Windows Server 2008 makes hosting debut at Microsoft.com

IDG News Service - About 2,600 Web sites are already running Microsoft Corp.'s forthcoming Windows Server 2008, a small but increasing number that indicates rising interest in the operating system, according to new statistics from Netcraft Ltd.

Microsoft is now using Windows Server 2008 and its Internet Information Server (IIS) 7.0 for its main Web site, www.microsoft.com, said Colin Phipps, Internet security services developer at Netcraft, a Bath, England-based Internet research firm that releases a monthly survey on what operating systems are being used for Web hosting.

The move means Windows Server 2008 is "production-ready for Microsoft," Phipps said. But, he added, "it's different when you have the Microsoft engineering team behind a Web site. They can pick up the phone and immediately get the engineer who worked on it."

However, a majority of the 2,600 sites that use Windows Server 2008 are not run by Microsoft. And that suggests that developers are exploring the beta versions of Windows Server 2008, Phipps said. Still, the number of sites using the new operating system is tiny in proportion to the full roster of sites included in Netcraft's survey -- some 122 million Web sites.

The Apache Web server came top, used by 53.7% of the sites, with Microsoft products following at 31.8%, Netcraft's survey said.

Interestingly, Netcraft put Google Inc. in third place, at 3.9%. While Google doesn't have an operating system, "Google's services are an increasingly popular alternative platform for running a blog or simple Web site or content that would have formerly been hosted on a desktop or networked file system," according to Netcraft's blog.

Phipps expects use of Windows Server 2008 to rise over the coming months. Microsoft released the latest beta version of the server, formerly code-named Longhorn, on Tuesday. The new release includes the ability to use IIS to the new release. Windows Server 2008 is expected to be released by the end of this year.