I would like to reduce the management and resource overhead associated with some of the components of SBS 2011 on a few clients. For various reasons, these clients no longer use Exchange, Sharepoint, or SQL Server.
One uses RWW for shared file access from outside the local network. Another uses IIS and Remote Desktop Gateway, but doesn't need RWW.
I would like to remove Exchange, Sharepoint, and SQL Server where possible. I don't need WSUS since we manage all these clients with a third-party RMM that handles Windows Updates for all client machines. I'm not particularly in need of SBS Monitoring, since the RMM system reports what we need to know for management purposes.
So, what happens if I uninstall Exchange, Sharepoint, Microsoft Windows SBS 2011, and SQL server for good measure?
Will the server still function properly as a Domain Controller? Will IIS and Remote Gateway still function? I have read that RWW won't work due to some SBS dependencies. Is that true? If so, I will remove it and find an alternative for the shared file access.
Finally, what are the licensing consequences of this? Will I need to get enough CAL's to cover the users? Or does the SBS licensing and user limitation still exist even after removing Microsoft Windows SBS 2011 via Programs and Features?
I have Googled these issues quite a bit over the past few months and still haven't been able to weed through the FUD: not recommended, unsupported configuration, too many interdependencies, etc. Sure, no body wants to hose a production server, but I really hope that someone can share what to do so that I don't have to keep supporting this monstrous glut of unnecessary software without forcing the clients into fresh installs or migrations.
Also, I have considered disabling the pieces that are possible to disable, and have even tried it on some servers. This has marginally improved performance, but has not reduced the management time overhead.