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Category: Windows Server 2008/ Windows Server Longhorn
October 27th, 2009
Microsoft makes final version of Windows compatibility toolset available
In September, Microsoft unveiled a beta of a toolset that was designed to improve compatibility between Vista and Windows 7 (as well as Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2). The Redmondians made available on October 27 the final version of that tool, known as the Platform Update for Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista.
The Platform Update — which is a set of runtime libraries — includes the Windows Ribbon and Animation Manager Library; DirectX updates for hardware acceleration; DirectCompute for hardware-accelerated parallel computing support; the XPS printing library; the Windows Automation API; and the Windows Portable Devices Platform, which standardizes data transfers across apps and portable devices.
Microsoft officials said the primary target for the Platform Update (on the client side, at least) are developers doing “games and multimedia applications that take advantage of the new features in DirectX 11, and a lot of mobile phones that wirelessly sync with music applications like Rhapsody using MTP over Bluetooth,” in the words of a corporate spokesperson.
Microsoft is planning to make the Platform Update to all Windows Vista customers over Windows Update, Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), System center Configuration Manager and “other third-party desktop management tools” so that developers who use the Platform libraries in building their products “can feel confident knowing it is broadly deployed.”
Here are the pertinent informational links on what was released today:
Platform Update for Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista
May 26th, 2009
SP2 for Vista, Windows Server 2008 now on Microsoft Download site
As one Microsoft official acknowledged last week, Microsoft has begun making the second service pack for Vista and Windows Server 2008 available to the public on May 26.
SP2 for Vista and Windows Server 2008 is available for download from the Download Center (x86, ISO and 64-bit flavors).
Microsoft is expected to begin pushing SP2 to users via Windows Update on June 30, according to the aforementioned company official.
Update (May 27): Some users already are finding Microsoft is pushing SP2 to them via Windows Update. On the Microsoft Springboard blog, Microsoft officials noted that the company has begun pushing SP2 automatically. (Information about how users who aren’t ready for SP2 can block it using the Microsoft blocker toolkit is part of that post.)I understand Microsoft execs are trying their best to downplay Vista, due to the imminent arrival of Windows 7, but the conflicting and confusing information coming from Microsoft about Vista SP2 has been ridiculous — almost as bad as the way the company communicated information around Vista SP1.
Microsoft released SP2 to manufacturing on April 30 and has been telling customers it would deliver the final SP2 bits to the public before the end of the second quarter of 2009, declining to provide further specifics.
May 21st, 2009
Vista SP2: Microsoft to push via Windows Update in 'the coming weeks'
Microsoft still isn’t saying anything more about why Vista SP2 still isn’t available yet on the Microsoft Download site, but company officials are telling customers that Microsoft will push SP2 automatically via Windows Update “in the coming weeks.”
A couple of days ago, I wondered aloud why Microsoft still had yet to provide anyone other than MSDN and TechNet subscribers with Vista Service Pack (SP) 2.
Microsoft released to manufacturing Vista SP2 and Windows Server 2008 SP2 on April 29. Microsoft made SP2 available to MSDN and TechNet subscribers over the past couple of weeks. Company officials have said that Microsoft plans to make SP2 generally available in the second calendar quarter of this year.
In a May 20 posting to the Microsoft Update Team Blog, Microsoft officials said SP2 for Windows Client and Server will be “available in the coming weeks on the Download Center (DLC) and also through Windows Update and WSUS (Windows Server Update Services).”
Business users who aren’t ready for SP2 to be deployed automatically to their machines can use the Microsoft Service Pack blocking tool to postpone the SP2 update from being deployed to their PCs and servers.
Update: There’s seemingly official word over on TechNet as to the due date for SP2:
“Microsoft will release Windows Vista SP2 to the Download Center and through Windows Update on May 26, 2009. Automatic Updates are scheduled to begin on June 30, 2009.”
Thanks to Nick Clark who found the Vista SP2 due-date information and blogged about it on May 22.
May 19th, 2009
Where is Vista SP2?
Even though Microsoft seems increasingly reticent to say the “V” word (Vista), some users still do care. I’ve had several readers ask me when the Redmondians are going to release Vista SP2 on the Microsoft Download site.
The answer, from Microsoft, is no answer (beyond the already-stated “some time in the second calendar quarter of this year”).
Microsoft released to manufacturing the final version of Vista SP2 — and Windows Server 2008 SP2 — on April 29. Microsoft made SP2 briefly (and possibly accidentally) available to MSDN, TechNet and Connect members on May 6. Late last week, Microsoft delivered the fully integrated images of SP2 for Vista client and Windows Server 2008 to TechNet and MSDN subscribers.
