News


Windows NAS Appliances Gain Ground

Network Attached Storage devices built on Windows are continuing to gain market share, according to research by IDC.

New Xeon Has More Cache

Intel released a new Xeon processor this week for front-end servers and workstations with more on-die cache. The 3.06-GHz Intel Xeon processor with 1 MB of L3 cache complements the Intel Xeon MP processors released last month for four-processor and larger servers.

Windows Server 2003 Gets First Patch

Windows Server 2003, the operating system Microsoft delayed for a complete security code review, got its first formal patch from Microsoft last week.

Quick ROI Hits for Your Windows Infrastructure

Any new Microsoft operating system offers a few flashy improvements where a quick upgrade of a server here and a server there for a valuable feature guarantees an immediate benefit. Windows Server 2003 is no exception.

Palladium: Don't Fear the Nexus

Microsoft's Next Generation Secure Computing Base is misunderstood. The controversial proposal for delivering client security through integrated hardware and software has some privacy advocates and conspiracy theorists crying foul. But several details have emerged that demonstrate that this code won't be running secretively in the background, and in fact that it looks like a promising, user-controlled defense against privacy intrusions and security violations.

Long-range ROI with Windows Server 2003 Migrations

When it comes to long-term return on investment, many of the arguments that held sway for the Windows 2000 generation of servers apply to the Windows Server 2003 group.

Microsoft Metadirectory Services Overhauled

After making relatively little noise about metadirectory services for several years, Microsoft on Wednesday said it had released to manufacturing a new metadirectory product called Microsoft Identity Integration Server 2003.

IBM Bumps Windows from Top Spot in TPC-C Again

IBM traded places with HP again for the top spot in the Transaction Processing Performance Council OLTP benchmark, bumping a Windows/Itanium-based system with a Unix/RISC system.

Web Site Defacement Alerts Go Out

Several security vendors are issuing alerts that a hacker contest with the goal of defacing 6,000 Web sites will begin on Sunday.

Intel 'Madison' Ships, OEMs Update Servers

Intel this week delivered its third-generation 64-bit processor, the "Madison" release of the Itanium 2 processor. Major server vendors including Dell, HP and IBM are poised with systems built on the higher performance chip.

Intel's 32-bit on Itanium Preview to Come in Windows 2003 SP1 Beta

In partnership with Microsoft, Intel will give a customer preview of its 32-bit execution layer for 64-bit Itanium 2 processors in the beta of Service Pack 1 for Windows Server 2003.

AMD Ships Opteron for 4- and 8-ways

AMD this week updated its two-month-old line of Opteron 64-bit server processors to offer chips designed for four-processor servers and eight-processor servers. The delivery means AMD has several technical building blocks in place to reach higher into enterprise requirements.

Small Business Server 2003 Test Version Available

Microsoft has decided to release Windows Small Business Server 2003 in two editions. The decision highlights the increasing segmentation of the Windows server line, which is now up to nine editions – roughly a 50 percent increase from the Windows 2000 generation of servers.

Microsoft Ships iSCSI Support

Delivering on one of the major free, post-release add-ons to Windows Server 2003, Microsoft this week put out the Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) software initiator package.

Systems Management Server 2003 Hits RC1

Systems Management Server 2003 entered its last major testing milestone when Microsoft put out Release Candidate 1 of the replacement for the four-year-old SMS 2.0.

Windows NT Workstation Support Retired

Windows NT 4.0 Workstation died with little fanfare on Monday.

Microsoft Virus Alliance Grows

Three weeks after sending shockwaves through the antivirus industry with the announcement that it had bought an anti-virus vendor, Microsoft and three security partners made nice in public with an extension of Microsoft's Virus Information Alliance (VIA).

Windows 2000 SP4 Available

Microsoft on Thursday officially posted the fourth service pack for Windows 2000. SP4 comes about 11 months after Service Pack 3 and, like SP3, is a recommended update. The fix list includes more than 650 issues with an emphasis on security, application and hardware compatibility, Windows 2000 setup and operating system reliability.

Exchange 2003 to RTM Monday

Microsoft will release Exchange Server 2003 to manufacturing on Monday, company officials said Thursday. The company plans to hold prices steady from Exchange 2000 to Exchange 2003 and will include more flexible licensing options for the messaging server, as well.

Opinion: Microsoft vs. Network Appliance: Full of Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing

Longhorn changes the rules of the NAS game, but performance and price still matter most when shopping for NAS devices.