Microsoft is getting ready to launch its next Server operating system. The release candidate has just been released to beat testers and I believe its now on MSDN for subscribers to download.
I’ve downloaded the RC, but have yet to install it. I’m planning on putting up a Virtual instance next week so I cna play with it over the holidays. Windows Server 2008 will come with some cool new features. Virtualization is built into the OS. I looked at virtual servers with Windows 2003 but was not really impressed. Its a decent system, but does not compare to the features available with VMWare’s ESX server. Of course it also does not cost what VMWare costs.
I’ll be watching this feature closely to see if perhaps I can utilize Windows virtual server for some of my virtuals and save a little money. Of course a lot on rather this will work out is how well the virtual features in Windows 2008 will support Linux distros. If Microsoft can deliver on its promises for the System Management platform then I may utilize this technology more than VMWare going forward, but we’ll just need to do some testing before I make that decision.
Another feature I’m really looking forward to in Windows 2008 is full support for Vista machines and Vista policies. I’ve held off on deploying Vista in my enterprise because of the lack of management capabilities for the OS in Windows 2003. There are some really cool features in Vista such as Network Access Protection and the Bitlocker, but without a method to manage these features from a central location then they are not all that useful. I’ll be testing these features out in the lab over the coming months and I’ll make sure I post the results of my findings.
Windows 2008 Links:
Comparison Windows 2008 Versions
Get the Windows 2008 Release Candidate
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