November 9th, 2009

Which should a small business choose: Windows Home Server or Windows Server Foundation?

Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 1:36 pm

Categories: Channel, Corporate strategy, Database, Exchange Server, Management tools, OEMs, Resellers, SQL Server, System Center, System builders, Virtualization, Windows Essential Business Server (Centro), Windows Home Server, Windows Server 2008 R2 /("Windows 7 Server"), Windows Small Business Server (Cougar), Windows server

Tags: Microsoft Windows Server, Microsoft Windows Home Server, Small Business, Microsoft Windows, Servers, Operating Systems, Software, Hardware, Mary Jo Foley

Until quite recently, Microsoft officials emphasized the “home” in Windows Home Server (WHS) when explaining how that product fit into its server line-up.

Last week, however, something changed. Microsoft officials added small office/home office (SOHO) users to its list of potential customers for WHS. On November 5, the WHS team posted a new blog entry entitled “Top 10 reasons to use Windows Home Server in your SOHO.” From that post:

“Don’t let the name Windows Home Server fool you into thinking that this product was created for home use only. A lot of the reasons that you would use Windows Home Server in your home are just as applicable to a small or home office. Windows Home Server provides a dependable and affordable way to organize and safeguard your work on up to 10 computers.”

Up until this point, Microsoft’s business-focused Windows Server family looked like this (with entry-level servers listed first):

• Windows Server Foundation
• Windows Server Standard
• Windows Server Enterprise
• Windows Server Datacenter

Other “specialty” versions include the Web Edition, Windows Small Business Server and Windows Essential Business Server. (The latter two bundle together various Microsoft applications, like Exchange Server and SQL Server, with Windows Server.)

Microsoft delivered the first release of Foundation Server in April 2009. The R2 version of Windows Server Foundation is globally available (covering all countries in Western Europe, Central Eastern Europe, France, German and Korea and Middle East/Africa) as of this week. Like WHS, Foundation is primarily an OEM product. The first release of Foundation was available preloaded on servers from Dell, HP, NEC and Fujitsu. The R2 version will be sold by these same server vendors, plus IBM, Lenovo, Acer and local OEMs such as Wortmann (in Germany) Datateknik (Turkey) Lanix (Mexico), Positivo (Brazil) and NTT (Japan), among others, according to the company.

So which should a small business user choose: Foundation or WHS? The biggest difference seems to be in the number of users that are supported. Foundation scales up to 15, while Home Server only supports up to 10, company officials said. In addition, Home Server is also designed specifically as a media server, with storage and file backup features for movies, music and photos,” a spokesperson added when I asked for more information.

“Windows Home Server is for people who work and play at home,” said Eugene Saburi, General Manager in the Windows Server & Solutions Division. “And it’s still based on Windows Server 2003,” at this point, he said. “Windows Foundation is more of a general-purpose platform,” Saburi added. “You can install a line-of-business app on it.”

(There’s no official word on when Microsoft plans to upgrade WHS so that it is based on Windows Server 2008 or 2008 R2. Maybe that’s “Vail” — which could be out next year if the latest rumors are right.)

Meanwhile, if you’re wondering when will the R2-inclusive versions of Windows Small Business Server and Windows Essential Business Server will be out, Microsoft officials aren’t saying. They are not talking about a month, a quarter or even a year (!) in terms of shipping commitments for these two products. Sigh.

One would think it wouldn’t take the Softies long to update the existing SBS and EBS products to include the “minor” Windows Server 2008 R2 update… but if they also include the new Exchange Server 2010 bits, it could take a bit longer. And if they wait for the SharePoint 2010 ones, the next releases might not be out until after mid-2010….

