One of the most significant enhancements to Longhorn is a data storage system called WinFS, technology designed to make information easier to find and view. Clearing up long-standing confusion, a Microsoft senior vice president said that WinFS will work with--not replace--the existing file system in Windows, called NTFS, when WinFS debuts in late 2005 or 2006.
WinFS "uses NTFS," Bob Muglia, senior vice president of Microsoft's enterprise storage and enterprise management divisions, told CNET News.com. "We built on top. NTFS does what it does incredibly well."
Successful co-existence of different file systems is important to ensuring a clean--and potentially quicker--transition to Longhorn, analysts say. A new file system that breaks with the storage system in Windows PCs today could be disruptive to end users. Also, Longhorn applications could encounter compatibility problems with older Windows applications, causing problems for commercial software providers.
NTFS is only one component of the revamped storage system in WinFS. Another key building block is the querying capabilities of Microsoft's SQL Server relational database, according to Microsoft. WinFS also will incorporate the data labelling capabilities of Extensible Markup Language (XML), Muglia said.
"Think of WinFS as pulling together relational database technology, XML database technology, and file streaming that a file system has," he said. "It's a (storage) format that is agnostic, that is independent of the application."
With Longhorn and WinFS, Microsoft is tackling a nagging problem the company has long sought to address. For nearly a decade, the company has touted the vision of a single storage system that would break down barriers between applications and serve up stored information quickly and accurately.
"The desire has been around forever. It's almost like the Holy Grail of data storage," said Michael Cherry, an analyst at market researcher Directions on Microsoft.
The software giant later this month will disclose additional details on the company's ambitious plans with WinFS. At the Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles at the end of October, Microsoft will describe how application developers and end users can take advantage of the revamped file system.
Roping in Longhorn
WinFS will be one of several new initiatives Microsoft will discuss at the conference, most of which are designed to build interest in Longhorn, the desktop edition of Windows due in 2005 or 2006.
Microsoft will give attendees an early version of Longhorn, as well as editions of its Visual Studio.Net and SQL Server databases, which are both due to be completed in the second half of 2004. The company also will sketch out a Web services initiative called Indigo and a graphics and presentation system named Avalon, both of which will be integral to Longhorn.
Microsoft calls WinFS "the next-generation storage platform for Windows (that) manages data for organising, searching and sharing." With WinFS, the company seeks to create a common system for finding and storing data across all types of Windows applications.
Right now, the kind of application dictates how data is stored. Databases are typically used for more numerically oriented applications, such as storing bank account information, while file systems are usually used for document-centric applications with unstructured data types. The problem is that retrieving information from different storage systems is cumbersome, at best.
WinFS seeks to bridge the worlds of unstructured documents and data stored in relational databases with a common storage and look-up mechanism. If Microsoft is successful, the net result will be greater data interoperability and much improved viewing and searching.
"Today, applications encapsulate data. In the future, applications will be able to read and write data created with multiple applications," Muglia said. "Information opens up dramatically."
3%
2%
Why wait until 2006 for this. Most of these features are available now in the form of Oracle iFS and others.