What are the differences between Windows 2000 Server and the newer version Windows Server 2003?

From a "web hosting view" two major changes have been made to Windows Server 2003. The first is an update of Microsoft's web server, the Internet Information Server (IIS). It was updated from version 5.0 to version 6.0. The new IIS 6.0 was re-designed from the ground up and offers compared to the older version great improvements in performance, security, and stability.

The second change is the inclusion of the .Net Framework. The .Net Framework is a completely new software development platform which has the potential to dramatically change the way applications are developed and hosted.

In addition to that there are literally thousands of other smaller changes in the new version, all of which add functionality, improved security, and an increase of stability and performance to the new operating system from Microsoft.

What are the benefits of Windows Server 2003?

The new IIS 6.0 is much faster, more stable, more secure, and also more scalable than any earlier version. IIS 6.0 has the potential to host several thousands of web site more than can be hosted on a server with IIS 5.0. It is important to say that the performance improvements are much higher if .NET programming is used.

The inclusion of the.Net Framework allows users to take advantage of all of the benefits of Microsoft's newest development platforms. It will also allow immediately begin developing applications which take advantage of XML

Will all current applications run on Windows Server 2003?

The vast majority of applications that run on Windows 2000 Server will run just fine on Windows Server 2003. However there are a couple, including one very important one that will not run on the new version. Among the Microsoft applications are older editions of the Redmond, Wash., company's SQL Server database, including versions 6.5 and 7.0.

Microsoft Exchange Server 2000 and older versions are also affected. There is no choice but to wait for Exchange Server 2003. Microsoft will be releasing the next version of Exchange Server later in 2003.

What are the differences between the four Windows Server 2003 editions?

Microsoft has released four editions of Windows Server 2003. They are known as the following: Web Edition, Standard Edition, Enterprise Edition, and Datacenter Edition. The main differences between these editions is the number of supported processors (2-64) and amount of supported RAM (2GB-512GB).

The Web Edition is targeted for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and Web Hosting Companies offering dedicated server hosting and shared web hosting. Microsoft does not allow running software like SQL Server or an Internet mail server on the Web edition. The Web Edition supports a maximum of two processors and a maximum of two GB of RAM.

The Standard Edition is the right edition for servers that wil be used as file or printer sharing servers. It supports a maximum of four processors and four GB or RAM and is a full-featured version of Windows Server 2003.

Targeted for networking, messaging, inventory, customer service systems, databases, and e-commerce web sites, the Enterprise Edition will support up to eight multiprocessors and up to 32 GB of RAM. A 64-bit version is also available, but it requires 64-bit processors. This edition offers eight-node server clustering for clustering SQL Server or other cluster-aware applications.

Lastly, there is the Datacenter Edition. It is designed for highest levels of scalability and reliability. It supports up to 64 multiprocessors and 512 GB of RAM. This version is only for very specialized, mission-critical application requirements and is also available in a 64-bit version.

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