Microsoft releases Windows Server 2003 to manufacturing

Computerworld - Microsoft Corp. today released Windows Server 2003 to manufacturing -- signaling that the operating system will be generally available for customers around the time of the official April 24 product launch.
Microsoft spokeswoman Laurie Smith DeJong said the product is being delivered immediately to hardware makers, systems builders and registered Microsoft Developer Network subscribers, but it may take six to eight weeks for the product to reach retail outlets.
The new server operating system originally had been scheduled to ship with the Windows XP client operating system, which launched in October 2001, but an intensive security review that Microsoft did last year as part of its Trustworthy Computing initiative led to delays.
Bill Veghte, corporate vice president of Microsoft's Windows Server division, said today that Windows Server 2003 is the "most comprehensively tested server release we've ever done."
Veghte said that more than 5,000 developers spent more than three years working on the operating system. He added that more than 300 customers worldwide have been part of Microsoft's rapid adoption program, and 561,000 have signed up to receive beta versions through the customer preview program. That preview-program total represented a record for any Microsoft server operating system.
In conjunction with the release of Windows Server 2003, Microsoft plans to simultaneously launch a new version of its Visual Studio .Net 2003 development tools.
Also on tap is a 64-bit edition of SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition, which was also released today. That new database server is designed to support memory-intensive, high-performance applications running on 64-bit versions of Windows Server 2003.
Some components for Windows Server 2003, however, won't ship at the time of the April launch. Those include the Group Policy Management Console, which is due in the middle of the fourth quarter, Windows Rights Management Services, which are due at year's end, and Windows SharePoint Services for collaboration, which are also due at year's end.
Also shipping separately will be the Windows System Resource Manager (WSRM), although that technology is expected to be ready in time for the Windows Server 2003 launch. WSRM is designed to let IT managers allocate CPU and memory to applications and set the dates and times that certain policies will apply. The technology is also intended to help IT managers monitor an application's virtual storage and track when limits are being exceeded.