Microsoft Delays Windows Server 2003 SP1 and 64-bit Versions

by Alex Woodie

Microsoft announced last week that it will not ship three new releases of Windows by the end of 2004, as previously planned. Quality concerns prompted Microsoft to push the delivery dates for Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1, Windows Server 2003 for 64-bit Extended Systems, and Windows XP 64-bit Edition for 64-bit Extended Systems back six months, to the first half of 2005, the software giant says.

"Microsoft anticipates that the release of Windows Server 2003 SP1 and Windows Server 2003 for 64-Bit Extended Systems will be delayed in order to ensure the products meet the high quality requirements of our customers," a Microsoft spokesperson said. "The delays are quality driven. Microsoft wants to allow sufficient time for tuning and testing of SP1 and X64, particularly for the server-relevant security enhancements in SP1 from Windows XP SP2, due to RTM in August." Windows XP SP2, which will contain numerous security enhancements and was supposed to go to manufacturing in May, has been delayed multiple times, and is currently slated to ship sometime in August.

Microsoft had originally planned to release Windows Server 2003 SP1 to manufacturing in the second half of 2004. Windows Server 2003 SP1 is the first major update to the product since it was first delivered in April 2003. The company's latest financial results show that uptake of Windows Server 2003 has been good.

All three of the Windows versions delayed last week are closely linked and are being developed together, and the setback of Windows XP SP2 set of a chain of events that resulted in the three delays. For example, the new security features being developed for Windows XP SP2 will also be included in Windows Server 2003 SP1, Microsoft says. Windows Server 2003 SP1, in turn, "is the foundation of X64," the company spokesman said, referring to new generation of X86 processors from Advanced Micro Devices and Intel that can run in both 32-bit and 64-bit modes.

The X64 Windows versions will be the first operating systems from Microsoft to support the so-called "Extended Systems" processors from Intel and AMD. Microsoft has been shipping a pure 64-bit, Itanium version of its operating systems for over a year. These include Windows Server 2003, Enterprise and Datacenter editions, and Windows XP 64-Bit Edition Version 2003. These three operating systems are designed to run exclusively on Intel's 64-bit Itanium processor, which uses a completely different instruction set than its X86 architecture. However, low uptake among customers and developers of the Itanium processors--which had been delayed for years--opened the door for the more flexible Extended Systems architectures from AMD and Intel.

Itanium does have an emulated 32-bit mode, but it essentially cuts the performance of the chip in half. In the RISC/Unix world, RISC processors have always supported both 32-bit and 64-bit modes side by side to ease the transition for customers. By supporting both modes, customers can simultaneously run newer 64-bit applications--which can utilize much more memory than 32-bit programs--as well as the hundreds of thousands of older 32-bit applications that are in widespread use today.

AMD has been a key driver in the market's acceptance of the Extended Systems architecture, and is arguably hurt more by Microsoft's operating systems delays than its chief rival, Intel. The chip giant was forced to announce its 64-bit Extensions program in February following AMD's announcement that its X86-based Opteron would be able to run both 32-bit and 64-bit applications.

The question now is whether or not the delay for 64-bit Windows Server 2003 will hurt sales of Opteron and 64-bit capable "Prescott" Pentium 4 and "Nocona" Xeon DP servers and workstations. Most of the servers coming out have so many enhancements besides the 64-bit memory enhancements that customers would buy them anyway. And the good news is, whenever 64-bit Windows Server is ready, they will already have the hardware to run it.