Applications Compatible with Small Business Server 2003

Article
02/28/2008

In past few days i got lot of queries regarding programs compatible with SBS. The information is present on MS site but is scattered across different links so i though of blogging it at one location.

Server Application Compatibility Chart

Microsoft Server Application	SBS 2003	SBS 2003 + SP1	SBS 2003 R2	Notes
Business Contact Manager Update v2				Microsoft does not support installing Business Contact Manager or Microsoft Outlook on a server that is running Exchange Server 2003 (including Exchange System Manager), Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server (including Exchange System Manager), or Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5. For more information see Knowledge Base article 266418. You can install Business Contact Manager on a client computer that is joined to a Windows SBS domain. Business Contact Manager requires that you own licenses for Microsoft Office Small Business Edition 2003 or Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003. For more information, see the Business Contact Manager Web page.
Customer Relationship Management 1.2				See installing Microsoft CRM 1.2 on your server running Windows SBS 2003 Premium Edition for more information.
Data Protection Manager 2006				You cannot run DPM on a server configured as a domain controller, such as Windows SBS. You can run it on another server joined to your Windows SBS domain. For more information, see the Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager 2006 page.
Dynamics CRM 3.0 Small Business Edition				Dynamics CRM 3.0 Small Business Edition is specifically designed to run on Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2. As of this writing there are two known issues with running Dynamics CRM 3.0 Small Business Edition on Small Business Server 2003 R2. These issues will be fixed in the January 2007 timeframe. For more on these issues, see the SBS 2003 Business Solutions FAQ. Dynamics CRM 3.0 Small Business Edition was not tested with earlier versions of Windows SBS and support is not available. For more information, see the Dynamics CRM 3.0 Small Business Edition site.
Project Server 2003				Microsoft Project Server 2003, also known as the Enterprise Project Management solution, has not been tested with Windows SBS. The Enterprise Project Management solution provides more information.
Small Business Accounting 2006				You can run Small Business Accounting 2006 on your server running Windows SBS. You can find out how to install and configure SBA 2006 here.
Small Business Manager 7.5				Small Business Manager is no longer available as it was superseded by Microsoft Dynamics Small Business Financials. You can install Small Business Manager 7.5 on your server running Windows SBS 2003 by following the directions in the Small Business Manager white paper. Microsoft Dynamics Small Business Financials is also supported on your server running Windows SBS 2003, but it was not tested on SBS 2003 R2 and support for this configuration is not currently available. You can find out more about Microsoft Dynamics Small Business Financials here.
System Center Essentials 2007				System Center Essentials 2007 has not been fully tested on Windows SBS and support for this configuration is not available from the Windows SBS product support team. The System Center Essentials 2007 product group does offer support for this configuration; contact the System Center Essentials 2007 group for information. Some product features may not be fully functional in a Windows SBS environment.
Virtual Server 2005 R2				You can install Virtual Server 2005 R2 on your server running Windows SBS 2003 with Service Pack 1. More details about how to install and configure Virtual Server are also available.

Product Technologies Compatibility Chart

Windows SBS Product Technologies	SBS 2003	SBS 2003 + SP1	SBS 2003 R2	Notes
Exchange Server 2003 Standard Edition				This component is integrated with Windows SBS and no standalone installation is needed or required.
Exchange Server 2003 Enterprise Edition				You can install Exchange Server 2003 Enterprise Edition on your server running Windows SBS, but the Windows SBS management and monitoring tools will not work. Some Exchange functionality may not work when installed on your server running Windows SBS. You must also purchase new Exchange CALs; the Windows SBS Client Access Licenses (CALs) do not grant access to Exchange Server 2003 Enterprise Edition.
ISA Server 2000				It is available in SBS 2003 Premium Edition. You can install a standalone version of ISA Server 2000 on SBS 2003 Standard Edition, but the SBS 2003 Premium Edition configuration, management, and monitoring tools will not be available.
ISA Server 2004				It is available in SBS 2003 SP1 and SBS 2003 R2 Premium Editions. You can install a standalone version of ISA Server 2000 on SBS 2003 Standard Edition, but the SBS 2003 Premium Edition configuration, management, and monitoring tools will not be available.
ISA Server 2006				This product is not supported on SBS 2003, SBS 2003 SP1, or SBS 2003 R2.
Windows SharePoint Services 2.0				This component is integrated with Windows SBS and no standalone installation is needed or required.
Windows SharePoint Services 3.0				Microsoft does not support upgrading the https://companyweb Web site to Windows SharePoint Services 3.0. You can, however, install Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 in a side-by-side configuration with the existing installation of Windows SharePoint Services 2.0. For more information, see Installing Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 on a Server Running Windows Small Business Server 2003.
Windows SharePoint Portal Server 2003				SPS 2003 will not work with Windows SBS as it has specific installation requirements. See the list of SharePoint Portal Server requirements for more information.
SQL Server 2000 Standard Edition				It is available in SBS 2003 and SBS 2003 SP1 Premium Editions. The SBS 2003 R2 license does not allow you to install this version on your server running Windows SBS. If you want to install this edition on a server running Windows SBS 2003 R2, you must exercise your downgrade rights. For more information about your downgrade rights, see the Windows SBS FAQ .
SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition				SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition will not install on Windows SBS 2003.
SQL Server 2005 Workgroup Edition				This component is integrated with SBS 2003 R2 Premium Edition. The standalone version of SQL Server 2005 Workgroup Edition was not tested on SBS 2003 or SBS 2003 SP1.
SQL Server 2005 Standard Edition				It has not been tested on any versions of Windows SBS.
SQL Server 2005 Enterprise Edition				It has not been tested on any versions of Windows SBS.
Windows Software Update Services 1.0				The standalone version, SUS 1.0 with SP1, can be installed on SBS 2003 and SBS 2003 with SP1. For instructions on how to install the standalone version, see the SUS deployment white paper. You do not need SUS 1.0 for SBS 2003 R2, as WSUS 2.0 is already included.
Windows Server Update Services 2.0				This component is integrated with SBS 2003 R2 and no standalone installation is needed or required.
Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition				Windows Server 2003 setup is blocked by Windows SBS. You cannot install the standalone server operating system on a server running Windows SBS.
Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard Edition				Windows Server 2003 R2 setup is blocked by Windows SBS. You cannot install the standalone server operating system on a server running Windows SBS

