News

Microsoft Releases 64-bit W2K to Developers

Microsoft Corp. today released a new, optimized version of Windows 2000 specifically designed for Intel’s 64-bit Itanium processor.

This is not the first developer’s release of 64-bit Windows 2000, but it will more closely resemble the final version when it is released. In addition, Microsoft (www.microsoft.com) and Intel Corp. (www.intel.com) released software developer kits and driver developer kits for developers to take advantages of all of the software and hardware’s new features.

Microsoft and Intel also created a web farm of multiprocessor Itanium servers for developers who do not have Itanium machines on hand to test IA-64 applications. Microsoft expects developers to create and compile their applications on 32-bit machines, then test and deploy on 64-bit machines.

Intel expects that many early adopters of Itanium will be interested in high-end scientific applications, creating demand for both servers and workstations. Consequently, Microsoft has released both workstation and server flavors of Windows 2000 to developers.

The companies also expect enterprises needing high performance databases to deploy Itanium. Michael Stephenson, lead product manager at Microsoft for 64-bit Windows enterprise servers, says Itanium machines will be able to store considerable quantities of database information in RAM, rather than disk storage, increasing the availability and performance of databases. - Christopher McConnell

About the Author

Scott Bekker is editor in chief of Redmond Channel Partner magazine.

Featured

  • Microsoft Offers Support Extensions for Exchange 2016 and 2019

    Microsoft has introduced a paid Extended Security Update (ESU) program for on-premises Exchange Server 2016 and 2019, offering a crucial safety cushion as both versions near their Oct. 14, 2025 end-of-support date.

  • An image of planes flying around a globe

    2025 Microsoft Conference Calendar: For Partners, IT Pros and Developers

    Here's your guide to all the IT training sessions, partner meet-ups and annual Microsoft conferences you won't want to miss.

  • Notebook

    Microsoft Centers AI, Security and Partner Dogfooding at MCAPS

    Microsoft's second annual MCAPS for Partners event took place Tuesday, delivering a volley of updates and directives for its partners for fiscal 2026.

  • Microsoft Layoffs: AI Is the Obvious Elephant in the Room

    As Microsoft doubles down on an $80 billion bet on AI this fiscal year, its workforce reductions are drawing scrutiny over whether AI's ascent is quietly reshaping its human capital strategy, even as official messaging avoids drawing a direct line.