Server 2008 R2 Standard Vs. Small Business Server 2008

[ScienceOfThePS3]

Hey everyone! I'm looking into installing a copy of Server 2008 to help manage both my parent's business and my own business and to also host my Internet radio station. I was actually able to get myself a free copy of Server 2008 R2 Standard from DreamSpark, but based on my needs, I'm wondering if Standard isn't going be good enough to meet them. I talked to a few people and they suggested to get Small Business Server 2008, so I'm a bit confused since I'm not completely familiar with both versions and what they have to offer. So, I'd like to get a second opinion from some the experts here on what I should get based on my needs. (Please excuse me if I use the wrong terminology.)

 

Here is what I want to do with my server:

 

1) This server will host ADDS for a network of about 2-3 workstations.

2) There will be three user accounts on the server: one for my business, one for my parent's business, and one for my Internet radio station.

3) I would like to use "roaming profiles" or similar for the two business accounts so that the business software and user account settings will be stored on and loaded from the server, and everything else will be loaded on the workstations. It would help me manage our business software more easily since it would be stored all in one location.

4) The software that I use for my radio station needs to always be logged on to a desktop environment in order to run, but I need to automatically log in and start the software automatically if the server is restarted due to maintenance or a power outage. Now of course I don't it to automatically log in locally on the server itself for security and performance reasons, so how would I handle this kind of situation?

5) I'm also considering hosting 2-3 websites at the same time using Apache, if my server will be able to handle the load.

 

Here are the specs of my server. They are more along the lines of a workstation, but this PC was rebuilt last year when I never thought I would use it as a server:

 

• Core 2 Duo 2.53 GHz CPU
• 2 GB of RAM (upgradable to 4 GB)
• Gigabit LAN port
• 80 GB SATA hard drive w/ 20 GB IDE hard drive

Thanks for your help and opinions!

[AWS]

Your server specs will handle the load, but, I'd add a little more ram so the server runs smoothly. I use 8gigs on my web servers and 12gigs on the database servers.

 

Why use Apache? Use IIS since it is native to Windows Servers.

[ScienceOfThePS3]

Your server specs will handle the load, but, I'd add a little more ram so the server runs smoothly. I use 8gigs on my web servers and 12gigs on the database servers.

 

Why use Apache? Use IIS since it is native to Windows Servers.

 

 

Well, that's good news. However, that doesn't really answer my question on which version I should install: Server 2008 R2 Standard or Small Business Server 2008?

 

I use Apache because of it's usability in Linux and it works well with PHP, but I might try IIS.