November 12th, 2008

In tight times, Microsoft launches two new servers

Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 12:05 pm

Categories: Channel, Corporate strategy, OEMs, Resellers, Systems integrators, Windows Essential Business Server (Centro), Windows Server 2008/ Windows Server Longhorn, Windows Small Business Server (Cougar), Windows server

Tags: Server, Microsoft Corp., Small And Medium Business, Smb/Sme, Microsoft Windows, Operating Systems, Software, Mary Jo Foley, Microsoft Windows Small Business Server, Microsoft Windows Server

It’s not a great time for a new product launch. But Microsoft officials soldiered on with the company’s planned November 12 virtual launch of its newest small and mid-size business servers: Windows Essential Business Server 2008 and Windows Small Business Server 2008.

As of today, customers can obtain the final versions of both products. Both of the new servers — EBS (codenamed “Centro”) and SBS (codenamed “Cougar” — were released to manufacturing earlier this fall. Both products are part of Microsoft’s Windows Essential Server Solutions (WESS) family.

With today’s WESS launch, Microsoft is trying to turn the tightening economy reason for not buying new software on its head. From today’s posting to the Windows Server team blog:

“Considering how tight the economy is for the approx. 1.2 million mid-sized companies and 32 million small businesses worldwide, IT resources are going to be stretched very thin for organizations that have limited or very few IT professionals managing the company’s IT needs. As part of our effort to help customers stretch their technology dollars farther, we’ve designed the WESS products to be “all-in-one” solutions that address key customer pain points by taking the benefits of enterprise-class technology and making it accessible, affordable and less complex for SMBs (small/mid-size businesses).”

Microsoft also is offering potential customers “flexible payment terms” for the new products, running from between 24 to 60 months.

A refresher on the two new SKUs: SBS is aimed at businesses with up to 75 PCs. EBS is designed for users with up to 300 PCs.

SBS comes in two editions (Standard and Premium). Products that are part of the SBS bundle include a mix of software and services: Windows Server 2008, Exchange Server 2007, SQL Server 2008, SharePoint Services 3.0, Forefont Security for Exchange Server, Windows Live OneCare for Server and Office Live Small Business.

EBS also is available in two different SKUs (Standard and Premium) and includes Windows Server 2008, System Center Essentials 2007, Exchange Server 2007, SQL Server 2008, Forefront Security for Exchange and Forefront Threat Management Gateway (medium business edition).

September 16th, 2008

Microsoft and Cray to unveil $25,000 Windows-based supercomputer

Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 6:26 am

Categories: Code names, Corporate strategy, Linux, Windows Essential Business Server (Centro), Windows Server 2008/ Windows Server Longhorn, Windows Small Business Server (Cougar), Windows server

Tags: Microsoft Windows Server, Supercomputer, Cray Inc., Microsoft Corp., Windows HPC Server 2008, Microsoft Windows, Operating Systems, Servers, Software, Hardware

Microsoft and Cray are set to unveil on September 16 the Cray CX1, a compact supercomputer running Windows HPC Server 2008.

The pair is expected to tout the new offering as “the most affordable supercomputer Cray has ever offered,” with pricing starting at $25,000.

In a September 15 posting to the Windows Server blog, Softie Tina Couch noted:

“It’s high performance and productivity computing that meets the needs of users, IT pros and developers by providing a highly integrated, familiar environment that is the right size and price for departmental and workgroup needs. The CX1 combines compute, storage, and visualization in a single integrated system that’s designed for non-traditional environments like labs, offices. If space is a problem, not to worry, it’s compact enough to fit in a broom closet.

“How can you get one?! It’s as easy as shopping on Amazon.com.  Customers can go online, order the CX1 system using a configurator and pay with credit card.”

Microsoft’s official launch of Windows HPC (High Performance Computing) Server 2008 is slated for September 22 in New York City. Windows HPC Server 2008 is the high-end SKU of Microsoft’s Windows Server 2008 family. Microsoft is positioning the product as an alternative to Linux, which has gained a solid following in the high-end computing market.

In other Windows Server news, Microsoft released to manufacturing on September 15 its mid-range Windows Server offering, known as Windows Essential Business Server. General availability of EBS (codenamed “Centro”) kicks off on November 12. General availability of Windows Small Business Server 2008 (codenamed “Cougar”) also commences on November 12.

