It’s here! It’s finally here! *small victory lap for the team* It’s been long anticipated, and for the last 3 years a team of 5000 people have been working on it, testing, retesting, double-checking and triple-checking… but yesterday they all checked off their scorecards, and Server 2008 is ready to be manufactured! Swee-heet! Windows Server 2008 has an array of new features and technologies that are too numerous to list completely, but some of the highlights are:
- Internet Information Services (IIS) 7.0 – next gen web and app platform
- Server Core – key roles, low footprint, no GUI
- Terminal Services Gateway – access your apps without a RAS client
- Network Access Protection – keep network safe from un-healthy clients
- PowerShell - powerful scripting tools for admins
- Failover Clustering – improved cluster management, security, and stability
- Next Generation Net Stack – fast and reliable
- Server Manager – setup & manage server roles and features in one place
- Read-Only Domain Controller – safe branch office DCs
- Hyper-V Beta – server virtualization. Hyper-V RTM in 180 days
And so, here we are. Fully ready for heavy duty. It’s gonna be fun! –> read more about the RTM release of Server2008 in the official press release.
SP1, Service Pack 1 for Vista is one of the most complex releases shipped by the Windows teams. This is the first time that a primary Client SP and a major Server release were jointly developed and released at the same time. Delivering a high quality SP1 has been the core focus for dedicated teams the past 15+ months. It’s been a long journey for some of them, but looking at what’s being delivered this is something we (as Microsofties) can be proud of. SP1 is a high quality release that addresses the user’s need for better key performance, reliability and compatibility issues while experiencing highly reliable setup experience. As far as I’ve tested this myself, I can only say it’s really a progress. I love working for this company, where so many people put their shoulders under a project and then come up with a good thing like this. I’m proud to be part of this family.
Key points of SP1:
- SP1 addresses many key customer frustrations including quality, infrastructure optimization, and adds support for new technologies and standards. SP1 further advances application and device compatibility, removing barriers for many customers.
- Today, customers have 10 times the number of certified for Vista Applications to choose from (from 254 at launch to over 2500 today).
- 98 out of 100 of the top selling applications of December 2007 are compatible with Windows Vista. Over 150 enterprise applications such as antivirus and VPN software have been updated to work with Windows Vista.
- 78,000 devices and components are supported by drivers on Windows Update, up from 34,000 in November 2006
As for the Belux state of deployment of Vista, it has been announced last week that we have reached the threshold of 1 million PC’s on Windows Vista in Belgium & Luxembourg. This impressive number has been fueled by exceptionally strong PC shipments (preloaded with Windows Vista) towards consumers and small businesses during the last 12 months. On top of these new PC shipments we are starting to see the first migrations towards Windows Vista in the Mid Market and Enterprise customer base (see www.microsoft.be/cases for the NMBS/SNCB reference case)
