Windows Server 2003
The successor to
Windows 2000 Server, Microsoft's
Windows Server 2003 is a step in the evolution of
Microsoft's server
operating systems.
It is essentially
Windows XP with server features added, but with many features turned off (sound, 3D acceleration, themes) for stability purposes. It also includes enhancements to various services such as the
IIS web server.
Initially, the product was to be called "Windows .NET Server 2003," to promote the integrated enterprise framework
.NET (dot-net). In this improved Microsoft server, performance of
ASP.NET (the successor of
Active Server Pages) has improved and integration is tighter.
However, over fears of confusing the market about what ".NET" represents and responding to criticism, Microsoft removed .NET from the name. This allowed the name .NET to exclusively apply to the .NET framework, as previously it appeared .NET was just a tag for a generation of Microsoft products.
Microsoft launched the new product on April 24,
2003.
Improvements
There are a number of improvements from Windows 2000 server, notably:\n* Improvements to Active Directory (such as the ability to delete classes from the schema)\n* Improvements to Group Policy handling and administration\n* Improved disk management including the ability to backup from shadows of files, allowing the backup of open files.
Flavors
This Microsoft server comes in several flavors, each suited for a particular size and type of business:
- Small Business Server\n# Web Edition\n# Standard Edition\n# Enterprise Edition\n# Datacenter Edition
Small Business Server
Windows Small Business Server 2003 is a low-cost entry into this product line, incorporating various restrictions upon networking, licensing, development tools, and application redudancy.
Web Edition
Windows Server 2003, Web Edition is mainly for building and hosting Web applications, Web pages, and XML Web Services. It is designed to be used primarily as an IIS 6.0 Web server and provides a platform for rapidly developing and deploying XML Web services and applications that use ASP.NET technology, a key part of the .NET Framework.
Standard Edition
Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition is aimed towards small to medium sized businesses. Flexible yet versatile, Standard Edition supports file and printer sharing, offers secure Internet connectivity, and allows centralized desktop application deployment.
Enterprise Edition
Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition is aimed towards medium to large businesses. It is a full-function server operating system that supports up to eight processors and provides enterprise-class features such as eight-node clustering and support for up to 32 GB of memory.\nEnterprise Edition also comes in 64-bit edition for Intel Itanium-based computers capable of supporting 8 processors and 64 GB of RAM.
Datacenter Edition
Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition is the flagship of the Windows Server line and designed for immense infrastructures demanding high security and reliability. Datacenter supports up to 32-way SMP and 64 GB of RAM with the 32-bit version and up to 128-way machines with individual partitions of up to 64 processors and 512 GB of RAM with the 64-bit version. Datacenter provides both eight-node clustering and load balancing services as standard features and includes Windows System Resource Manager facilitating consolidation and system management.
Pricing
Licensing for Standard Windows 2003 Server is $999US, although licences may be purchased for less from a reseller. For more than 5 Active Directory remote-connected users (users of Exchange, for example,) additional costs are incurred.
The Web Server runs for about $397US. Client access licenses are not required for the Web Server.
The average cost for the Small Business Server is $599US. The retail/final full packaged product is purchased through a brick-and-mortar retailer, while an open new license must be purchased through a volume license reseller.\n \nA Datacenter server must be obtained through an OEM, and therefore costs are unknown.
Background on TCO
Microsoft commissioned a firm to determine the TCO for several enterprise applications on Windows 2000, such as security and other infrastructure tasks, and Web Serving. Windows 2000 had a lower TCO for the four infrastructure items (according to the report), but Linux had a lower TCO for web serving.
External links
\n* Microsoft's Windows Server 2003 homepage
\n\n\nCategory:Windows
