Windows Server 2008 – is it more than just another Operating System?

Windows Server 2008 – is it more than just another Operating System?

Let's start off with some basics. These are my views from the information I have.

That's not to say the information I have is correct, or I could have misinterpreted it.

Moreover, these views may not be shared by many, even those inside the company.

I am a Microsoft User – there I've said it, no going back now. However, that doesn't

mean I am a Microsoft lover, I have a desire to push an alternative such as Linux to the

desktop and Open Office or the new Lotus Symphony as an application suite. Still, I

digress; this article is my view on Windows Server 2008.

There are a number of elements in W2K8 which makes it interesting, and that I have

used the word elements is an indication of the first thing that caught my interest. W2K8

differs from earlier version of Windows in that it is not a huge Operating System that

includes everything Microsoft could think you needed in one cumbersome package.

W2K8 is componentised. If you do not want the server to be an Active Directory

controller, don't load the component (Microsoft apparently calls them "roles"), and so

on. What a simple but amazing development. Likewise, if you come from a UNIX

background you can opt not to load the Windows GUI front end role. For those users

running large, transaction intensive databases where every bit of performance is

needed for the application, this is another interesting move.

One of, if not the most important element of W2K8 is Hyper-V. With Windows Server

2008 everything you need to develop and support a Virtualised Infrastructure is there

from day one. It's another role if you want it to be, but expect this to be the released as

a product in its own right in the near future in competition to VMWare, the current

Virtualisation environment of choice for most organisations. One of my colleagues has

just Virtualised most our servers to run on a single IBM Blade, including a server just

managing print. However, in an effort to push what the technology offered he installed

Hyper-V as the base and installed Virtual Servers onto that, apparently this makes our

operating environment quicker and more resilient. You can purchase Windows Server

2008 without Hyper-V if you wish. The estimated saving with be in the region of £20.

Another "role" I find worth mentioning is called Presentation Virtualization with Terminal

Server. With an ever increasing requirement for users to access company data from

multiple locations there has been an exponential growth in the use of Terminal Services.

However, earlier versions suffered a little from issues around printing and the creation of

cut down desktops, hence the increased usage of software from the likes of Citrix.