[freakinvibe]

RTFM! From the manual:

BlackBerry Enterprise Server that supports up to 200 users
- Single processor, 2.0 GHz Intel® Xeon® (two processors recommended)
- 2 GB of memory
- 64-bit operating system: Two 64 GB drives (minimum), RAID 1
- 32-bit operating system: Two 36 GB drives (minimum), RAID 1

[gforce4678]

can i install bes express on the same vm server as full bes then remove full bes later?

[freakinvibe]

On the same virtual machine = No
On the same physical host, but different virtual machine = Yes

[Nico57]

Originally Posted by gforce4678

[...] I am looking into installing BES Express instead as would mean a major saving[...]

Major savings?
Since you've already got the thing running, I guess your only costs are one the phone subscriptions.
Your mean your carrier charges a lot more for BES than BIS?

Or do you mean you want to upgrade from v4 to v5 anyway, and taking the opportunity to switch to BES Express ?

I'm asking this because we're an average size BB shop here (250 users), and pondering whether we should move from (full) BES v4.1 to BES (5) Express, or stay on 4.1 for now.
I've really not been impressed with BES Express so far (astronomical memory requirements, and I don't consider administration tools as being production-ready).
Note that we run Domino, not Exchange, and I believe BES Express for Exchange might be in a better state.

[fadmin]

You'd need to upgrade you BES 4.1 as well right. If you don't have support agreement :
BES5 express = free
BES5 - not free.

[knottyrope]

Talk to your carrier and see if you can get a free BES upgrade when getting 20 new phones at once. I have done this twice and got free CALs too.

[gforce4678]

can i install bes express on the exisitn BES full VM then remove full BES on the change over day or do i need to wait and do it all in the same day??

[gforce4678]

can i install bes express on the server hosting full BES now or do i need to remove full BES first before installing BES Express??

[Nico57]

Was your post directed to me, Knottyrope ? Sorry for the late answer...

Well actually, BES Express has everything we need.
I don't think there's any benefit for us to stay on the full BES product.
Except of course if BES and BES Express are not on par stability-wise...

[Nico57]

gforce4678, for such a small deployment I'd probably remove the old BES software, clean up the server, install BES Express, and reconfigure devices.
I think you will have to erase devices and lose all device settings in the process though (including browser bookmarks and stuff). See whether that's something your users can cope with.
And that's a risky process of course, you may find yourself at the end of the day with no BES server working at all.

[gforce4678]

well we are moving to a new carrier and four brand new blackberries so will prob lose bookmarks etc anyway, i was just wondering if there was anyway i could do anything in preparation before making the move to the new carrier.

[Nico57]

If you do install BES Express on a new server instead (new hardware), and move your users from server to server using BlackBerry Enterprise Transporter (like others suggested at the very beginning of this discussion), you will probably be able to preserve everything.
But that's a lot more work and probably not worth it for 4 users.

Switching carrier and moving from one BES version to another are two totally unrelated operations, or should be anyway.
Your carrier just provides the data connection, but is not involved in the data stream itself.
You could just as well switch carrier and keep your BES.

One last thing: I think you cannot avoid wiping the device when you switch from one BES to another, but you should be able to back it up with Desktop Manager and restore it just after the wipe. This way you should keep bookmarks and stuff.

[aygriffith]

Originally Posted by gforce4678

Hello All

we currently run full BES but as we only have 4 blackberry users and wanted to cut costs I am looking into installing BES Express instead as would mean a major saving, we dont user the IT policies so the limited number of policies wouldnt create a problem 3 of 4 users are in office everyday only one is remote so the lack of OTA activation isnt a major problem, just wondered what poeples experiences were of moving from BES to BES express.

many thanks

Mark

We are running BESx 5.0.2 with 35 users currently. I'd recommend just doing a fresh install. We're running it on a VM running Server 03. For 4 users its not worth migrating, especially with new devices.

The one thing I'm confused about in your description is the "lack of OTA activation." I have BES plans on all of our devices and have activated every single one OTA. I don't bother plugging them up and and getting the web console to recognize them. The time it takes getting it exactly right for the webconsole to do a wired activation usually is a wash with the longer amount of time for OTA. If you do have some BIS phones that are user liable or you're just trying to save on mobile plans, the wired BIS activation is a great feature. We have about 3 BIS devices (9550, 9700, and 9100) that I've done wired activations on. Its handy but like I mentioned earlier, the web console is touchy at best in my experience.