But what about everyday users who are interested in downloading the final SP2 bits? One reader told me he heard talk that Microsoft was planning to release the new SP today (May 19) on the Microsoft Download Center. So far, it’s not there.
I asked Microsoft for more information on when SP2 would be availble to the public — and what was taking them so long to get it posted to the Download Center. This is the answer I got back from a spokesperson: “It’s still scheduled for this quarter (Q2) but isn’t available yet.”
Yes, I realize that, I replied. But what’s taking so long? The spokesperson’s update: Q2 “has been the public statement for some time so it’s not a delay.”
OK. Delay or no delay… where is it? At least some users want the features, fixes, security updates (and in the case of Server, integrated Hyper-V) that are part of the service pack.
Update: Maybe Microsoft is trying to let the smoke clear — from Vista making it onto Time’s “10 Biggest Technology Failures of the Decade” list? Or, as one reader suggested, is Microsoft holding off from making SP2 available to make sure it doesn’t risk muddying further its Windows 7 upgrade messaging?
May 6th, 2009
Microsoft delivers new storage-appliance code
On May 5, Microsoft announced the release to manufacturing of its latest storage-appliance code, which it is now rolling out to its partners for inclusion in upcoming products.
The new release, Windows Storage Server 2008 (WSS08), is built on top of Windows Server 2008. According to a blog post on the Windows Server blog, WSS08 includes a new file de-duplication capability, and an ISCSI software target for unified file- and block-based storage.
Microsoft officials said its OEM partners will be announcing new appliances based on WSS08 over the “next several weeks.” Announced WSS08 partners include Dell, NEC and Transtec.
April 29th, 2009
Microsoft finishes Vista SP2
Yesterday’s rumors were true: Microsoft has released to manufacturing Service Pack 2 (SP2) for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 R2.
SP2 hit the torrents on April 28, hours before Microsoft officially announced it was done (via a posting to the Windows Vista Team Blog). It’s tough to say exactly when SP2 will be available for sanctioned download. Originally it was expected by the end of April (which still could happen if Microsoft posts the code to one of its download sites by tomorrow). But it also could slip into early May.
All Microsoft is saying is it will start pushing the final Vista SP2 bits to customers via Automatic Update over the next few months. Customers who aren’t ready for it can use Microsoft’s service-pack blocking tool to postpone the delivery of the SP2 bits from Windows Update and WSUS.
Microsoft also noted in the same Vista Team Blog posting that, as of April 28, it has begun pushing Vista SP1 bits to users who previously had blocked it using the blocking tool.
Microsoft is advising users who are midway through deploying Vista SP1 to proceed with their deployments as planned, rather than to rush to deploy SP2 instead.
As noted previously, Vista SP2 includes security and performance updates, plus a handful of new features, including:
- Windows Search 4.0
- Bluetooth 2.1 Feature Pack
- Ability to record data on to Blu-Ray media natively in Windows Vista
- Windows Connect Now (WCN), which is designed to “simplify Wi-Fi Configuration”
- The addition of support for UTC timestamps in the exFAT file system
April 1st, 2009
Why is Microsoft afraid to use the 'L' word?
In discussing the motivation behind its newly launched Windows Server 2008 Foudation product, there’s one word the folks from Microsoft were loath to mention: Linux.
Microsoft officials are attributing the decision to launch on April 1 the stripped-down Windows Server Foundation SKU on economic pressures on IT budgets. They’re also citing the growing interest by customers and partners in lower-price, simplified, netbook-like configurations not just on the client-side, but on the server-one as well.
I asked Microsoft whether the Foundation Server SKU was aimed at low-end servers running Linux. The Sofites downplayed that idea, claiming that while a new Foundation Server offering might compete with Red Hat on Dell, for example, it would compete equally with the do-it-yourself folks building their own Windows servers.
In a Windows Server “Partner Battlecard” that I saw courtesy of one of my sources, Microsoft also barely mentions Linux when suggesting ways their channel partners should go to market with the new Foundation Server.
The sales “cheat sheet” does acknowledge, via a single-line mention, that ” Windows Server Foundation is an alternative to running open source (Linux) software.” But the primary marketing messages that Microsoft is emphasizing with its new Server product aren’t Linux-focused at all, if the Battlecard is any kind of guide. Instead, Microsoft is suggesting partners emphasize that Foundation Server will be easy on IT budgets; help optimize the Web for your business; and provide “peace of mind” for those concerned about the ramifications of running pirated Windows.
It took Microsoft years to finally start calling out its No. 1 competitor to Windows client — Apple — by name. (Only recently is Microsoft starting to use its pricing advantage over Apple to sell.) Is the Server team going to fall into the same rut, claiming that any mention of a competitor is worse than pretending they don’t exist?
What’s your take: Is Microsoft right in refusing to use the ‘L’ word when talking to customers about what’s going on with their IT spending?
