FEATURES OF WINDOWS SERVER 2003 OS

                                 

The operating system was published as a successor of Windows server 2000 in April 2003. Windows Server 2003 carries the internal version number 5.2. The 32-bit version of the Datacenter Edition of Windows Server 2003 can supported by the Physical Address Extension (PAE) up to 32 processors and 64 gbyte RAM in a server. This operating system is used on IBM servers of the series x445 and x455, for example. The following services are started after the installation of Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition.

Microsoft introduced the 64-bit versions of Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 on the WinHEC 2005 event in Seattle in April 2005. The service pack 1 for Windows Server 2003 is already integrated, the operating system is available in the variants Standard, Enterprise and Datacenter edition. The advantages in the 64 bit variant lie int othe architecture obtained security functions for the increase of the safety in the running operating system on hardware level. The Patch Guard is a function for the protection of the system components from applications be able to destabilize the system. For the addressing of the main memory at present are used only 40-bits for a virtual addressable storage of 16-tbyte. The compatibility to existing 32-bit applications remains unchanged.

Windows Server 2003 Web Edition
- service for the delivery and store of web pages
- till 2 CPU and 2 gbyte RAM supported
- supports .NET framework, IIS 6, ASP.NET, Network Load Balancing, IPv6, Distributed file system (Dfs), Encrypting File System (EFS), Shadow Copy Restore, print services for Unix
- can not be used as domain controller

Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition
- intended purpose for small till medium-sized enterprises
- till 2 CPU and 4 gbyte RAM supported
- supports the services of the Web Edition, extended by enterprise UDDI services, Internet Authentication services (IAS), removable and remote storage, Fax service, services for Macintosh, Remote Installation Services (RIS), Windows Media Services (WMS), Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), Certificate Services, Smart Card support and Terminal Services

Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition
- designed for high requirements
- at least 550 mhz processor, 256 mbyte RAM, 2 gbyte free storage
- up to 8 processors and 32 gbyte RAM
- support for 8-nodes combined cluster
- also as 64-bit version available
- supports the services of the Standard Edition, extended by Metadirectory Services Support (MMS), Terminal Services Session Directory functions, support for hot-add memory and Non-Uniform memory access (NUMA)
- Server functions are the role as a file server, print server, application server (for IIS 6.0, ASP.NET), mail server (for POP3, SMTP), terminal server, RAS/VPN server, domain controller for Active directory, DNS server, DHCP server, Streaming Media server, WINS server

Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition
- intended purpose for highest performance, availability and scalability
- up to 32 processors and 64 gbyte RAM
- up to 8 node combined cluster
- also as 64-bits version available
- same services of the Enterprise Edition but without Metadirectory Services Support (MMS) and Internet Connection Firewall, supports Datacenter Program (DCP)

The Service Pack 1 (SP1) was published at the end of March 2005 and improved the reliability and safety of the operating system with light increased performance. Functions which are already in the Service Pack 2 for Windows XP contained find the way to server operating systems now. The Windows firewall is installed (deactivated), the Internet Explorer extended by the pop-up blocker and the Automatic Update can be activated optionally. With the Data Execution Prevention (DEP) is the executing of programme code in not privileged memory areas prevented. The Security Configuration Wizard (SCW) helps at the configuration of safety guidelines with querys.

In February 2006 the functions extended Windows servers 2003 R2 came on the market. With this second version the administration of local and remote resources gets more efficient. Moreover, it offers a scalable web platform and harmonizes with existing UNIX systems in the network. The Windows Servers 2003 R2 Datacenter Edition and Enterprise Edition offer a more dynamic licensing model for the customers to be able to profit better from the server virtualization. The replication services were revised and can simplify the file exchange with other servers. The Active Directory Application Mode (ADAM) is integrated directly now for for a light weight directory service for network applications. The Active Directory Federation Services connects directory services with each other about web services. The services for UNIX (SfU) provide the interoperability with existing Linux/UNIX systems. The .NET runtime 2.0 is included.

The Service Pack 2 (SP2) for Windows Server 2003 was released at the end of March 2007. Contained are new functions and patches for the operating system. The Microsoft Management Console (MMC) offers new and improved command line tools in the new version. The performance with SQL servers and use of Windows virtualization was improved. The secure Wireless Protected Access 2 (WPA2) is supported now. The Scalable Networking Pack (SNP) offers an efficient scalability of network based applications.

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