August 6th, 2008

What's next for Windows Server

Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 1:14 pm

Categories: .Net Framework, Corporate strategy, Windows 7, Windows Essential Business Server (Centro), Windows Server 2008/ Windows Server Longhorn, Windows Small Business Server (Cougar), Windows client, Windows server

Tags: microsoft windows 7, microsoft windows server, microsoft corp., microsoft windows, servers, operating systems, software, hardware, mary jo foley

With Microsoft having just released to manufacturing SQL Server 2008 — the last unshipped piece of its updated application platform — it’s time to look ahead as to what’s next for Windows Server.

In the very near term, Windows Essential Business Server (Centro) and Windows Small Business Server 2008 (Cougar) are due to ship this fall. Microsoft has said both products will be available by November 12. Both families are based on the Windows Server 2008 code base, and given that SQL Server 2008 finally hit RTM, are likely to include the latest version of Microsoft’s database, rather than SQL Server 2005 (which was the contingency plan if the SQL Server team didn’t manage to RTM soon enough).

Next up is Windows Server 2008 Release 2 (R2), a minor Windows Server update. (The Windows Server team has been delivering a new release of Windows Server just about every two years, alternating between major and more minor, R2, releases.)

WS2008 R2 is expected to ship in 2009 — or is it 2010? — last Microsoft said officially. I’ve asked Microsoft if there’s any new information on when to expect R2. So far, no word back. I’m wondering if 2010 was given as the new date because, at that point in time, Microsoft officials were saying Windows 7 client would hit in 2010. More recently, Microsoft execs have said Windows 7 client is slated for a late 2009 delivery date.

At TechEd EMEA, slated for early November in Barcelona, Microsoft is expected to offer a number of sessions outlining WS2008 R2 features. According to the show site, among the possible R2 sessions on tap are ones on cluster share volume support; streamlined management and “work anywhere” support.

The next major Windows Server release is Windows 7 Server, a screen shot of which circulated on a number of blogs in late July. Microsoft also apparently showed off Windows 7 Server to its employees attending the company’s TechReady conference in Seattle recently. From a blog posting from Nick MacKechnie Senior Technical Account Manager at Microsoft New Zealand, it seems like PowerShell, Microsoft’s Unix-like scripting language, will be a key part of the next major server release:

“I’m currently sitting in a Windows 7 presentation (next version of Windows Server) watching some great demos, detailing how powershell enables easier and more efficient management of Active Directory. There’s some massive power in this object orientated scripting language – IT Professional are going to love it. We offer a 5 day Powershell Workshop for Premier customers in New Zealand, and to date, the buy in from our customers hasn’t been as high as we would have liked or expected. Exchange 2007 was our first application that leveraged Powershell, and there’s a heap more coming! Customers need to get on board and embrace this technology as this is the way of the future for IT Pros. It will enable  and encourage standardization, automation and married with appropriate process, will enable more efficient and effective provision and management of services and solutions in the enterprise.”

If Windows Server 2008 R2 hits in late 2009 or early 2010 (so that it syncs up with Windows 7 client), it’s fair to guess that Windows 7 Server will likely debut in late 2011 or early 2012. Given that much can and will change in the next three to four years, it’s tough to start wagering on likely new features for Windows 7 Server. However, there does seem to be something called “business scanning” in the pipeline (whatever that is). And based on a session on tap at the Professional Developers Conference later this year, it looks as if Windows 7 Server Core is likely to get .Netified. (As Windows Server 2008 Core users know, the .Net Framework isn’t supported for now in the minimal Server Core installation.)

Here’s the abstract of the PDC session on “the next release of Windows Server”:

Developing with Microsoft .NET and ASP.NET for Server Core

In the next release of Windows Server, the Server Core installation option will support a subset of .NET and ASP.NET allowing your managed applications and web servers to take advantage of the reduced management and maintenance that Server Core provides. Learn about writing new code for-and how to ensure existing code works within-the subset of .NET and ASP.NET that are in Server Core. In addition, this session covers how to use the existing toolset, a command line environment, to troubleshoot and debug on Server Core.

