Windows Server 2003 R2 Goes Gold

After a year in beta testing, the update to Windows Server 2003 known as "R2" has been released to manufacturing, Microsoft senior vice president Bob Muglia announced in a webcast Tuesday morning. R2 will serve as an interim release between Windows Server 2003 SP1 and Longhorn Server, due in 2007.

R2 delivers many enhancements and several new components that Microsoft says customers have asked for since the operating system was released in April of 2003. However, the core of Windows Server 2003 SP1 has remained unchanged to facilitate faster deployment.

New features in R2 include improved security technologies and federated cross-company identity support known as TrustBridge. Branch Office File Replication services (FRS), Common Logging File Systems (CLFS), File Server Migration Toolkit (FSMT), as well as Interix and Network File System (NFS) support have also been added.

UNIX platform support in R2 has also been bolstered through a number of new tools included with the operating systems.

Muglia concedes that R2 is a "minor update," but says "it provides great value to customers." The release is part of a new strategy by Microsoft to have major server updates every four years, with minor updates like R2 every two years.

The advantage, says Muglia, is compatibility. All currently Windows Server 2003 SP1 customers can easily roll out R2 without worry of problems. Microsoft says R2 is "100 percent compatible" with its predecessor, and Muglia claims it is even "more compatible than a service pack update."

Windows Server 2003 R2 will be generally available within the next 60 days.