14 DAY TRIAL // Windows Server 2008 Release Candidate 1 is ready for its test drive and is available for download as of December 5th, 2007. This way, Microsoft is one step closer to the official release date of its last 32-bit server operating system. Windows Server 2008 will be officially unveiled on February 27, 2008, in Los Angeles, and the fresh milestone in the product's development process has increased relevance not only for the server side, but also for the Windows client, as it will determine the release of Windows Vista Service Pack 1. At this point in time, Microsoft has failed to reveal the date when Windows Server 2008 will be released to manufacturing and has just pointed to the first quarter of 2008, prior to the end of February.
"So far, more than 1.8 million customers have checked out Windows Server 2008 evaluation code . RC1 is a significant milestone in the development of Windows Server 2008, and is one of the last opportunities for customers and partners to evaluate and provide feedback before our release to manufacturing (RTM), which will happen by the time of our February 27 launch event in Los Angeles. The launch features Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008 and the theme is focused on celebrating the incredible work that IT Professionals & Developers do to deliver heroic results to their organizations, colleagues and customers," stated Tina Couch, from the Microsoft Windows Server Division.
With RC1, Windows Server 2008 will enable users to benefit from Group Policy Preferences, the evolution of PolicyMaker Standard Edition and Policy Share Manager. Microsoft will be extending Group Policy via the management tools that ship by default with the platform, as well through a standalone install for Windows Vista dubbed Remote Server Administration Tools. According to Couch, the Redmond company will deliver the Client-Side Extensions for Group Policy Preferences in Windows Server 2008 for Windows XP SP2 and SP3, Windows Vista RTM and SP1, as well as all the versions of Windows Server 2003. The ultimate purpose of the Group Policy Preferences is to boost manageability, cut down TCO and streamline UI configuration.
"Already, more than 37 hardware and software partners have committed to supporting and participating in hundreds of events worldwide and ten partners in particular, AMD, Citrix, Dell, Fujitsu, Hitachi, HP, Intel, Quest, Computer Associates and Unisys have already invested significant time and resources to be platinum sponsors for the launch. It's also worth mentioning that - to date - more than 140,000 IT professionals and developers have been trained on Windows Server 2008 & Visual Studio 2008 and over 3,000 have been certified on Windows Server 2008," Couch added.