Microsoft has confirmed the fact that the development of Windows Sever Longhorn is going as planned and that the product will be made available as announced originally. The assurance comes in the wake of the public beta for Windows Server virtualization - Viridian and Virtual Server 2005 R2 Service Pack 1 missing their release dates.

Microsoft has announced that the public beta for Viridian will be made available in the second half of 2007, although it was expected until June and that Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1 was postponed for the second quarter. Still, Microsoft claims that Longhorn is unaffected by the changes.

"Up front, it's important to know that Windows Server "Longhorn" remains on schedule for beta 3 will be this half and RTM in the second half. Iain McDonald and team are doing a great job delivering the next-generation Windows Server OS, which includes in-demand features like TS Gateway, Server Core, Network Access Protection, IIS 7.0, new server manager and failover clustering improvements … to name a few. All the work being done here is designed to deliver a safer, more secure infrastructure and simplify admin tasks. This work will help make customers' experiences with Windows Server virtualization even better," stated Mike Neil, Microsoft general manager, virtualization strategy.

The Redmond Company has released at the beginning of April 2007 the last Community Technology Preview of Windows Server Longhorn before Beta 3. The third beta stage for Longhorn is planned for the first half of 2006, but sources are already pointing to the end of May.

"I remain confident that Microsoft's strategy and areas of investments will help customers' IT systems become more dynamic and self-managing. I'll talk more about these areas on May 2 during a keynote address at the Server Blades Summit 2007 in Anaheim. I hope to see you there," Neil added.