Microsoft Confirms Windows.Net Server Delay
Microsoft
As first reported by CRN last week, the Windows.Net server has been pushed back until the second half of the year to integrate additional security, privacy and availability features as part of Microsoft's new "Trustworthy Computing" initiative.
In January, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said locking down the .Net products, a strategy he dubbed Trustworthy Computing, was vital to the success of its .Net Web services.
Microsoft now plans to release the code to manufacturing this summer. The Windows.Net server, which is the server complement to the Windows XP client, was originally promised to ship during the first half of 2002.
"The delay reflects increased focus on the core tenets of Trustworthy Computing, as a part of Microsoft's everyday culture and core product development cycle," according to a Microsoft statement issued late Thursday. "As a result, there will continue to be modifications and additions to engineering processes and procedures that may lengthen the delivery schedule in the short term but will yield higher quality and customer approval in the long term."
The Windows.Net server will be the first server to integrate native support for XML Web services, the .Net Framework and SOAP, WSDL and UDDI, enabling businesses to develop Web services. The server is also slated to feature improved collaboration services, enhanced multimedia services, a new file-system recovery tool and Session Initiation Protocol Services for corporate realtime communications.
In addition, the four-server family will incorporate an improved Active Directory as well as support for enhanced clustering and Intel's 64-bit architecture, the company has said.
Analysts said they were not surprised that the server would be delayed until the second half of 2002, or perhaps longer.
"I had heard it may slip, especially since those target dates were before Microsoft embarked on its new security campaign," said Gary Hein, a senior analyst with The Burton Group.
"Windows.Net Server is slated to ship sometime in the second half of 2002, and with the Trustworthy Computing initiative and Microsoft's decision to temporarily halt code development for a month to make the code more secure, there's a possibility that it could be delayed further," said Laura DiDio, an analyst with Giga Information Group.