Desktop Technology Compatibility Chart

Microsoft Desktop Technology	SBS 2003	SBS 2003 + SP1	SBS 2003 R2	Notes
Windows 98				You must install the standalone Active Directory client on the computer running Windows 98, and then manually join the computer to the Windows SBS domain. Even with the Active Directory client installed, only user-based Group Policies can be applied to the computer running Windows 98, so desktop security and management is severely limited. WSUS does not support Windows 98 desktops, so security and software updates are not available. Lastly, Microsoft ended support for Windows 98 on July 11, 2006. Instead of using computers running Windows 98, you are strongly recommended to install computers running Windows XP for your desktop operating system.
Windows ME				You must install the standalone Active Directory client on the computer running Windows ME, and then manually join the computer to the Windows SBS domain. Even with the Active Directory client installed, only user-based Group Policies can be applied to the computer running Windows ME, so security and management is severely limited. WSUS does not support Windows ME desktops, so security and software updates are not available. Lastly, Microsoft ended support for Windows ME on July 11, 2006. Instead of using Windows ME clients, you are strongly recommended to install computers running Windows XP for your desktop operating system.
Windows 2000 Professional				It is fully compatible with a Windows SBS network. Windows 2000 Professional is now in extended lifecycle support and only limited product updates and product support is available.
Windows XP Professional				It is fully compatible with a Windows SBS network.
Windows XP Home				Although Windows XP Home can access a limited set of features as a non-domain joined client, it is not recommended for clients within the SBS local network. For example, the Home edition of Windows Vista can view RWW even though is it not joined to the SBS domain.
Windows Vista Business, Ultimate and Enterprise				You must install the updates as described in Microsoft Knowledge Base article 926505 that are needed for full Vista compatibility.
Windows Vista Editions excluding Business, Ultimate and Enterprise				Windows Vista editions excluding Business, Ultimate and Enterprise: Although unsupported Vista editions can access a limited set of features as a non-domain joined client, it is not recommended for clients within the SBS local network. For example, the Home edition of Windows Vista can view RWW even though is it not joined to the SBS domain. For Windows Vista editions that are not supported you can purchase an online upgrade to a supported version using the Windows Anytime Upgrade.
Office 97				Office 97 cannot participate in the advanced features of Windows SharePoint Services 2.0, including team workspaces and document collaboration. In addition, Office 97 is not supported by WSUS and so cannot be automatically updated by Windows SBS.
Office 2000				Office 2000 cannot participate in the advanced features of Windows SharePoint Services 2.0, including team workspaces and document collaboration. Office 2000 is supported by WSUS and can be automatically updated with patches and service packs.
Office XP				Office XP cannot participate in the advanced features of Windows SharePoint Services 2.0, including team workspaces and document collaboration. Office XP is supported by WSUS and can be automatically updated with patches and service packs.
Office 2003				It is fully compatible with a Windows SBS network.
Office 2007				You must install the updates as described in Microsoft Knowledge Base article 926505 that are needed for full Outlook 2007 compatibility.
Outlook 97				It can send and receive e-mail on the Windows SBS network. It cannot take advantage of advanced features in Windows SharePoint Services 2.0 or be updated by WSUS.
Outlook 2000				It is fully compatible with a Windows SBS network. Note: you cannot install Outlook on the server running Windows SBS. See Microsoft Knowledge Base article 266418 for more information.
Outlook 2003				It is fully compatible with a Windows SBS network. Outlook 2003 is included with Windows SBS as the default e-mail and collaboration client. Note: you cannot install Outlook on the server running Windows SBS. See Microsoft Knowledge Base article 266418 for more information.
Outlook 2007				You must install the updates as described in Microsoft Knowledge Base article 926505 that are needed for full Outlook 2007 compatibility.

These charts do not list some applications like WSUS 3.0 etc which are compatible with SBS. I would try and make an effort to update it on regular basis.

**The above information is also available at following links:

https://www.microsoft.com/WindowsServer2003/sbs/techinfo/planning/chartserver.mspx

https://www.microsoft.com/WindowsServer2003/sbs/techinfo/planning/chartdesktop.mspx

Applications Compatible with Small Business Server 2003

Additional resources