Windows Server 2003 Editions
Windows Server 2003 is an incremental update to the platform and technologies introduced in Windows 2000. If you are coming to Windows Server 2003 with experience from Windows 2000 servers, you will find the transition a relatively easy one. If your experience is with Windows NT 4, welcome to the new world!
But don’t let the incremental nature of the updates mislead you; behind the upgrades are significant and long-awaited improvements to the security and reliability of the operating system and to the administrative toolset. In many books, this would be the place where you would get a laundry list of new features. Actually, the Windows Server 2003 list is extensive and there are features that make upgrading to Windows Server 2003 an obvious choice for almost any administrator. However, the particular features that appeal to you may be different from those that appeal to another IT professional.
You may be drawn to the significant features and improvements added to Active Directory, the new tools to support popular but complex GPOs, the enhancements to enterprise security, the improvements to Terminal Services, or a number of other enhanced capabilities of the new operating system. If you are considering a move to Windows Server 2003, take a good look through the Microsoft Web site for the platform, at http: //www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003 and judge for yourself which improvements are, in your environment, truly significant.
Although the list of new features is extensive, the evaluation of the operating system becomes more interesting because Windows Server 2003 is available in multiple flavors including the 32-bit, 64-bit, and embedded versions. But the most important distinc-
The Windows Server 2003 Family tions are those among the four product editions, listed here in order of available features and functionality, as well as by price:
■ Windows Server 2003, Web Edition ■ Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition ■ Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition ■ Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition
