MOM Workgroup Edition info
Ewan ...
We've been continuing the whirlwind tour in Coventry and Manchester and are currently in Southampton... time is flying and we're all in a blur every morning when we wake up in a different location.
One element to the discussion around Exchange 2003 that gets a lot of interest is the Microsoft Operations Manager 2005, especially the Workgroup Edition. This version can manage up to 10 servers, and costs a relatively low amount (see your favourite reseller for exact details - for example, you can get hold of the software through various online retailers for less than £400). The workgroup edition will either install SQL Server 2000 MSDE (which is local to the MOM server) or can use an existing SQL 2000 Server installation if you have one locally.
One question that I was asked today was, how can someone upgrade from MOM 2005 Workgroup Edition to the full copy? If you're using MSDE, the answer is to upgrade the MSDE installation to SQL 2000 before upgrading MOM to the full version. If you are already running Workgroup Edition using an existing SQL 2000 installation, you need only upgrade the MOM server itself.
More information on the differences between Workgroup Edition and the full MOM 2005, including how to license or upgrade, see http://www.microsoft.com/mom/evaluation/faqs/default.mspx.
... Ewan.
