14 DAY TRIAL // As of June 10, Microsoft has completed the migration to Windows Server 2008 from the previous version of the operating system. The last Windows Server 2003 box that was powering Microsoft.com has been upgraded to Windows Server 2008. Even as early as the beta development stages of the latest server operating system, the Redmond company started migrating its infrastructure away from Windows Server 2003. Just ahead of the official launch of Windows Server 2008, at the end of February, there was just one Windows Server 2003 box left among the servers keeping Microsoft.com alive. Even that box has been upgraded to Windows Server 2008 now.
"Well, it's been a crazy few months since the Windows Server 2008 RTM. I kept wondering why they were letting me hang around - what business does one Windows Server 2003 have in a farm of WS08s? It was just embarrassing," Microsoft stated through the voice of the Lone Server, a character it introduced to personalize the last standing Windows Server 2003 box.
Microsoft has not seen the issues with the transition from Windows XP to Windows Vista repeating with the move from Windows Server 2003 to Windows Sever 2008. Nevertheless the company was among one of the first to adopt Windows Server 2008 at a large scale, and to make it the foundation of its official website. But now the Redmond giant is taking it one step further.
As it is test driving Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V, currently in Release Candidate 1 stage, it has already moved developer and IT professional portals onto the hypervisor which ships with the server operating system. According to the company, Microsoft.com is next in line to be virtualized.
"I just couldn't keep up with the WS08s. It all came down to 'efficiency' or 'cost' of the number of requests per CPU cycle. Looks like WS08 is over 10% more efficient then I am in handling live web platform traffic for www.microsoft.com. This improved efficiency helps enterprise customers reduce their server footprints in datacenters and ultimately reduces the overall cost of running their site/s. So now I am upgraded! For all you '03s out there don't worry? it didn't hurt a bit! They said it would just be a Day Upgrade under local anesthetic, and they were right! Within hours after the procedure I was up and helping on Microsoft.com. I feel 5 years younger," the Lone Server added.