Race Is On To Get Jupiter Ready

"They're trying like hell to get it out [for the Tech Ed 2003 conference], and they just might. It's close," said one Microsoft partner familiar with the company's plans.

Phase one of Jupiter, dubbed Voyager, is the next version of BizTalk, Microsoft's application integration server. A beta is on track to ship in June, a Microsoft spokeswoman said. She declined to provide further details.

Microsoft previously has said the full product is expected to come this year, and phase two of Jupiter, due next year, will add content management, commerce server and other features. That phase is code-named Discovery, industry observers say.

Also at Tech Ed, Paul Flessner, senior vice president of Microsoft's Server Platform Division, is scheduled to preside over the official launch of Exchange Server 2003 release candidate 1. Barry Goffe, Microsoft's group manager of enterprise marketing strategy, confirmed the Exchange Server news, first reported two weeks ago by CRN.

Release candidate 1 of Exchange Server 2003 shouldn't be confused with the actual shipping version, which volume buyers can expect by summer's end, sources said. Retail availability is slated for the fall.

Microsoft will also rebrand its NAS platform, Windows Powered NAS, to Windows Storage Server 2003. The move reflects the platform's relationship with Windows Server 2003, said Claude Lorenson, product manager for Microsoft's Enterprise Storage Division.

Windows Storage Server 2003, due to launch in September and targeted at NAS box makers, has all the storage features of Windows Server 2003, including Volume ShadowCopy Service, Virtual Disk Service and Multipath I/O, Lorenson said. The main difference is that features not needed for NAS use have been cut, he said.

PAULA ROONEY contributed to this story.