Anyone out there testing Windows Server 2008 R2 or very early builds of Windows 7 Server got more to share on what’s coming?

Update No. 1: There’s no Windows Server 2008 R2, after all. Update No. 2: This posting was wrong, based on misinformation I received from Microsoft’s PR department. Read this for an update: Scratch that. Windows Server 2008 R2 still lives.

July 9th, 2008

Microsoft to deliver SQL Server 2008 in August

Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 8:06 am

Categories: Channel, Corporate strategy, Database, OEMs, Resellers, SQL Server, System builders, Systems integrators, Virtualization, Windows Essential Business Server (Centro), Windows Small Business Server (Cougar), Windows server

Tags: Microsoft SQL Server 2008, Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Corp., Databases, Enterprise Software, Software, Data Management, Mary Jo Foley

The long wait for SQL Server 2008 is nearly over.

At its Worldwide Partner Conference in Houston on July 9, Bob Kelly, Microsoft Corporate Vice President of Infrastructure Server Marketing, told attendees that SQL Server 2008 will be on the August price list. He said that Microsoft will keep pricing the same for the new release as it is for SQL Server 2005.

Microsoft released the near-final Release Candidate (RC) 0 test build of SQL Server 2008 in early June.

Microsoft officially “launched” SQL Server 2008 in February, alongside Visual Studio 2008 and Windows Server 2008. Earlier this year, Microsoft officials said they were planning to deliver SQL Server 2008 by mid-2008. Company officials changed their guidance a couple of months ago, noting that Microsoft was planning to deliver the final SQL Server 2008 release in the third calendar quarter of 2008.

Kelly also announced that Microsoft has released the near-final Release Candidate (RC) 1 test builds of its Windows Essential Business Server 2008 mid-market server bundle, as well as its Windows Small Business Server 2008 product. Microsoft will make the RC1 builds available for download from the Microsoft Connect site, officials said. The company is planning the official launch of these two servers for November 12; the actual final code will likely hit before that date.

Microsoft also is planning some kind of “official” virtualization launch event in Seattle on September 8, Kelly said, without offering more specifics. On July 8, Microsoft made its Hyper-V hypervisor available on Windows Update for download.

May 13th, 2008

Microsoft to raise Windows Small Business Server price 80 percent

Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 8:30 am

Categories: Channel, Corporate strategy, OEMs, Resellers, System builders, Windows Essential Business Server (Centro), Windows Server 2008/ Windows Server Longhorn, Windows Small Business Server (Cougar), Windows server

Tags: U.S., Microsoft Windows Small Business Server, Product, Microsoft Corp., Pricing Strategy, CAL, Microsoft Windows, Pricing, Marketing Research, Operating Systems

When Microsoft starts shipping its Windows Small Business Server 2008 product later this year, its price will be substantially higher — as much as 80 percent — than the current version of Small Business Server.

Surprisingly, some testers and at least one market researcher don’t seem fazed by the change. While base prices are higher, users are going to get more functionality, performance and product with the new release, they said.

Microsoft shared pricing and licensing information for its forthcoming Small Business Server (SBS) and new mid-size Essential Business Server (EBS) products on May 13. The company also announced immediate availability of a public preview test build of EBS (formerly codenamed “Centro”). A public test build of SBS 2008 (formerly codenamed “Cougar”) is due out by the end of May. Microsoft officials have said both of these new serers will ship before the end of calendar 2008.

Researchers at International Data Corp. note that an apples-to-apples pricing comparison between Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2 (the most recently delivered SBS release) and SBS 2008 are tough because the new product includes more SKUs and a variety of client-access-license (CAL) options. (The new pricing and licensing for Microsoft’s products was complex enough for IDC to issue on May 13 a non-Microsoft-commissioned research note, in which IDC dissects the new pricing information in detail.) One highlight from the IDC note:

“The most important difference between Windows Small Business Server 2008 Premium and Windows Small Business Server 2003 R3 Premium is the inclusion of the full release of SQL Server into the new product. Microsoft says that ISVs balked at supporting LOB (line-of-business) applications aboard the SQL Server Workgroup Edition and pressed Microsoft to give them a two-server version of the product so that the LOB application could be installed aboard a dedicated server that runs only the application and the database.”

