The near-final testing version of the software comes days after Microsoft revised licensing for the product. Starting with Windows .Net Server 2003, customers will have two options for obtaining client-access licenses, or CALs.
Under the new plan, businesses will be able to obtain CALs on a per-user or per-machine basis. The availability of release candidate two marks an important milestone on Microsoft's march to launch .Net Server on schedule. So far, the company has delayed delivery of the product three times. The operating system is a cornerstone of Microsoft's .Net Web services strategy.
In October 2000, the software giant said the product would ship in the second half of 2001. But in April 2001, Microsoft pushed back delivery of the server software to early 2002.
In March of this year, the company again delayed delivery, this time until the second half of 2002. Last month, Microsoft yet again delayed .Net Server--until April. Days earlier, the company scrapped Longhorn Server, the successor to .Net Server, essentially pushing back the next release to 2006 or later.
Microsoft has good reason for taking its time honing Windows .Net Server 2003, say analysts. Many companies are just now installing Windows 2000 Server throughout their organisations and won't be ready for the new version anytime soon.
Still, Microsoft estimates that about 15 percent of its customers run Windows NT 4 Server and are candidates for the new product. Until Longhorn Server was cancelled, many analysts failed to share Microsoft's enthusiasm for winning over NT 4 holdouts.
Because of delays, many customers might have been more likely to move to Windows 2000 Server instead. But the cancellation, coupled with other changes Microsoft is making, has put "a gun to the head" of the Windows NT 4 Server holdouts, said Tom Bittman, an analyst at research firm Gartner.
"The NT 4 phenomenon is real," he emphasised. "There are a lot of (companies) out there still on NT 4. I think it's somewhat foolish to go to Windows 2000 Server now."
Windows NT 4 Server support, which ends at the close of 2003, is a major reason. Windows .Net Server "is out in April, and eight months later, NT 4 code's dead," Bittman said.
By dropping Longhorn Server, Microsoft also may have prevented a large number of Windows 2000 Server holdouts, who might have skipped .Net Server.
Gartner had recommended customers on Windows 2000 Server do just that and wait for Longhorn. "The fact that they decided Longhorn (is) a client-only release makes a big difference," Bittman said. "A lot of companies running Windows 2000 Server now see .Net Server in their future."
7%
2%
