I recommend using xp or vista as the main computer operating system, by the way, as sbs2003 opens a whole other can of worms given how complex and confusing it is to set up and use. If you have sbs2003, you pretty much will need your own IT person to manage the network and computers.
Wow! I must have missed that statement. While setting up a client/server domain network is more complex than setting up a peer-to-peer, the beauty of SBS 2003 and 2008 are the wizards. Certainly, I just didn't step up to the plate the first time and set my first SBS 2003 domain. I used a knowledgeable person. But, since that time, I have tore it down and rebuilt it numerous times both on my server and in test environments.
You do not need your own IT person for SBS 2003. Like anything else, it would be nice just as it would be nice to share an office with a dermatologist and a hematologist so you could harbor their skills when possible.
I think I would have put it in a way where it read that AC is built to take full advantage of a client/server environment AND can work on a peer-to-peer workgroup.
I think statements such as the above scare people from considering a server when, in fact, it is beneficial.
I also thing a huge area of misthought (sp?) is just like with backups. With backups, everyone talks like the only thing to back up on your network is the AmazingCharts.mdb. And, with computer networks it sounds as though we all talk about building the computer system specifically for AC. Step back and think about what do I want for my office. If you end up deciding that your PM and other programs and your overall office will run better with a server, then it's nice you can put AC on it.
I should probably confess that when I worked with another physician for quite sometime, we had this huge and powerful server that basically was a computer. Does each of your computers have to log onto the server? If not, then there is no domain. Our computers did not. But, I learned a ton about networking even so.
