MS announces release two of Win Server 2003

BANGALORE: The Windows Server 2003 R2- Microsoft's prequel to the much-awaited Longhorn project (due in 2007), is slated to be released later this year.





The software giant is eyeing the branch office server market in its forthcoming R2 launch. "We have tried to address two key customer pain points in branch offices including the need for WAN optimization and lack of technology adoption," said Radhesh Balakrishnan, group product manager, Windows Server division, Microsoft.





He added that with R2, branch office servers could boast of performance and productivity benefits akin to the main office servers.





One of the key elements of the R2 server is the inclusion of Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) caching support technology, which would help in optimizing the bandwidth utilization. To further spruce up WAN utilization, the servers would be equipped with Distributed Filing System (DFS) and File Replication Service (FRS). Another aspect is the Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS), which provides security when users interact with partners or while deploying internet-facing web applications.





Balakrishnan also said that the latest release would also focus on reducing the management of IT deployment. "Around 70% of most IT budgets are spent on maintenance of IT infrastructure. We want to help enterprises minimize this." He said that pilots had been carried out with 14 customers.





He added that while the solution was mainly aimed at meeting the customer demand from the enterprise segment, the company also considers similar solutions for the mid-market.





On the Windows server market in India, Vaibhav Phadnis, director-server business group, Microsoft said that the company had improved its market share last year and grew from 57% in CY 2003 to 65% in CY 2004. He said that the company had gained eight percentage points in market share thanks to migration from other OS to Windows or "re-platforming" as Microsoft refers to this trend.





Microsoft's India development center is also playing a major role in the Longhorn project. According to Balakrishnan, the entire full-fledged back-up solution for Longhorn would be developed out of the Indian center.