Hello All,
I've read many deployment scenarios for SBS 2011 premium but can't seem to find any information on whether the following scenario is acceptable or supported.
Physical Server (Running Windows Server 2008 R2 [from premium edition])
- Install Hyper-V Role on physical server.
- Setup SBS 2011 Standard in a VM. This VM will run DC, Exchange, etc roles from SBS 2011 standard.
- Join Physical Server (Server 2008 R2) to SBS 2011 domain.
- Install SQL (from premium edition) on physical server.
- Perhaps, promote physical server to domain controller. I know its not recommended to have SQL on a DC but redundancy is important. This would also allow clients to logon without the VM (SBS 2011 standard) needing to be powered up.
In the above scenario I would have 1 physical server and 1 VM. It seems to be allowed from what I have been reading about licensing on SBS 2011 Premium. This would still separate the Exchange and SQL roles on different servers. I know that I can setup a Hyper-V Server 2008/2012 as the host and run 2 VMs but its not preferred in my view. I'd rather run 1 server on physical hardware for the following reasons:
1. Native USB support for backups.
2. Native eSata support for backups.
3. Dell Server OpenManage software installed directly on physical server.
4. Potential issues with VMs not starting up properly, hyper-v service broken, etc. At least the SQL server (on physical hardware) would be up and running which is a core business requirement.
Thanks in advance.
David Lebar