Windows Home Server testing uncovers nearly 2,400 bugs

Microsoft was mum on whether the software will ship this summer

By Gregg Keizer

March 23, 2007 12:00 PM ET

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Computerworld - Microsoft's Windows Home Server developers have been inundated with bug reports on the under-construction consumer server software, which -- when it was announced in January -- was expected to ship this summer.

There was no word today from Microsoft whether the necessary fixes would delay that planned release.

In an entry on the Home Server blog, program manager Chris Sullivan said that the group has received nearly 2,400 bug reports so far from beta testers, and still had 495, or about 21% of the total, classified as "active."

In Microsoft nomenclature, an active bug is one still under investigation, pending a response or waiting to be investigated.

"As you can see, we have our work cut out for us," said Sullivan.

Of the bugs that have been addressed, Sullivan said that only 15% have actually been fixed. The remainder are issues that are in the server by design (13%), not reproducible (21%), will be postponed to later versions (11%) or likely won't be fixed (7%).

Windows Home Server, which debuted at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), will be Microsoft's first home-specific server software. In January, company executives said the software would ship before the back-to-school selling season starts in July and August, with a release to manufacturing deadline set for late June. The software, based primarily on Windows Server 2003 code, will connect to systems running Windows Vista and Windows XP for file sharing, media playing and backup; and to Mac OS X and Linux machines for file sharing.

Microsoft did not respond to a call asking for a status update on development, and whether the summer release schedule still holds.

Home Server won't be sold separately, as are other server-based operating systems from the company. Instead, computer makers will package the software as part of ready-to-go appliances. Hewlett-Packard Co., for example, will sell something it calls MediaSmart Server that runs Home Server on an AMD-powered system.

Read more about noses and server software in Computerworld's NOSes and Server Software Knowledge Center.

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