- Windows NT Server 4.0 Editions
- Windows 2000 Server Editions
- Web Server: New Kid on the Block
Windows 2000 Server Editions
Windows 2000 Server editions correspond more precisely to specific Windows Server 2003 editions because Microsoft didn't really change its operating system product positioning between the release of Windows 2000 Server and Windows Server 2003.
Windows 2000 Server itself, of course, provides improvements over Windows NT Server 4.0. The basic edition of Windows 2000 Server is the closest match to Windows NT Server 4.0, adding Terminal Services to the list of major product features in the edition. Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition matches Windows 2000 Server feature for feature. One major change between the two is in Terminal Services. An optional component in Windows 2000, Terminal Services is present in all editions of Windows Server 2003 in at least a Remote Administration mode.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
→ To learn about Windows Server 2003's Terminal Services capabilities and operational modes, see Chapter 11, "Terminal Services," p. 179.
Windows 2000 Advanced Server adds up to eight-way processor support over Windows NT Server 4.0 Enterprise Edition, and that eight-way support is continued in Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition. Windows 2000 Advanced Server is the lowest edition of Windows 2000 Server that includes NLB; as we've already mentioned, all editions of Windows Server 2003 include NLB. Other advanced Windows NT Server 4.0 Enterprise Edition features, such as MSMQ, are present in all editions of both Windows 2000 Server and Windows Server 2003.
Windows 2000 Datacenter Server was the first "Datacenter" edition of Windows. It adds support for up to 64MB of RAM, four-way Windows clustering (over Advanced Server's two-way clustering), larger disk volumes, and up to 32-way multiprocessing support, using proprietary Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) add-ins from computer manufacturers. Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition introduces almost no changes to that list of basic features and must still be acquired directly from an approved computer manufacturer in conjunction with a server approved to run Datacenter Server.
Windows Server 2003, Web Edition has no direct Windows 2000 Server edition to compare to because Web Server is a new edition. However, nearly all Windows 2000 Server computers being used as Web servers can be reconfigured to use Windows Server 2003, Web Edition for lower licensing costs and an operating system tuned specifically for use as a Web server.
Speaking of upgrades, selecting the right edition for a Windows 2000 Server upgrade is easy: Just pick the corresponding Windows Server 2003 edition. With a one-to-one mapping from Windows 2000 Server to Windows Server 2003, you'll be able to easily select the correct edition. Note that Windows Server 2003, Web Edition can be used to upgrade Windows 2000 Server computers as well, offering a less-expensive upgrade path for Web server computers.