A shipping version of Commerce Server got the .Net treatment when it was released in April, as did the beta of Content Management Server, released earlier this month.
Now, after a year's delay, Windows .Net Server -- the mother of all Enterprise Servers--has arrived in beta form, with a shipping product expected by the end of the year. Interestingly, Windows .Net Server is receiving a less extreme .Net-ification than other Enterprise Servers, although many incremental improvements have been made. Even Microsoft admits that few customers will rip and replace their Windows 2000 Server in favor of Windows .Net Server--although the company hopes that the new release could be just the incentive Windows NT 4.0 Server customers need to upgrade.
In .Net revisions of other Enterprise Servers, the emphasis has been on integration into the .Net development Framework. In this case, Windows .Net Server is where the Framework lives, since the Common Language Runtime and class libraries are included. But that's no great improvement over Windows 2000 Server: Visual Studio.Net also comes with the .Net Framework or you can download it free from MSDN. Microsoft says there will be some "incremental" improvements to the Framework in the shipping version of Windows .Net Server, but has offered no details as of yet.
IDC analyst Al Gillen estimates that only 5 to 10 percent of the code in Windows .Net Server is new. "I think the real benefit of this product is the fact that Microsoft has had the opportunity to do some real-world field testing of Windows 2000," he says. With 5 million copies of Windows 2000 Server in active use, Microsoft knows where all the problems are and is using Windows .Net Server as an opportunity to fix them. As a result, says Gillen, "I don't have any doubt that this is going to prove more scalable and more reliable than the normal next-generation kind of thing."
Windows walkthrough
All this is not to say that Windows .Net Server is lacking in improvements, which will be pretty substantial across the four editions (Standard, Enterprise, Datacentre, and Web). Here's a quick look at some of the more interesting new features:
Enhancements to Active Directory. Microsoft's directory service is getting a major overhaul that should make deployment and directory management far easier. In addition, Microsoft will let you deploy Active Directory in a lightweight Application Mode--good for e-commerce sites or stand-alone development applications.
Beefed-up reliability. The top-end Enterprise and Datacentre Server versions will support eight-node clustering and enhanced network load balancing. Also, unlike previous versions, Windows .Net Server will purportedly make failover to a remote location much easier. And as with Windows XP, when you upgrade a hardware driver, you can back out elegantly if the driver doesn't work.
Performance boosts. A new revision of the Windows Resource Manager will provide greater control over memory resources, including the ability to wall off applications with memory leaks so they don't degrade overall system performance. You can also assign priority to individual applications--and use a calendaring system to schedule different priority profiles. Finally, Microsoft claims that version 6.0 of IIS, which will ship with Windows .Net Server, offers vastly better speed and scalability.
Volume Shadow Copy Service. This function provides a continuous copy of an entire volume--typically so backup applications can back up files even if they're in the process of being changed. Backups and restores can be implemented at the file, volume, or application level. When this feature is enabled, users can find previous versions of files in Windows Explorer by right clicking on the file and choosing Properties.
And what about security? The main change will be that Windows .Net Server will be shipped in "locked down by default" mode, as Microsoft Group Product Manager Bob O'Brien describes it. That is, instead of giving you the option to turn on security features one by one, IIS 6.0 will come with all those features already enabled, so you can choose which ones you want to turn off individually. The security stack includes Kerberos, PKI, smart card logons, and improved versions of Encrypting File System and SSL. And Microsoft appears to have gone the extra mile with wireless, adding some serious 802.11 authentication features.
There are scores of other small improvements. Of course, the question with Microsoft is always execution, which nobody can determine until the final version arrives. By limiting the scope of the upgrade, however, Microsoft has given itself the perfect opportunity to knuckle down, sweat the details, and prove it can build a bulletproof product. Windows 2000 Server was already a big step in the right direction. We'll soon see if .Net Server takes it to the next level.
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