Microsoft's Windows Server 2003 takes flight

Computerworld - It took three years, 10,000 developers and testers, and 50 million lines of code for Microsoft Corp. to develop Windows Server 2003. Today, the company will unveil the server in what it is calling its largest product launch ever.
The much-anticipated Windows Server 2003 will be kicked off in 173 countries. At the same time, Microsoft is launching Visual Studio .Net 2003 and its 64-bit SQL Server Enterprise Edition.
"In the sense that if you consider it from an architectural perspective, [Windows Server 2003 is] not what you would call a major upgrade," said Peter Pawlak, lead analyst for server applications at Directions on Microsoft, an independent research firm in Kirkland, Wash., that focuses solely on Microsoft.
"But on the other hand, this is a very important product because of all the things that happened with [Microsoft's] Trustworthy Computing [initiative]," Pawlak said. "It's much [more] secure than any previous version. It's been very picked over, and in terms of code stability and code security, this should be a big step upward."
With Windows Server 2003, Microsoft is going after the enterprise Unix and Linux markets, analysts said.
"Microsoft is really delving into the enterprise. With this latest iteration of their operating system, they're improving security, improving availability and [adding] the Web services aspect that will enable companies to populate their data centers and their enterprise infrastructure solely on Microsoft platforms," said Alan Freedman, research manager for infrastructure hardware at IDC Canada Ltd. in Toronto.
Notable upgrades to Windows Server 2003 include the addition of the Internet Information Server 6.0 for Web services capabilities, the integration of Visual Studio .Net and support for 64-bit processing, including Intel Corp.'s Itanium 2 and Advanced Micro Device Inc.'s Opteron.
"I think that 64-bit is one of those areas that if you're going to claim to be able to support the enterprise in the very highest levels of scalability, you're going to have to do that," Pawlak said.
While Microsoft has traditionally performed well in the small to medium-size enterprise market, it has yet to crack the enterprise Unix core. However, with the increased security and reliability in Windows Server 2003, the company has a better shot, Pawlak said.
The company is also going after the Linux market by trying to convince prospective buyers that they can get better stability and performance and fewer bugs than with Linux.
The question is, Will consumers buy it? Pawlak said Windows Server 2003 has increased performance across the board, including file and print services, Web services as a