Windows Server Product Roadmap

This article describes the long-term product roadmap and philosophy for Windows Server, including the service packs, feature packs, update releases, and the next major release.

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Integrated Innovation for Windows Server

Windows Server encompasses a rich set of technologies, features, and services that are engineered to work as a comprehensive, integrated, and easy-to-use solution. Windows Server is designed around end-to-end scenarios that deliver an integrated experience out of the box, which helps you quickly deploy solutions to meet your business needs.

The integrated innovation approach also opens up more opportunities for application providers, service providers, systems integrators, training providers, and hardware developers to innovate and create valuable solutions. The built-in, standards-based services and platform features that Windows Server provides enable vendors and partners to focus on delivering integrated solutions that extend the core Windows platform and add business value for customers.

Customers and objective third-party analysts have found that Microsoft's integrated innovation approach results in greater out-of-box value and lower total cost of ownership as a result of better productivity, efficiency, and manageability in comparison to competitive offerings. For more information, see Get the Facts on Windows and Linux.

Integrated innovation is at the heart of Microsoft's major technology initiatives, including the Dynamic Systems Initiative (DSI), Trustworthy Computing, and Microsoft .NET.

The New Release Cycle for Windows Server

Today Windows Server 2003 delivers the core infrastructure and common services of the Windows Server System. Since its release in April 2003, Microsoft has been providing new functionality to Windows Server 2003 in the form of feature packs as well as planning for the next major release, code-named Windows Server "Longhorn."

Microsoft intends to provide a more predictable Windows Server release cycle that helps customers to do longer term planning and budgeting. The goal is to provide a major Windows Server release approximately every four years, followed by a release update approximately two years after each major release.

For information about related changes to Microsoft suppport policies, see Support Lifecycle Policy Extended for Business and Developer Products.

Major Releases

Major Windows Server releases include a new kernel and therefore are capable of supporting new hardware (for example, system buses); new programming models; and improved fundamentals, such as security and reliability. Changes of this nature can sometimes impact the compatibility of the new operating system with existing hardware and software.

Update Releases

Update releases integrate the previous major release with the latest service pack, selected feature packs, and new functionality. Because an update release is based on the previous major release, customers can incorporate it into their environment without any additional testing beyond what would be required for a typical service pack. Any additional functionality provided by an update would be optional and thus not affect application compatibility or require customers to re-certify or re-test applications.

Service Packs

Service packs incorporate all of the current critical, noncritical, and customer-requested updates into one convenient package that has been extensively regression-tested by Microsoft and by customers during a beta test program. Service packs may also include new security enhancements, such as the Security Configuration Wizard that is included with Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1).

Occasionally it is necessary to make changes to existing system binaries to support new industry standards or customer-requested features. These changes are closely scrutinized, evaluated, and tested before being included in the next service pack. To the greatest extent possible, Microsoft strives to maintain application compatibility between service pack releases and performs extensive application compatibility tests with each service pack. Application compatibility issues are usually restricted to applications that inappropriately use private, internal interfaces or system calls.

Feature Packs

On occasion, Microsoft will release feature packs. However, to simplify the update process for system administrators and IT implementers, Microsoft plans to substantially reduce the number and frequency of stand-alone feature pack releases. Instead, most feature packs will be integrated into the update releases and major releases.

Windows Server 2003 "R2"

Around the end of 2005, Windows Server customers can expect to see significant new value in the form of an update to Windows Server 2003 (code-named "R2"). Windows Server 2003 "R2" will consist of Windows Server 2003 SP1 plus an additional CD with the "R2" features, which can be optionally installed.

When Windows Server 2003 "R2" is released, customers with servers covered by Software Assurance or Enterprise Agreements will be eligible to receive it at no charge. After "R2" is made generally available, customers will receive it automatically when they order Windows Server 2003 software. All others can purchase the server license to get the "R2" functionality. Windows Server 2003 "R2" will require the same version of client access licenses (CALs) as the original release of Windows Server 2003.

