Peer to Peer is good if it works for you, there are advantages to Server client, but...

Originally Posted by Tomastoria
I downloaded a trial copy of the OS -- and right off the bat, there are problems. Nowhere can I find the hardware requirements! I want to try it out, but I don't happen to have a high powered machine lying around, so will it work on an ordinary dual core machine with 2GB memory?

Fascinating, I was about to say, just google it, but I did and you are right. The requirements should be similar to windows home server which are here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system-requirements-2.aspx . HP (http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c02867737/c02867737.pdf ) states that you need 4 GB, but it works fine with 2 in the short run (I had to play with memory, it ran fine)


Originally Posted by Tomastoria
Second -- we run 2 printers off the "server" in present setup. I can't find anywhere whether printers can be connected to the Server under SBS Essentials, or whether I am going to have to have another machine to be the printer server.
I haven't tried this, but it should. It will access remote printers similar to any other Windows 7 machine, I would see no reason why it shouldn't but did not try to look this up.

Originally Posted by Tomastoria
Third -- There is all this talk about sharing folders over the internet and remote management of SBS Essentials -- but it looks like actually running AC remotely would still require RDP to a client machine in the office that I would access remotely as I do now. Looks like the remote machine (at the beach, say) wouldn't really be a "client" of the SBS Essentials -- that would be too slow. Is that true? It is so confusing, and I can't find any documentation anywhere that just answers basic questions -- all the Microsoft stuff looks like sales brochures, and the various tips and helping hands are scattered everywhere in blogs.
Yes, but RDP is very simplified with Essentials. You are right about not directly answering the questions though. You can run RDP easily thru Essentials to any computer in your network including the Essentials machine. It runs at a decent speed. Your limitation is that of the internet.

The biggest slowdown in our office comes when the front office is scanning in piles of correspondence and old records -- this is done sort of in batches as they have time. That seems to suck resources and slows down the performance in the exam rooms. Does SBS fix that, or is it a property of the database program that AC uses? Or would I be better off just sticking with Win7 and getting a faster "server" machine? [/quote]
Do not use the server as a client machine. Thus, scanning should be done on another machine and saved to the server.

Originally Posted by Tomastoria
Thanks in advance
your welcome

Wendell
Pediatrician in Chicago

The patient's expectation is that you have all the answers, sometimes they just don't like the answer you have for them