April 1st, 2009
Microsoft launches new netbook-like Windows Server option
With a nod to the new economic realities pushing users towards lower-priced options, Microsoft took the wraps off its new low-end Windows Server release, known as Windows Server 2008 Foundation, on April 1.
As CEO Steve Ballmer indicated in February the new offering is Microsoft’s equivalent of a netbook operating system — but designed for servers instead of client machines. Foundation Server is a cheaper, somewhat scaled-back version of its existing Windows Server product meant for preloading by OEMs on their entry-level server systems. Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Lenovo already have expressed interest in the Windows Server Foundation release, according to Microsoft officials.
“The economics of the market are very different since a year ago,” said Iain McDonald, Director of Product Management for Windows Server. “We have a great product in Windows Small Business Server, but it really is a full-featured server” that isn’t well suited to run on the growing class of low-end servers out there that cost a few hundred dollars.
“If a server is $700, you can’t have the OS be $300 worth of that,” McDonald said.
Windows Server 2008 Foundation (which was codenamed “Lima”) has a 15-user limit and is aimed at small-business users in both developed and developing markets. The product does not require Client Access Licenses (CALs) and therefore cannot be used to access other Windows Servers. (Likewise, Window Server CALs cannot be used to access Windows Server 2008 Foundation, Microsoft officials said.)
Unlike Microsoft’s current Windows Server SKUs, Foundation Server doesn’t come with a hypervisor. Active Directory is configured in the new offering so that it can be only the root of a forest, meaning it will allow users to join a domain but not act as a standalone domain server, Microsoft officials said. Let me try that again: Active Directory (AD) is configurable so that the server can support a standalone domain server or join a domain as a member server (but the 15-user limit still applies across the AD scenarios.)
There was very little external beta testing done on the Foundation Server product, as it is more of a new licensing/pricing option, as opposed to a brand new product, said McDonald.
The new offering is available immediately in 40 countries in English, Traditional and Simplified Chinese, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish and Turkish, with more localized versions coming throughout the year.
Some Windows power users had been hoping that Microsoft would make the Foundation Server SKU available to end users and not just OEMs, but Microsoft officials said that is not happening. One analyst said that limit may not be a bad thing, however.
“Overall, I believe Windows Foundation is well designed and thought out for the entry level needs of its target users, and the upgrade path to Windows Small Business Server seems pretty clear for companies that require more robust IT,” said Charles King Principal Analyst with Pund-IT, Inc. “The OEM-only strategy may irk some folks but it should also help ensure that the product ends up with the clients for whom it’s intended. I also expect that Microsoft’s OEM partners’ channel will love Windows Foundation.”
It will be interesting to see whether Microsoft’s new netbook-like Server SKU has the same effect on Microsoft’s bottom line as has XP for netbooks. On the client side of the house, XP on netbooks has helped buoy sales but not revenues.
Do you think Microsoft’s newest Windows Server release will win over new customers? Why or why not?
March 17th, 2009
The 'other' Microsoft Mojave released to manufacturing
Microsoft recently released Mojave to manufacturing. Not the “Mojave” operating system (which was Vista in disguise), but Commerce Server 2009, which was codenamed Mojave.
Commerce Server 2009 has been in testing since August 2008. The final version of Commerce Server 2009 became available to subscribers to the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) in early March. All customers will be able to place orders for the new Commerce Server release starting in April.
The newest Commerce Server release includes out-of-the-box Live and SharePoint integration and an Office-like interface. The product is built on the “Multi-Channel Commerce Foundation” programming model and uses SharePoint Commerce Services, which is a gallery of ASP.Net 3.5 Web parts.
Microsoft officials said late last year that the Commerce Server team is planning two more Commerce Server releases — one due out in late 2009 or early 2010 (it’ll be 2010 if it has any SharePoint 14 dependencies), and another in late 2010/early 2011.
In other server-side news, Microsoft also has released to manufacturing its Forefront for Office Communications Server 2007 R2. That product is designed to help prevent malware from infecting corporate instant-messaging systems.
The company also released Beta 2 of its System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) 2008 R2. The forthcoming release of SCVMM includes a numbe of new features — everything from Live Migration support, to a number of SAN and networking updates. The beta is available for download by select testes via Microsoft’s Connect site.
March 4th, 2009
Vista SP2 Release Candidate available to the public
As Microsoft officials promised, the company has released this week to the general public the near-final Release Candidate test bits for Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2) and Windows Server 2008 SP2.
The SP2 RC bits can be downloaded from Microsoft’s Download Center.
As Neowin notes, the Microsoft Web page still says the new bits are the beta bits. But they are actually the RC ones.
The final SP2 builds are widely expected to be out in April 2009.
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