One EBS tester — Ken Dippold, Director of IT with Star Children’s Dress Company — said the new pricing model made sense.

“The standard pricing (for SBS) is lower then previous releases. The increase is on the new Premium SKU, which includes SQL 2008. Because  SQL 2008 needs to be on its own server, they get you with the additional server license.

“I think with the new EBS offering, Microsoft will bring a lot of the mid size businesses on board. My company uses SBS 2000 now. It’s maxed out. So moving to EBS offers great savings over buying the component products separately.”

Another EBS tester agreed that buying products by the bundle is ultimately cheaper.

“I am pretty satisfied with the pricing of the EBS suites,” said Sumeeth Evans, IT Director for Collegiate Housing Services. “Since there are multiple products and technologies involved, it would have ended up being more expensive if I had purchased the products individually.  I again don’t think we are getting as much of a break as the SBS suite of products get. Why MS is doing this is I have no clue whatsoever, but I do want to say that if I am in the market for a product/s to do what we do here, I would definitely purchase the EBS suite.”

Both SBS 2008 and EBS 2008 are built on top of Windows Server 2008. Windows Small Business Server 2008 comes in two versions, Standard and Premium, with Premium including a copy of the still-not-yet-shipping SQL Server 2008. Essential Business Server 2008, likewise, comes in two flavors (Standard and Premium), with Premium including a copy of SQL Server 2008.

The newly published price list:

•    Windows Small Business Server 2008 Standard Edition software, including five CALs, $1,089 (U.S.); additional CALs $77 each (U.S.)
•    Windows Small Business Server 2008 Premium Edition software, including five CALs, $1,899 (U.S.); additional CALs $189 each (U.S.)
•    Windows Essential Business Server 2008 Standard Edition software, including five CALs, $5,472 (U.S.); additional CALs $81 each (U.S.)
•    Windows Essential Business Server 2008 Premium Edition software, including five CALs, $7,163 (U.S.); additional CALs $195 each (U.S.)

Small and midsize business users: What do you think? Are these bundles appealing, as priced?

April 29th, 2008

New test releases out of Microsoft virtualization, mid-size Windows wares

Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 11:55 am

Categories: Corporate strategy, Management tools, System Center, System Center, Virtualization, Windows Essential Business Server (Centro), Windows Small Business Server (Cougar), Windows server

Tags: Virtualization, Microsoft Corp., Beta, Microsoft Windows, Servers, Operating Systems, Software, Hardware, Mary Jo Foley

Microsoft is rolling out new beta builds of various virtualization, management and mid-size server wares.

System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008: On April 29, Microsoft delivered a public beta of System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 (creatively code-named “Virtual Machine Manager vNext”). The new SCVMM release will allow admins to centrally manage their physical and virtual assets from a single application. Virtual assets which will be manageable by the new release include Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V (which is still in beta); Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 and/or VMware ESX Server, according to Microsoft.

System Center Operations Manager 2007 Cross Platform Extensions: Also on April 29, Microsoft unveiled a public beta of System Center Operation Manager 2007 Cross Platform Extensions. Microsoft is providing “out-of-the-box support) for some platforms (like HP-UX, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Novell’s SuSE Enterprise Linux and Sun Solaris) and is relying on third-party providers to do management packs for other platforms (like Apache’s wares, MySQL and Oracle).

System Center Operations Manager 2007 Connectors: A beta of the updated System Center Ops Manager 2007 Connectors went out on April 29. These connectors are for exchanging System Center monitoring data with third-party management wares, like HP OpenView and IBM Tivoli Enterprise Console, Microsoft officials said.

All three of these betas are available via Microsoft’s Connect test site, according to the company.

Meanwhile, on the Windows Server front, Microsoft hit last week the Release Candidate (RC) 0 milestone of its Windows Essential Business Server (”Centro” mid-market server) product, according to testers, who requested anonymity.

