And Windows Server 2008

Jun 23, 2008 10:37 GMT  ·  By

With Service Pack 3 for Windows XP, Microsoft added little functionality and features to the operating system. One thing that the company did in this context was to pour stand-alone updates available for XP SP2 into the third and final service pack for XP. This is how it is possible for XP SP3 to include features specific of Windows Vista (now with SP1) and Windows Server 2008. In this context, Peer Name Resolution Protocol (PNRP), although available as a stand-alone update for XP SP2, is included into Service Pack 3. Essentially, XP SP3, Vista and Windows Server 2008-based applications can use PNRP 2.1 to communicate between operating systems.

"Microsoft released Service Pack 3 for Windows XP. This service pack contains version 2 of the Peer Name Resolution Protocol (PNRP) which is compatible with Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. PNRP v2.0 was available as a separate download for XP SP2, but now it comes directly with the service pack," informed a member of the Microsoft Peer-to-Peer Networking.

This means that with SP3, XP users will be able to enjoy the scalability and boosted performance in terms of network bandwidth usage just as those of Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008. Version 2.0 of PNRP was one of the enhancements introduced for the peer-to-peer networking capabilities of Vista RTM. Version 2.0 is also up for grabs for Windows XP as an update, and only PNRP 2.1 is included in Windows XP SP3, according to the official documentation for the service pack.

"The Microsoft Windows Peer-to-Peer Networking platform [offers] the Peer Name Resolution Protocol (PNRP), a secure, scalable, and dynamic name registration and name resolution protocol first developed for Windows XP and then upgraded in Windows Vista. A PNRP resolution includes an address, port, and possibly an extended payload. The system is fault tolerant and there are no bottlenecks," Microsoft revealed.

Windows XP SP3 is available for download here. Windows Vista SP1 is available for download here.