Launch Of Windows.Net Release Candidate 2 'Imminent'

During his Nov. 17 keynote kicking off the computer trade show, Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates is expected to unveil the Windows.Net Server 2003 RC2 and plans to release final code to manufacturing in December, said sources familiar with the company's plans.

At a company event last week, sources were told that RC2 would be in some partners' hands by mid-November, just before or shortly after Comdex.

"RC2 will hit the street by the 15th of November, and Microsoft will give RC2s out at Comdex," said another source. "It will RTM [release to manufacturing before the end of the year."

"It's imminent," said another source familiar with the plans.

Microsoft would neither confirm nor deny this report Tuesday except to say it has no announcements on timing. However, a Microsoft spokeswoman said the company is on track to ship RC2 this fall.

Windows.Net Server is the first major Windows server upgrade since Windows 2000 shipped in February 2000. The first release candidate of Windows.Net was made available last July. Windows.Net includes four separate servers with distinct target audiences and will host additional services developed by Microsoft, including a real-time communication server code-named Greenwich.

Channel sources say the economic climate is not ripe for a product launch but note that Windows.Net is a solid introduction to Microsoft's .Net Web services and applications to the masses.

"I see a lot of potential for solution providers in Web-based management and Web-based applications," said Larry Souza, president of Maximum Micro, a solution provider in South Yarmouth, Mass. "Windows XP and the .Net platform are opening up [Microsoft's platform a little more."

"Nobody is screaming for it, but it's a good baseline for building Web services," said one solution provider who asked not to be named. "The concept of Web services running on a scalable server and providing business processes is key. As opposed to buying BEA or IBM Websphere, it's still lower cost for Windows, and the development time for .Net is still under the development time for J2EE."

While some solution providers point to new Web services capabilities such as the embedded .Net Framework, roles-based security and private UDDI support, others say the integration of a more robust, mature Active Directory will also drive adoption.

"We'll see a good 30 percent of our Windows 2000 customers move to Windows.Net," said Grady Crunk, executive vice president of Central Data, a Titusville, Fla.-based solution provider. "It's probably more because of the directory than anything else. And you don't need to buy new hardware."

Microsoft confirmed that it has no plans to release a server version of its next Windows upgrade, code-named "Longhorn." The Longhorn release will be an upgrade to the Windows XP client only and is due in the 2004-2005 timeframe. The next server upgrade, code-named "Blackcomb," will follow the Longhorn client upgrade in 2005.