It appears that the Microsoft servers were updated ahead of the company's official communication channels when it comes down to the first fully fledged Release Candidate of Windows Vista Service Pack 2. In this context, the Redmond company only provided information related to the availability of Windows Vista SP2 RC and Windows Server 2008 SP2 RC on March 4, 2009, in the context in which the actual bits had been live on the Microsoft Download Center since March 3. Vista SP2 RC and Windows Server 2008 SP2 RC were initially released last week to TechNet and MSDN subscribers. Now the public has full access to the bits via the Customer Preview Program.

“Windows Server 2008 SP2 RC and Windows Vista Service Pack 2 RC apply to people, organizations, and technical enthusiasts who are comfortable evaluating prerelease software. This prerelease software is provided for testing only. Installation of Service Pack 2 RC will result in Microsoft collecting information about the installation process, even if the installation is not completed. We do not recommend installing this software on primary or mission-critical systems. We recommend that you have a backup of your data before you install any prerelease software,” revealed Aviraj Ajgekar, Microsoft regional site manager.

There are no less than four downloads offered by Microsoft, Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 and Windows Vista Service Pack 2 Release Candidate - Five Language Standalone DVD ISO; Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 Release Candidate - Five Language Standalone for ia64-based systems (KB948465); Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 Release Candidate and Windows Vista Service Pack 2 Release Candidate - Five Language Standalone for x64-based systems (KB948465) and Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 Release Candidate and Windows Vista Service Pack 2 Release Candidate - Five Language Standalone (KB948465).

“SP2 is an update to Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista that addresses feedback from our customers and partners. By providing these fixes integrated into a single service pack, Microsoft provides a single high-quality update that minimizes deployment and testing complexity for customers. In addition to all previously released updates, SP2 will contain changes focused on addressing reliability and performance issues, supporting new kinds of hardware, and adding support for several emerging standards. SP2 will also continue to make it easier for IT administrators to deploy and manage large installations of Windows Server 2008,” Ajgekar added.

Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2) Release Candidate (RC) and Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 (SP2) Release Candidate (RC) are available for download here.