Microsoft officials said earlier this year to expect Centro and “Cougar” (its small-business complement) to go to public beta some time in the first half of this year and both launch together in the second half of 2008.

The private test version of Essential Business Server includes a management server, security server, messaging server and schema-upgrade tool. It is available to pre-selected testers only on the Microsoft Connect test site.

February 20th, 2008

Microsoft fleshes out small-, mid-size Windows server plans

Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 6:53 am

Categories: Channel, Windows Essential Business Server (Centro), Windows Server 2008/ Windows Server Longhorn, Windows Small Business Server (Cougar), Windows server

Tags: Microsoft SQL Server 2008, Microsoft Windows Server, Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Corp., Standard Version, Cougar, Premium Version, Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Servers

Microsoft is sharing more details about its small- and mid-size servers due out later this year that will be built around Windows Server 2008.

Both of these servers are part of the newly-christened Essential Server Solutions Family. At the low end (for users with 50 PCs or fewer), Microsoft will offer Windows Small Business Server 2008, the product codenamed “Cougar.” For mid-size companies, Microsoft is readying Windows Essential Business Server 2008, codenamed “Centro.”

Both of these products are currently in private beta testing, according to Microsoft. They will go to public beta some time in the first half of this year and both launch together in the second half of 2008, company officials said.

Microsoft is sharing more specifics about the two pending server bundles a week before the company’s “Heroes Happen Here” launch of Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008. Here are a couple of new tidbits I gleaned from chatting with Steven VanRoekel, Senior Director with Microsoft’s Server and Tools Division:

* Both Essential Server bundles will come in two flavors: Standard and Premium.

* The Standard version of Cougar will consist of Windows Server 2008, Windows SharePoint Services v3, Exchange Server 2007, Forefront Security for Exchange and Windows Live OneCare for Server, all running on a single server. The Premium version allows users to run Cougar on two servers, with a second instance of Windows Server 2008, plus SQL Server 2008, on the second server. The Standard version requires a standard client-access license (CAL); the premium, a premium CAL. (Previous Small Business Servers required a common CAL whether users had the standard or premium release.)

* Microsoft is adding more services to Cougar and pitching it as an example of a Software+Service solution. In addition to the aforementioned Windows Live OneCare for Server (which is a Forefront-security-engine-based antivirus-only solution), Microsoft also is users tight integration between Office Live Small Business, beefed-up Remote Web Workplace and Sharepoint Services 3.0 and Cougar.

* Centro, as Microsoft has detailed previously, will include Windows Server 2008, Exchange Server 2007, System Center Essentials, Forefront Security for Exchange, the next (still unnamed) version of ISA Server that is due out later this year, and for Premium customers, SQL Server 2008.

* While Microsoft is touting SQL Server 2008 as being part of Cougar and Centro, if the final release of that product isn’t done in time to make it into the products, Microsoft will bundle SQL Server 2005 into the new servers and offer users a free upgrade to SQL Server 2008 once the final code is available. (Microsoft is currently saying that SQL Server 2008 will be released to manufacturing in the third quarter of this year.) If SQL Server 2008 is included in the server bundles, Microsoft will still offer users downgrade rights to SQL Server 2005 to ensure application compatibility.

* While Microsoft has touted Cougar and Centro as being 64-bit only releases, Microsoft will offer both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 as part of the premium releases. Only the second server (in Cougar Premium) and the fourth server (in Centro Premium) will be 32-bit; the others will be 64-bit. VanRoekel said Microsoft is doing this to ensure application compatibility.

February 4th, 2008

What will run on Windows Server 2008 -- and when

Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 12:20 pm

Categories: App Compatibility, Corporate strategy, Windows Essential Business Server (Centro), Windows Server 2008/ Windows Server Longhorn, Windows Small Business Server (Cougar), Windows server

Tags: Microsoft Windows Server, Microsoft Corp., Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Microsoft Windows, Servers, Operating Systems, Software, Hardware, Mary Jo Foley

Now that Microsoft has released to manufacturing Windows Server 2008, the next obvious question is which applications will run on it — and when? Are we in for a Windows-Vista-like experience, where even some of Microsoft’s own applications didn’t work with its new operating system for weeks, if not months?

