Desktop Technology Compatibility Chart for Windows Small Business Server 2003
This chart provides an at-a-glance answer for installing and running Microsoft desktop technology on your Microsoft® Windows® Small Business Server (Windows SBS) network. Some legacy programs and operating systems are only partially supported in Windows SBS. The charts include a compatibility key; see the chart notes for additional compatibility information.
The charts include a compatibility key. The symbols are:
= The product is an integrated component of Windows SBS, or it is known to be compatible with Windows SBS. The product was tested and you can obtain support for this configuration.
= The product has not been fully tested on Windows SBS and support for this configuration is not available from the Windows SBS product support team. Other groups may offer support for this configuration; contact the appropriate group for information. Some product features may not be fully functional in a Windows SBS environment.
= Not compatible. The product is known not to work and you should not install the product in a Windows SBS environment.
Note
Support for Microsoft products varies over time, and older versions of Microsoft software may no longer be supported. This chart will be updated on a regular basis. For the latest information about supported products and the Microsoft product lifecycle, see the Microsoft Support Lifecycle page.
| 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. |
