Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Latest News
    • Networking

    Beyond Windows Server

    By
    Peter Galli
    -
    May 26, 2003
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      With Windows Server 2003 just a month out of the gates, Microsoft Corp. is already looking at ways to deliver add-on technologies and wrestling with the issue of how to price these technologies. “There is some deep thinking and strong consideration going on inside the server team about how to best stage future releases and what the core elements of our strategy should be,” said Jay Jamison, director of product planning for the Windows Server division, in Redmond, Wash.

      According to Jamison, one of the ways Microsoft intends to deliver some of that functionality is through an “out-of-band” mechanism, where new technologies and tools are delivered between major server releases.

      Out-of-band technologies could range from tools and things such as the group policy management console to layered add-on services, such as the Real-Time Communications Server, he said.

      Sources close to Microsoft said the company is expected to release several out-of-band upgrades to Windows Server 2003 this year, including an iSCSI initiator, Network Attached Storage 3.0, Small Business Server 2003, Windows Virtual Server and Windows Server 2003 for Advanced Micro Devices Inc.s processors. When asked about the list, Jamison said, it “sounds about right.”

      When it comes to large-enterprise customers, some are willing to pay for additional technology rather than have it built into the core operating system.

      “We like the idea of being able to choose what functions we want to install on top of the operating system. In some ways, it would be less problematic than having all of this built into the core kernel,” said Jeff ODell, vice president of architecture for health benefits provider Cigna Corp., in Bloomington, Conn. “But, on the other hand, if functionality is already built into the operating system, we can just turn it on if we want.”

      Page Two

      Jamison said the majority of new functionality made available through the out-of-band process will be things that customers can download and use freely.

      “In some cases, there will be new technologies made available through this process that may require an enterprise server to run or could require a Windows [Client Access License] or the like, but we have not made any final decisions on this,” Jamison said.

      Dan Kusnetzky, an analyst for International Data Corp., in Framingham, Mass., said Microsoft is trying to uncouple updates from the basic release of the platform itself. But the challenge was the business, licensing and pricing model under which these were released.

      “That is not clear at this point. Will end users have any idea what the total cost of operation will be if every now and again Microsoft changes the prices on some functions?” Kusnetzky asked.

      Dave Thompson, corporate vice president of the Windows Server Product Group at Microsoft, said out-of-band releases are effectively part of Windows Server. “Innovation does not have to wait for major releases,” Thompson said.

      Jamison suggested that a Windows Server release in the “Longhorn” client time frame, expected to ship in early 2005, is not likely. He did say that “Blackcomb,” the major Windows release following Longhorn, could be expected in a time frame “roughly similar to how weve done it before [three years].”

      Jamison said this release will extend the underlying security work in Windows Server 2003 and build on the work already done in .Net Framework and Universal Description, Discovery and Integration in Server 2003.

      Latest Microsoft News:

      For more on Microsoft, check out Microsoft Watch.

      Peter Galli
      Peter Galli has been a financial/technology reporter for 12 years at leading publications in South Africa, the UK and the US. He has been Investment Editor of South Africa's Business Day Newspaper, the sister publication of the Financial Times of London.He was also Group Financial Communications Manager for First National Bank, the second largest banking group in South Africa before moving on to become Executive News Editor of Business Report, the largest daily financial newspaper in South Africa, owned by the global Independent Newspapers group.He was responsible for a national reporting team of 20 based in four bureaus. He also edited and contributed to its weekly technology page, and launched a financial and technology radio service supplying daily news bulletins to the national broadcaster, the South African Broadcasting Corporation, which were then distributed to some 50 radio stations across the country.He was then transferred to San Francisco as Business Report's U.S. Correspondent to cover Silicon Valley, trade and finance between the US, Europe and emerging markets like South Africa. After serving that role for more than two years, he joined eWeek as a Senior Editor, covering software platforms in August 2000.He has comprehensively covered Microsoft and its Windows and .Net platforms, as well as the many legal challenges it has faced. He has also focused on Sun Microsystems and its Solaris operating environment, Java and Unix offerings. He covers developments in the open source community, particularly around the Linux kernel and the effects it will have on the enterprise.He has written extensively about new products for the Linux and Unix platforms, the development of open standards and critically looked at the potential Linux has to offer an alternative operating system and platform to Windows, .Net and Unix-based solutions like Solaris.His interviews with senior industry executives include Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, Linus Torvalds, the original developer of the Linux operating system, Sun CEO Scot McNealy, and Bill Zeitler, a senior vice president at IBM.For numerous examples of his writing you can search under his name at the eWEEK Website at www.eweek.com.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Applications

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Applications

      Kyndryl’s Nicolas Sekkaki on Handling AI and...

      James Maguire - November 9, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nicolas Sekkaki, Group Practice Leader for Applications, Data and AI at Kyndryl, about how companies can boost both their AI and...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×