14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is offering a resource designed to highlight the features and technologies that have been freshly introduced or that were developed in Windows Server 2008, in comparison with Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1. At the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) 2007 in Los Angeles on May 15, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates baptized the then feature-complete Windows Server codename Longhorn as Windows Server 2008.
Now Microsoft, with version 2.0 of "Changes in Functionality from Windows Server 2003 with SP1 to Windows Server 2008" is delivering a comparison between the two products. The Redmond Company's last 32-bit server operating system is scheduled to be released to manufacturing by the end of 2007. Microsoft has not confirmed the final availability date, but speculations already point to a possible release in early 2008 due to the late RTM date.
"In Windows Server 2008, Microsoft is introducing many new features and technologies, which were not available in Microsoft Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1 (SP1), that will help to increase the security of computers running Windows Server 2008, increase productivity, and reduce administrative overhead," reveals an excerpt from "Changes in Functionality from Windows Server 2003 with SP1 to Windows Server 2008."
Windows Server 2008 is currently available for download in Beta 3 milestone, but Microsoft has also released a Community Technology Preview only to TechNet and MSDN subscribers. At this point in time, Windows Server 2008 is considered to be feature complete.
"This document applies to the next release of Windows Server 2008. It is based on the functionality included in the Beta releases in 2007. It does not describe all of the changes that are included in Windows Server 2008, but instead highlights changes that will potentially have the greatest impact on your use of Windows Server 2008 and provides references to additional information. Some features might not behave exactly as documented, due to the nature of pre-release products. Features might be added to or removed from Windows Server 2008 before it is released," reads a fragment of the comparison between Windows Server 2003 SP1 and Windows Server 2008.