I have very, very minimal server needs (and budget). Small office - 7 users - will never exceed 10 so Foundation seems right up my alley. I do not need Exchange Server right now and may never but don't wish to limit future possibility. I cannot find anywhere if I can someday install Exchange Server on a 2008 Foundation Server. Anyone know if this is possible. Thanks in advance

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/foundation.aspx Heart, From what I understand of Foundation server, and the related blogs and lit out on the internets, Foundation is targeted at limited small office operations. The biggest thing is that it is designed to only support small operations limiting users to a 15 user limit. If your operations grow and you want to look at Exchange, you would need to invest in a true Server 2008R2 platform with Exchange. On the basics side of things.. if It's a small office implementation with needs of collaboration and exchange type servcies, I would suggest you look at Office 365 http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/office365/online-software.aspx#fbid=TV7zRbZOB2L it fits small business communication and collaboration needs quite nicely without having to invest alot in tech for small business.:P Advice offered, If you need more help it is advised to seek the council and advice of paid professionals. The answer is always 42, or reboot.

Thanks...that does appear to be a solution. My server needs boil down to simple file sharing that could even be met using NAS, it's just that one of our software vendors requires remote access to a server where his data lives. Oh well. So price-wise, Foundation is perfect. If I don't ever need Exchange, I cannot see ever outgrowing what Foundation offers. Heck, I am still running on Windows Server 2000 that is close to 11 years old. Office 365 looks like it might fit the bill for more then just a Exchange Online. Only thing that concerns me with Exchange Online is the size of the email store that we use. Currently it is hard to keep each of 4 individuals PST files below 5 or 6 GB. I imagine this would be a tad sluggish over the cloud. Maybe I need to retrain them to make local archives.......... Thanks for you suggestion and if you have any insight into the large email store issue, I would be happy to hear it. Have a great day and thanks again! Glen