SBS's Modem Pooling Service and Built-in Fax Server: Good Things Do Come in Small Packages

The saying, "Good things come in small packages," has never been more true than with the release of Microsoft BackOffice Small Business Server (SBS). This package, which marks Microsoft's entry into the small-business market, offers high performance and is easy to use. Equally important, Microsoft offers SBS at a price that small businesses can afford.

SBS is a repackaged version of the BackOffice bestsellers (such as Exchange, SQL Server, and Proxy Server) combined with an intuitive set of administrative wizards that automate most of the routine setup and administration tasks. In addition, SBS has two great new features that Microsoft doesn't offer anywhere else: a modem pooling service (which lets clients share modems for dial-up connections) and a built-in fax server. These two features are welcome additions to the BackOffice family. Unfortunately, Microsoft hasn't disclosed any plans to make them part of BackOffice for the rest of the Windows NT world.

Although SBS features automated installation, you need to know a few details about the settings that Microsoft automatically selects for you when it installs the modem pooling service and the fax server. If you haven't installed SBS yet, see the sidebar, "Choosing a Modem for SBS" (page 140), before proceeding. Using a modem that supports SBS will make your life much easier.

Modem Pooling Service
If you're tired of installing analog lines and standalone modems so that your users can access dial-up services (e.g., LEXIS-NEXIS or CompuServe), you'll appreciate having SBS's dial-up modem pooling service. The modem pooling service is not only easy to use, but also easy to set up.

First, you need to verify that SBS correctly installed the modem pooling service on your server. Go to Control Panel, click the Modem Sharing icon, and click the Configuration tab. Make sure SBS has added the modem's COM port to the modem pool, as Screen 1 (page 140) shows. (You can add COM ports to or remove them from your modem pool if you need to expand or shrink it.) Although the modem pool in Screen 1 is MODEMS, your modem pool will probably have a descriptive name that matches the modem you're using. If you have more than one modem in your pool, make sure that all the modems are the same make and model. If you have a mix of modems, make separate pools for each type of modem.

Configuring the COM Port
To use the modem sharing service, you need to correctly configure a COM port on your SBS client workstations.

The process is similar to the one you use to connect a modem directly to the computer: You map the route from a workstation's COM port to the modem sharing pool, install a modem driver, and associate the driver with the COM port. (You install a modem driver for the entire pool because you can't be sure which modem will be assigned to the workstation at any given time.)

Although I wish Microsoft had included COM port configuration in the automated SBS client install process, the configuration steps are straightforward. If you're on a Windows 95 client, go to Control Panel and select Programs. Select the modem sharing client, and click Add/Remove. On the Modem Sharing setup screen that appears, choose the option to Add a Modem Sharing Port and click Next. At this point, SBS will prompt you to enter the name of your server and modem pool, using the format \\servername\modempool. This format provides a map of how the COM port connects to the pool. Verify the port settings (such as baud rate and parity) by going to Control Panel and then System. Click the Device Manager tab, and expand the selection for Ports. Select the properties for your modem sharing port and make sure the necessary parameters are set.

If you're running NT Workstation 4.0 instead of Win95, the steps to configure a port are easier. Go to Control Panel, and choose Ports. Add a modem sharing port by clicking Add. When SBS prompts you for a COM port, accept the default or select the necessary port. When SBS prompts you again, enter the name of your small business server and modem pool.

If you have legacy systems running Windows for Workgroups (WFW), you can install modem sharing on them as well. Connect your WFW client to your SBS system through File Manager, and map a drive letter to the CLIENTS share if you don't already have one mapped. Open the \ms\modemshr\wfw folder, and run setup.exe. After you install the Modem Sharing Client application, launch the application and map a COM port to the modem pool. (SBS's modem pooling doesn't support Mac clients.)

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