Thanks for the professional rec. May go that route but will try at my home lab first. I've an EE background, have run old unix sun servers before and know a fair amount about networking.

Specifically is this architecture ok? Server running hyper-v then 2012 essentials with AD and AC virtualized.

Does one need absolutely need 2 VMs to separate AD and AC roles? I'm thinking of running 1 VM to keep it simple.

Point of hyper-v and VM is not to be reliant on 1 server hardware failure point. Good idea?

Replicate to backup box or strong workstation and could migrate over anytime right?

I know that doesn't replace backups - will do that too, on and off site.

I known SSD are not proven, but performance wise it's go to be worth it - check out the Intel S3500 enterprise/server grade lite version of S3700 - seems just right for small biz.

larry

Larry
Solo IM
Midwest