File and Print Sharing

Although most small businesses use their Microsoft Small Business Server network for much, much more than just basic file and print sharing, it still remains a really important application... and probably the first application worth nailing down on new Small Business Server installation.

Once a client computer has made a Dial-Up Networking (DUN) connection to the Small Business Server network, the end user can begin to "act" just as if they were sitting at a client workstation on the LAN in the office. In other words, file and print sharing should work, albeit much more slowly, as if that user was physically plugged into a category 5 Ethernet jack at their desk in their office.

For starters, end users running remote file and print sharing can map a network drive, restore a persistent drive connection, or open a shortcut to the user or company-shared folders to work with shared files and folders. 

This means, for example, end users can launch the copy of Microsoft Word sitting on their home computer or notebook, issue a standard File Open command, switch from their "C" drive to a network drive such as "N" or "P", and retrieve any document that he or she would normally have access to in the office by stand file and print sharing.

In the same way, albeit much slower performance-wise, that end users can access their shared folders and files, they can also print to a network printer in the office by using standard file and print sharing.

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