Microsoft Server NearMicrosoft Server Near

When Bill Gates takes the stage at the Comdex trade show in Las Vegas-as he always does about this time of year-he'll have news certain to influence how some Windows administrators will spend their time in 2003: the spring release of Windows .Net Server 2003. Microsoft's chief software architect is expected to disclose Nov. 17 that the server operating system will go into its final testing phase, or Release Candidate 2, within a few weeks, with general availability planned for April. It's the first major upgrade to Microsoft's server operating system since Windows 2000.

The software will be capable of running on up to 64 CPUs and has run up to 200% faster than Windows 2000 in some tests, says Bob O'Brien, group product manager with Microsoft's Windows server division. It will be offered in four packages: Data Center, Enterprise, Standard, and a new edition that's optimized for Web sites. Pricing hasn't been set.

What's next? Not Longhorn. Microsoft has decided against a server version of the operating system in development, tentatively slated for 2004, and will deliver Longhorn only for desktop PCs.