There is going to be a delay between Windows Server 2008’s availability and the time when some of Microsoft’s key enterprise apps will fully support Windows Server 2008, Microsoft officials acknowledged.

In part, this is because Microsoft’s various product divisions — just like third-party software vendors — need to wait for the final Windows Server 2008 bits to do real tests and tweaks for compatibility, the Softies said. But because the Windows Server sales cycle is longer, and the total number of server-based applications are fewer than client-based ones, the lag is likely to take less of a toll on customers, Microsoft execs claimed.

All Microsoft server applications have been required by Microsoft itself to meet the “Certified For Windows Server 2008″ technical bar since last year. And going forward, all Microsoft server applications also are going to have to “go the extra mile” and obtain the “Certified For Windows Server 2008″ logo, officials said.

Microsoft’s first priority is to make sure back-up, security, amangement and storage apps (from both Microsoft and third-party vendors) are Windows-Server-compatible, officials said.

A number of Microsoft back-end apps already run on Windows Server 2008, Microsoft officials noted, including Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack (SP) 1; Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 SP 1; SQL Server 2005 with SP2; and System Center Operations Manager 2007, among others.

But there also are a couple of older Microsoft server apps that won’t ever be updated to run on Windows Server 2008 — specifically Systems Management Server 2003, System Center Reporting Manager, ISA Server 2004 and ISA Server 2006.

A number of Microsoft server apps that won’t support Windows Server 2008 until the latter half of 2008, when service packs providing Server 2008 compatibility are released. Apps that fall into this category include Commerce Server 2007 (via Service Pack 2); Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 (via SP1); System Center Virtual Machine Manager (via version “Next,” or 2.0); and, of course, SQL Server 2008, which isn’t due to go to manufacturing now until the third quarter of 2008.

Microsoft’s BizTalk Server team isn’t yet ready to talk about which versions of its products will run on Windows Server 2008 and when; they are planning to address dates by the end of this calendar quarter, Microsoft officials said.

Is late 2008 too late for businesses kicking the Windows Server 2008 tires?

Read the rest of this entry »

December 20th, 2007

More Microsoft predictions from around the Web

Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 8:44 am

Categories: Channel, Service Pack, System builders, Vista, Windows 7, Windows Essential Business Server (Centro), Windows Home Server, Windows Server 2008/ Windows Server Longhorn, Windows Small Business Server (Cougar), Windows XP, Windows client, Windows server

Tags: Web, Microsoft Corp., Microsoft Windows, Operating Systems, Microsoft Windows XP, Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Software, Mary Jo Foley

Earlier this week, I weighed in with my 10 Microsoft predictions for 2008. A few other Microsoft watchers have done the same. Among some of the other interesting prognostications out there:

Steven Bink: Don’t forget about the Windows Server 2008-based bundles that are coming in the new year. Bink mentions Cougar (Windows Small Business Serer 2008); Centro (Windows Essential Business Server 2008; Windows Storage Server 2008; and Windows Unified Data Storage Server 2008.

WindowsConnected: Betas of Windows Server 2008 SP1 and Windows Vista SP2, predicts WindowsConnected’s Josh Phillips. (Me? I’ll be surprised if there are even private betas of either of these next year, especially given the pace at which Microsoft is developing/testing/rolling out Vista SP1 and XP SP3.)

CRN: “Microsoft will extend the February 2009 system builder deadline for Windows XP Professional,” predicts Kevin McLaughlin. “In a sign of the still-strong demand for Windows XP, Microsoft in September extended the deadline for sales of new direct OEM PCs with XP installed from Jan. 31, 2008 to June 30, 2008. Many system builders expect (and hope) that the vendor will soon decide to extend their current Jan. 31, 2009 deadline by at least six months.”

Any other crystal-ball gazers out there?