By Michael Cherry [bio]
Posted: Feb. 20, 2006

The following an excerpt of a Research Report published by Directions on Microsoft, an independent research firm focused exclusively on Microsoft strategy & technology. More samples of our content, as well as a list of upcoming articles and reports are also available.

Feature packs deliver Windows Server features on a separate schedule ("out of band") from the server OS itself. Feature packs do not require separate server licenses, but one—Rights Management Server (RMS)—requires separate Client Access Licenses (CALs), and several feature packs require SQL Server, which must be licensed separately. If Microsoft holds to its cycle of alternating interim and major releases, then fewer separate feature packs may be released out-of-band in the future.

Feature Packs That Were Incorporated

The following formerly separate feature packs were integrated into Windows Server 2003 R2:

Services for UNIX (SFU) integrates Windows with Unix and Linux environments.

Active Directory Application Mode (ADAM) allows an application to use Active Directory (AD) to store identity data that is relevant only to that application, without having to store it in the main Windows AD database. The latest version of ADAM shipped with Windows Server 2003 R2.

Feature Packs That Remain Separate

Notable feature packs that were not incorporated into Windows Server 2003 R2 include the following:

Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) allows organizations to host Windows Update internally (on the organization's side of their firewall) and automate the downloading and deployment of patches from Microsoft. WSUS 2.0, released in June 2005, provides a single patch distribution system that covers major products, including Windows, Exchange, Office, and SQL Server. (WSUS was formerly called Software Update Services and Windows Update Service.)

Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) enables teams to create Web sites for sharing documents and data. (WSS was originally released as the Office Server Extensions with Office 2000 in 1999; a subsequent version was named SharePoint Team Services and delivered with certain versions of Office XP.) Released in Oct. 2003, WSS is required by SharePoint Portal Server 2003 and is used by Project Server 2003 for sharing project documents and the setting up of project workspace Web sites. An update is anticipated in the second half of 2006.

Automated Deployment Services (ADS) provides new imaging tools and an infrastructure for deploying server images to bare hardware.

Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) assists administrators in managing Windows clients via Active Directory and Group Policy. For example, administrators can use GPMC to simulate a Group Policy change and see what effects it would have on users.

Identity Integration Feature Pack enables management of identity data (such as user names and passwords) across Active Directory, Active Directory Application Mode, and Exchange 2000 or 2003. It is particularly useful for cross-forest synchronization of Exchange data. It is a subset of the Microsoft's Identity Integration Server interoperability product.

Windows Rights Management Services (RMS) and its client component enable users to place restrictions (such as "do not print") on documents and messages and ensure that those restrictions are enforced by compatible applications, such as Office 2003. The most recent update to RMS is SP1, released in Apr. 2005; the next major update will not likely appear until Longhorn Server ships in 2007.

Windows System Resource Manager (WSRM) enables organizations to allocate server resources—primarily memory and CPUs—to particular applications, enabling system administrators to manage workloads when more than one application is hosted on the same server and to restrict applications to only the CPUs for which they are licensed.