Windows Server "Longhorn"

The next major Windows Server release, Windows Server "Longhorn" is scheduled for 2007. Customers can expect the first beta release of Windows Server "Longhorn" in the second half of 2005, followed by a second beta release in 2006.

Windows Server Road Map Deliverables

The key deliverables on the Windows Server roadmap are as follows:

Product Releases and Updates	Contents
2005 (1st half)
Windows Server 2003 SP1	• Reliability improvements to address top customer issues • Security enhancements • Performance increased by up to 10 percent for key workloads • Basis for Windows Server 2003 for 64-Bit Extended Systems release
Windows Server 2003 for 64-Bit Extended Systems release	• Evolutionary path to 64-bit technology with greater price-performance • Single code-base providing AMD Opteron and Intel Xeon EM64T support
Feature packs still to come	• Windows Update Services
2005 (2nd half)
Windows Server 2003 "R2" Update	• Streamlined and secure information access for remote workers, trusted partners, and branch office users • Available to servers covered by Software Assurance (SA) at the time of release
Windows Server "Longhorn" Beta 1	• First available version of the next Windows Server major release, to be distributed to early adopter customers
2006
Windows Server "Longhorn" Beta 2	• Code refresh of the next Windows Server major release, to be distributed to early adopter customers
Windows Server 2003 SP2	• Improvements to address top customer issues
2007
Windows Server "Longhorn"	• Next-generation Web services application platform, including integrated management of IIS, ASP.NET, and the set of new .NET technologies that form the communications infrastructure code-named "Indigo" • Manageability from the ground up, such as role-based deployment that reduces maintenance and attack surface • New hardware and standards support, such as dynamic partitioning for Windows "mainframes" and support for PCI Express
2008 and Beyond
Windows Server "Longhorn" Service Pack
Windows Server "Longhorn" Update

Windows Server 2003 Feature Packs Available Now

The following key features are already available to download and are delivering immediate benefits:

•	Automated Deployment Services (ADS). Available as a download, ADS for Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition, includes a new set of imaging tools that enable you to automate the deployment of Microsoft operating systems.
•	Active Directory Application Mode (ADAM). For organizations that require flexible support for directory-enabled applications, ADAM is a breakthrough in directory services technology based on the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP).
•	File Replication Services (FRS) Monitoring Tools. A number of tools are available for managing FRS, the replication engine that keeps Distributed File System (DFS) shares synchronized, including both continuous monitoring tools, such as Ultrasound and Sonar, and snapshot troubleshooting tools such as FRSDiag.
•	Group Policy Management Console (GPMC). GPMC simplifies the management of Group Policy by making it easier to understand, deploy, manage, and troubleshoot Group Policy implementations.
•	Identity integration. Identity Integration Feature Pack for Microsoft Windows Server Active Directory manages identities and coordinates user details across Active Directory, ADAM, Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server, and Exchange Server 2003 implementations, enabling you to combine identity information for a given user or resource into a single, logical view.
•	iSCSI support. Available as a free download, the Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) software initiator package works with the Windows platform to help provide low-cost, highly efficient IP-based storage area networks (SANs).
•	Windows SharePoint Services. Windows SharePoint Services sites take file storage to a new level, providing communities for team collaboration and making it easy for users to work together on documents, tasks, contacts, events, and other information.
•	Services for UNIX 3.5. Available as a free download, Services for UNIX 3.5 provides services that enable seamless interoperability with UNIX servers, such as an NFS and NIS server, as well as tools and services to help customers migrate applications from UNIX to Windows.
•	Windows Rights Management Services (RMS). A milestone of trustworthy computing, RMS is an information protection technology that works with RMS-enabled applications to help safeguard digital information from unauthorized use.

For More Information

To learn more Microsoft's long-term vision for true common services across the entire Windows Server System, see the Common Engineering Roadmap white paper.

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