Sharing outlook 2003 contacts on a P2P network

Discussion in 'Networks' started by steve_p1981, Mar 12, 2012.

  1. steve_p1981

    steve_p1981 Byte Poster

    236
    5
    30
    Hi guys,
    not been on in a while due to having a baby and he's great but taking over my life! :-)
    My boss has decided he wants me to share the outlook 2003 contacts with our other pc's i've exported as an excel file and imported it for now but he wants it to update them all when one is changed.
    I have a feeling i need to get exchange to do this and set up each pc with it's own account. I've seen 3rd party stuff online but the demos don't make it any faster / easier than doing the export thing as they need you to set up email addresses for each machine and then it emails them the updates that then have to be downloaded!
    If I am to run exchange I think i'll have to convince him to get another desktop to use as a server and put AD and exchange on it. Does anyone have any solution so that i don't have to do this as buying a new PC and running that software seems expensive just to share a contacts folder.

    Cheers in advance.
     
    Certifications: A+ 220-701 and 220-702
    WIP: none at current but poss 70-680 soon
  2. LukeP

    LukeP Gigabyte Poster

    1,194
    41
    90
    Yeah. Exchange is a massive overkill for what you're trying to do.

    Take a look at Business Contact Manager for Outlook - Business Contact Manager for Outlook 2010 - Outlook - Office.com
    I remember using it and sharing contacts within the company so maybe you could tailor it to your needs.

    Good luck
     
    WIP: Uhmm... not sure
  3. Gav

    Gav Kilobyte Poster

    447
    14
    27
    I'd take a look at Office 365. If you just opt for the Exchange Online aspect, it's something like £4/user/month.

    Setting up your own Exchange Server / AD Domain (which is really not a good thing to do on the same server, unless you virtualise) will probably end up working out a lot more expensive (licensing, hardware, power etc.) and won't be resilient.
     
  4. LukeP

    LukeP Gigabyte Poster

    1,194
    41
    90
    If I was to suggest running exchange in-house it would be SBS. It's got an AD and Exchange on the same server and for most small businesses it's more than enough. It's also bit easier to set up and maintain.

    AD and Exchange on the same server is not necessarily such a bad idea. You save on licensing in exchange for security. You will need one beefy server instead of... one beefy server (for Exchange) and one half-decent (for a DC). This again leaves you with a single point of failure because when DC is down Exchange doesn't work. So you might as well save some money and put it on one box.

    The only technical problem I'm aware of was the fact that if Exchange 2003 (don't know about later versions) was installed on a DC then it would never use another DC in a domain (Global Catalog). This meant that if the DC (with Exchange) installed stopped working for some reason, Exchange wouldn't use the other DC. I don't know if this has changed or not but realistically, the chances that a Active Directory will die on the server, but the server will stay up and host Exchange, are pretty slim.

    My 2 pence
     
    WIP: Uhmm... not sure
  5. Sparky
    Highly Decorated Member Award 500 Likes Award

    Sparky Zettabyte Poster Moderator

    10,718
    543
    364
    How many users do you have on the network mate? This can influence if you need a server or not.

    Have you tried sharing a folder with a .pst file in it with the contacts you need?
     
    Certifications: MSc MCSE MCSA:M MCSA:S MCITP:EA MCTS(x5) MS-900 AZ-900 Security+ Network+ A+
    WIP: Microsoft Certs
  6. steve_p1981

    steve_p1981 Byte Poster

    236
    5
    30
    There are 5 and sometimes 6 if boss brings in his laptop computers on the network but it's not set up with logins etc as we don't have a server. I thought of sharing a.pst file but then only wouldn't the 1st pc to open the file be able to edit? I know that is how word files work plus I'm not sure how to direct outlook to use the contacts file from a certain folder other than what it uses by default. Would a normal desktop be ok running sbs with exchange and AD I case he wants to go that way?
     
    Certifications: A+ 220-701 and 220-702
    WIP: none at current but poss 70-680 soon
  7. Sparky
    Highly Decorated Member Award 500 Likes Award

    Sparky Zettabyte Poster Moderator

    10,718
    543
    364
    No - you need a low spec server to run SBS 2011. Worth the investment though.
     
    Certifications: MSc MCSE MCSA:M MCSA:S MCITP:EA MCTS(x5) MS-900 AZ-900 Security+ Network+ A+
    WIP: Microsoft Certs
  8. steve_p1981

    steve_p1981 Byte Poster

    236
    5
    30
    i think it would be good to have. I have 2 problems, the first being space to put it and no climate control to keep it running well and the second is a tight arsed boss that thinks you can run a main vehicle dealership on 10 year old PCs running (at most) 1gb ram and pentium 3 processors. He often askes me why the ones that are most used keep slowing down to a crawl, guess what i tell him. lol
     
    Certifications: A+ 220-701 and 220-702
    WIP: none at current but poss 70-680 soon
  9. dales

    dales Terabyte Poster

    2,005
    51
    142
    if you just buy a pedastool server (hp ml11x or something I wouldn't worry about climate control for a single server just keep it somewhere relatively clean and has good cable links to the rest of the building.
     
    Certifications: vExpert 2014+2015+2016,VCP-DT,CCE-V, CCE-AD, CCP-AD, CCEE, CCAA XenApp, CCA Netscaler, XenApp 6.5, XenDesktop 5 & Xenserver 6,VCP3+5,VTSP,MCSA MCDST MCP A+ ITIL F
    WIP: Nothing
  10. Sparky
    Highly Decorated Member Award 500 Likes Award

    Sparky Zettabyte Poster Moderator

    10,718
    543
    364
    In some small offices I support the SBS is under a desk! :)
     
    Certifications: MSc MCSE MCSA:M MCSA:S MCITP:EA MCTS(x5) MS-900 AZ-900 Security+ Network+ A+
    WIP: Microsoft Certs
  11. steve_p1981

    steve_p1981 Byte Poster

    236
    5
    30
    ha that's great! i have this nasty habbit of wanting to do things properly and get frustrated when others dont as it makes more work for me in the end. I'll run it past him about a pedestool server but i fear this will go the same way as most of the other things that he wants done and end up getting ignored.
     
    Certifications: A+ 220-701 and 220-702
    WIP: none at current but poss 70-680 soon
  12. Sparky
    Highly Decorated Member Award 500 Likes Award

    Sparky Zettabyte Poster Moderator

    10,718
    543
    364
    Well you can only make the suggestion mate. If not then keeping those Pentium 3 PCs ticking over is the plan! :)
     
    Certifications: MSc MCSE MCSA:M MCSA:S MCITP:EA MCTS(x5) MS-900 AZ-900 Security+ Network+ A+
    WIP: Microsoft Certs
  13. steve_p1981

    steve_p1981 Byte Poster

    236
    5
    30
    yeah tell me about it! it keeps me quiet so i can't moan too much. Just wish i had some nicer kit to play with and learn on then maybe i could land myself a proer IT job lol
     
    Certifications: A+ 220-701 and 220-702
    WIP: none at current but poss 70-680 soon

Share This Page

Loading...
  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.