Love, Commitment, And Windows Server 2003Love, Commitment, And Windows Server 2003

Just in time for Valentine's Day, the matchmaking Web site, Match.com, is practicing what it preaches with a public display of affection. Match.com is nestling up to Microsoft's Windows Server 2003 and related technologies, including the Visual Studio .Net 2003 development tools and ASP .Net Web-services software.

"We partnered with Microsoft because we knew they'd be there to support us," chief technology officer Mike Presz said in a written statement, using language one might expect from a love-struck user of his company's site.

Embracing Windows was not always easy. Before switching to Windows Server 2003 in the middle of last year, Match.com's applications, written with earlier versions of Microsoft tools, ran on the Windows 2000 operating system. The code on the site had been patched and changed so many times it caused reliability problems, according to Louis Bardov, Match.com's VP of development. "We had issues with stability,'" he says. Some Match.com customers can relate to that.

Using Visual Studio .Net, company programmers rebuilt Match.com from scratch. How long did it take until the new site was ready for the world? Nine months, of course.

With Windows Server 2003, Match.com has become a smooth operator--a sought-after characteristic in a Web site, though one that raises suspicions on the singles scene. It used to require 104 dual-processor servers, nearly maxed out at 90% utilization, to handle Match.com's 30 million page views per day. That workload is now managed by 45 servers running at only half capacity.

And Match.com has gained speed, dishing up pages in less than two seconds, or just a few heartbeats. That means the Web site is better prepared for any spike in traffic that might occur when Cupid's arrows start flying. "We see tremendous activity around this time of year," says Bardov.

As Valentine's Day approaches, every second counts. "You can find a Valentine on Saturday morning," Bardov says optimistically. With Windows Server 2003 powering Match.com, even the pursuit of love may involve fewer glitches.