SQL Server 2016 Express for SIMS on non-Server OS

[mrwoberts]

Working with a school to upgrade, cleanup and generally simplify an aging setup.

 

Very small school (20 children, 12 Staff, plus 3 Admin staff who would access SIMS and FMS)

Currently a single physical Dell server (approx 7+ years old) is doing pretty much everything: DC, DHCP, DNS, STORAGE, SQL+SIMS, and VPN.

 

I've been in a similar position before and the server setup I put in place has proven good.

Already spoken to Dave at ICTDirect and I see an option there for refrub, but I'll give them options of new and custom built along with it.

 

Questions

1. Can SQL Server Express 2016 happily run and serve the above setup (a SIMS and FMS DB) when installed on Windows 10 EDU or LTSB edition??

2. Is it recommended/preferred to install the other SIMS related stuff (SOLUS 3, System Manager, Document Server) on the same VM as the SQL DB ?

3. With GDPR in mind, does each VM (disk) need to be encrypted, just the SIMS DB vm disk, or none of the above?

4. Is a TPM 2.0 module for the server board compulsory to achieve any necessary encryption?

5. Will a server with an Intel E3-1220 v6 processor be sufficient to handle three VMs for the above mentioned roles?

 

Thank you for your help

[mrwoberts]

Pretty please

[3s-gtech]

1) Probably. Certainly within its scope.

2) SIMS is fine with everything on one VM, even in larger installs.

3) None but it does depend. Physical security is important - if it's kept in an office, you'll want to encrypt it. Locked server room - not so important. Risk mitigation, management and assessment are key here.

4) Not compulsory, no, but would make things easier. If the server needs a startup password, it'll hang on that after updates and reboots.

5) For the size of school, IME yes. Just one processor? Won't be amazing, but should manage. Get plenty of RAM and fast disks.

[mrwoberts]

Thank you 3s-gtech

 

The server is in a locked (ventilated) comms. cupboard.

The custom config that I'm going to offer, alongside other configs, includes the following...

Supermicro X11SSH-F board

Intel Xeon E3-1220 v6 processor

32GB 2400-DDR4

2 x 480GB SSD (Intel DC4500 or Samsung PM863a) in RAID 1

1 x 1TB WD BLACK as an internal backup

Synology DS918+ with 4x 4TB WD RED disks in RAID 10 or RAID 6 (not yet settled on that)

 

Kind regards

[3s-gtech]

That should be okay for their needs. Due to it being in a cabinet, and depending on how secure that is, it may be worth looking at encryption. You won't need to encrypt the hypervisor or the DC IMO, but the shares and SIMS server may suit being secured further.

[mrwoberts]

Thanks again for taking a look at that.

 

You're right, encrypting the SIMS vm disk is something I was mulling over, however, I'm finding it particular difficult to find a TPM 2.0 module for the board I wanted to use, and rather unhelpfully, SuperMicro won't say whether that board will work with non-SMicro TPM modules.

I guess it is entirely possible that I could use a BitLocker password/pin since I am installing SIMS... on EDU/LTSB??

 

Many thanks

[3s-gtech]

https://www.itpromentor.com/bitlocker-hyperv-guest/

 

Virtual TPMs exist in Server 2016, if that helps!

[JackCPickup]

That 1 CPU absolutely fine to run plenty VMs

[mrwoberts]

https://www.itpromentor.com/bitlocker-hyperv-guest/

 

Virtual TPMs exist in Server 2016, if that helps!

 

Bother! Looks like it requires the host to have a TPM module...

If you enable it, then inside your VM, you will have access to the same protection that your host server enjoys, with a real TPM.