Microsoft Gets Windows Server 2003 R2 Out the Door

by Alex Woodie

Microsoft announced yesterday that Windows Server 2003 R2 had been released to manufacturing, and that the product will be in customers hands within 60 days. While the software giant narrowly hit its self-imposed deadline of shipping the minor update during the second half of 2005, the product may have a difficult time getting noticed with all of the other products released by Microsoft recently.

It's been quite a year for Microsoft's Server and Tools division, with the delivery of several significant Windows releases, so getting Windows Server 2003 R2 out the door on time is a good way to top it all off. To recap quickly, we saw the Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 and X64 editions released in the spring, and the beta release of Windows Server "Longhorn," the first public beta of Windows Server 2003 Compute Cluster Edition, and Virtual Server 2005 R2 this fall, not to mention the long-awaited SQL Server 2005 database update and Visual Studio 2005.

Next year calls for another service pack, Windows Server 2003 SP2, an R2 version of Windows Storage Server 2003 based on this week's R2 launch, and a second beta for Windows Server Longhorn, according to Microsoft's Windows Server roadmap, which was updated yesterday to reflect the delivery of Windows Server 2003 R2. Windows Longhorn Server is due to ship in 2007. The client version of Longhorn, called Windows Vista, is due to ship in the fall of 2006, and Microsoft has promised that it will be the biggest product launch ever. Microsoft's vaunted marketing machine is skilled at cranking up the hype and the volume, and the bar is now quite high.

With all this development (and marketing) work going on, Windows Server 2003 R2 could have a tough time standing out in 2006. Indeed, a Jupiter Research study earlier this year showed that R2 was having a tough time getting on the radar screen of Windows shops. According to a study of about 250 medium to large companies using Windows Server, one out of three Windows shops wasn't even aware of R2, and another 25 percent, while aware of R2, had no plans to upgrade to it. Users' attention spans are a finite resource, and the loud and incessant beating of the security drum for the Windows Server 2003 SP1 roll-out earlier this year appears to have drowned out Windows Server 2003 R2.

Improved Management

Despite the awareness problems that R2 may face as it emerges into the market, there are several features in this release that could make it a good candidate for your shop, including new features in the areas of storage management, identity management, remote server management, and Unix interoperability.

In terms of storage management, R2 brings better monitoring of disk space usage, the capability to control the use of disk space through directory quotas, new file screening capabilities to prevent certain types of files from being stored on R2, and easier configuration of storage area networks (SANs), Microsoft says.

Microsoft is delivering new single sign-on (SSO) capabilities with R2 through new features called Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS), Active Directory Application Mode (ADAM), and Identity Management for UNIX. In a Webcast yesterday, Bob Muglia, server and tools chief for Microsoft, said the new federation capabilities benefit users by allowing them to establish a trusted relationship with other organizations and to maintain those identities from a common Active Directory store. "That really improves security and reduces management cost," Muglia says.

Faster file replication through new compression algorithms is expected to benefit R2 users by decreasing their bandwidth usage. Microsoft says users can expect a 10 percent reduction in their bandwidth-related costs as a result of the new file replication capabilities in R2.

Support for Network File System (NFS) will provide emulation of Unix file systems under R2 and better interoperability with Unix data and applications, Muglia says. "We've done things to make it very straightforward to take advantage of Unix data you might have and other services you might have in Unix environments," he says.

Windows Server 2003 R2 also includes support for WS-Management, a Web services specification that provides a common way for systems to access and exchange management information. Hewlett-Packard is building on Microsoft's WS-Management support with its Integrated Lights-Out 2 (iLO 2) management co-processors in its ProLiant server line to enable users to continuously manage and control ProLiant's from afar through WS-Management. HP plans to deliver its new ILO 2 co-processors in 2006. Next year will also bring new R2 releases of Windows Storage Server 2003 and Small Business Server 2003.

Unlike Windows Server 2003 SP1, R2 is not a free upgrade, and unless you're under Software Assurance or have an enterprise agreement with Microsoft, you're going to have to pay for the privilege of R2. All new purchases of Windows Server 2003, whether through OEMs or directly through Microsoft, will be the R2 version from this point forward. On the plus side, you won't have to repurchase client access licenses; just the server license must be repurchased if you're not under contract with Microsoft.

Windows Server 2003 R2 will come on two CDs, including one that contains Windows Server 2003 SP1, and one that contains the new R2 features. Being based on SP1 has its advantages because "you can be assured of complete compatibility with your environment," Muglia says. "If you're deploying Windows Server 2003 today, you can deploy R2 without having to go through a long test cycle. It's more compatible than a service pack update would be."

However, that's not to say either of these operating systems is a walk in the park for everybody. Windows Server 2003 SP1 can cause problems with some applications, including these 13 identified by Microsoft in a KnowledgeBase article. You should expect the same problems with R2.