchase/install your CALs as per-device or per-user. Only per-device have an actual tracking system enabled.

ShackDaddy
Shackelford Consulting

 

[JMAldrich]

Thanks. I knew there was a limit, but I couldn't recall what it was. As most of the users will be connected to the server directly I forsee a problem. I guess we'll be looking at a standard Windows server purchase and a separate Exchange purchase if we go that route.