Feb 18, 2011 18:41 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft is offering free resources designed to allow customers to get ready for the imminent release of Windows MultiPoint Server 2011.

The Windows MultiPoint Server 2011 Planning Guide and the Windows MultiPoint Server 2011 Deployment Guide are now available for download from the software giant.

Also available from the Microsoft Download Center is the Windows MultiPoint Server 2011 Release Candidate (RC) development milestone.

As with all Windows releases, the RC signals the fact that the Redmond company is extremely close to wrapping up the server offering.

The labels of the two guides offered by Microsoft are pretty much self-explanatory. Customers that feel they need a little help when it comes down to planning and deploying Windows MultiPoint Server 2011 should download the resources along with the RC bits. They’re free after all.

“Windows MultiPoint Server 2011 is the second version of a Windows product primarily designed for educational institutions for use in classrooms, labs, and libraries, that allows multiple users to simultaneously share one computer,” Microsoft stated.

“Users have their own independent and familiar Windows computing experience, using their own monitor, keyboard and mouse directly connected to the host computer. Windows MultiPoint Server 2011 enables more users to access technology at a lower total cost of ownership.”

And the fact of the matter is that customer do not have all that long to prepare before Windows MultiPoint Server 2011 will be launched worldwide.

According to the timetable that Microsoft shared in January 2011, the Windows MultiPoint Server 2011 RTM bits are scheduled to drop next month.

“Based on the progress we have made addressing that feedback, today we are announcing that MultiPoint Server 2011 will be available for purchase in March through volume licensing and through our OEM partners in the second quarter of this calendar year,” revealed James Duffus, Group Program Manager – Windows MultiPoint Server in the first half of January 2011.