[Info] What to Expect from Microsoft in 2005

= 1. Commentary: What to Expect from Microsoft in 2005 by Paul Thurrott, News Editor, thurrott@windowsitpro.com

Although the New Year is typically a time of reflection, I thought
it might be nice to leave behind the security hole-ridden past of 2004
and look ahead to 2005, which I believe will prove to be a
transitional year for Microsoft. That's because Microsoft was
preoccupied with Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) in 2004 and now has a
number of delayed projects to ship. Then in 2006, the company will be
concentrating on the Longhorn wave of products. So this week, I
provide a brief rundown of some important products Microsoft will ship
in 2005.

64-Bit Products
In 2005, Microsoft will ship x64 (AMD64 and Intel Extended Memory
64 Technology--EM64T)-compatible versions of Microsoft Biztalk Server,
Commerce Server, SQL Server 2005, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP
Professional Edition. So right out of the gate, x64 will be a more
viable platform than Intel's struggling Itanium. Credit Microsoft's
embrace of x64 technology to Windows NT architect David Cutler, who
early on realized the architectural and real-world benefits of a
64-bit version of the x86 platform. It's only a matter of time before
x64 achieves the scale-up and scale-out prowess it needs to make the
Itanium obsolete. A lot of information about Microsoft's x64 products
is available, and more will come. Check out the following article
about Windows 2003 x64 Edition and XP Pro x64 Edition.
http://www.winnetmag.com/article/ar...44686.html

Exchange 2003 SP2
I discussed Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2)
last week (see the URL below), but this release will include some of
the features Microsoft originally planned for the now-canceled
Exchange Edge Services product as well as a new version of the
Exchange Intelligent Message Filter (IMF) spam filter.
http://www.winnetmag.com/article/ar...44940.html

Longhorn and Longhorn Server Betas
Although both the client and server versions of Longhorn (the next
Windows release) will finally ship in beta 1 form in 2005, Longhorn
client will ship in 2006, and Longhorn Server is due in early 2007.
Microsoft has scaled back Longhorn dramatically since Microsoft
originally started discussing the project publicly in late 2003, but I
still expect it to be a major and compelling release.

Microsoft Antispyware
The public beta version of Microsoft's client-side antispyware
product will ship on Thursday, but the big news this year will be the
corporate version, which should ship by the end of 2005. Both the
client and server versions of this product are based on technology
that Microsoft recently acquired from GIANT Company Software. You can
find the background story behind this company and its technology in my
"Microsoft Anti-Spyware Preview" on the SuperSite for Windows.
http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews...review.asp

DPS
Microsoft's curious decision to ship a separate disk-based backup
and recovery server product rather than roll out that technology as a
free add-on for Windows 2003 led to the development of Microsoft Data
Protection Server (DPS), which will likely ship in early 2005. DPS
leverages several Windows 2003 storage technologies, including
Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS). See the following URL for
more information about DPS:
http://www.windowsitpro.com/article...44688.html

Microsoft Update
I first wrote about Microsoft Update in mid-2003 (see the URL
below), and the only thing that's changed since then is the delivery
timeline. Now due in mid-2005, Microsoft Update will be based on the
company's new software update back end and will replace Windows
Update. Microsoft Update will update all currently supported Microsoft
products--not just Windows.
http://www.windowsitpro.com/article...39545.html

SQL Server 2005
SQL Server 2005 will finally ship in 2005 and in many
editions--from individual user versions to versions for the largest
corporations. SQL Server 2005 includes a new management console that
consolidates many of the previously separate management front ends,
two-way Data Transformation Services (DTS) functionality, new
programmability features, and a host of other features. A preview
release of SQL Server 2005, dubbed the Community Technical Preview
(CTP), is currently available for interested testers. For more
information about SQL Server 2005, check out Brian Moran's article at
the following URL:
http://www.windowsitpro.com/article...44291.html

System Center 2005
Microsoft System Center 2005 combines products such as Microsoft
Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003 SP1, Microsoft Operations Manager
(MOM) 2005, and a unique reporting tool, to finally offer Microsoft
shops a one-stop solution for systems management. The new System
Center Reporting Server analyzes the previously incompatible data back
ends behind SMS and MOM and generates reports that include the
operations information from MOM and the Change and Configuration
Management (CCM) information from SMS.
http://www.windowsitpro.com/article...43083.html

Visual Studio 2005
Like SQL Server 2005, Visual Studio 2005 has been delayed several
times, has picked up an amazing array of new functionality over time,
and will ship in a dizzying array of product versions. Visual Studio
2005 aims to be all things to all developers, with better support for
both novice programmers and teams of professional programmers working
on enterprise-class services and applications. Visual Studio 2005 will
ship alongside SQL Server 2005 and new versions of the Windows .NET
Framework, ASP.NET, and other developer-oriented technologies.

Windows 2000 Update Rollup
In November 2004, Microsoft revealed that it was canceling plans
for Windows 2000 Server SP5 and would instead release a so-called
Update Rollup in its place. You can look at this Update Rollup as the
official send-off for Win2K. It's clear that Microsoft wants its
customers to update to new Windows versions. I covered the Update
Rollup in Windows IT Pro UPDATE in late November.
http://www.windowsitpro.com/article...44634.html

Windows 2003 Server R2
Windows 2003 Release 2 (R2) is due in late 2005 and will be based
on the Windows 2003 SP1 kernel and code base, ensuring compatibility
with existing applications and services. R2 has been whittled down a
lot and is now just a shadow of its former self. As with SP1's
Security Configuration Wizard (SCW), R2's features are installed
separately through the Control Panel Add/Remove Programs applet and
include many of the Windows 2003 feature packs and various features
for managing branch offices remotely.
http://www.winsupersite.com/faq/win2003_r2.asp

Windows Mobile 2005 and ActiveSync 4.0
Microsoft will ship major new versions of Windows Mobile 2005,
code-named Magneto, and Microsoft ActiveSync 4.0 in 2005. Windows
Mobile 2005 will continue the enterprise focus of the two most recent
releases and add important new features, such as a persistent data
store, a cleaner looking UI, and new soft keys that replicate many
commonly needed choices in pop-up menus. Microsoft will even
dramatically update the Pocket Office applications in this release,
which it hasn't done in several years.

Windows 2003 SP1 and SBS 2003 SP1
Although the details about Windows 2003 SP1 are well known (see the
URL below for more Windows 2003 SP1 information), less is known about
Microsoft Small Business Server (SBS) 2003 SP1, which should ship soon
after Windows 2003 SP1. I'm looking into what unique features SBS 2003
SP1 will offer, but my guess is that the release will be more than
just SP1 on top of SBS.
http://www.windowsitpro.com/article...44882.html

WUS
Utilizing the same back end as Microsoft Update, Windows Update
Services (WUS) is the successor to Microsoft Software Update Services
(SUS) and will support patching various Windows versions, Microsoft
Office 2003 and Office XP, Exchange 2003, SQL Server 2000, and
Microsoft Data Engine (MSDE), as well as all IA-64 (Itanium) and x64
Microsoft products out of the box. In the future, WUS will support
other products as well. WUS should ship soon and will likely be
excellent.
http://www.windowsitpro.com/article...41969.html


Salu2!!!
Javier Inglés
MS MVP, Windows Server-Directory Services
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/default.aspx

e-m@il:jingles@NOSPAMmvps.org
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