• Chart: Anticipated Windows General Availability Dates

Even though Microsoft is still working on Windows .NET Server, a major follow-on Windows release is tentatively scheduled for 2004 and could bring Microsoft's client and server operating systems back together, according to Platforms Group Vice President Jim Allchin. Speaking at the eleventh annual Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC), Allchin laid out the immediate future for the Windows line, including a first service pack for Windows XP in 2002 and the general availability in 2003 for the oft-delayed Windows .NET Server. The announcements offer IT customers some welcome insight into the Platforms Group’s plans for the next two years, but they also highlight the difficulties customers face in deciding what to deploy now. (For a summary of the schedule, see "Anticipated Windows General Availability Dates".)

XP Service Pack 1 and Windows .NET

The first service pack for Windows XP will be available in the second half of 2002. Like most Windows service packs, this one will contain a mix of integration-tested fixes to bugs in the original code, as well as new features such as support for the Bluetooth wireless protocol, which will allow customers to connect peripherals to their computer without cables.

By the end of 2002, Microsoft will also release enhancements to Windows XP to support new hardware developments and form factors, such as the Tablet PC, Mira (the code name for a set of technologies that will enable remote displays to connect wirelessly to a PC), and Freestyle (the code name for a new PC remote control and accompanying interface visible from 10 feet away allowing use with a television monitor). Whether these new features will be part of one big service pack or packaged as separate "feature" packs is not clear. (For more information on Mira and Freestyle, see "New Products Demonstrate PC as Home Hub" on page 16 of the Feb. 2002 Update.)

Microsoft reiterated at WinHEC that the next version of its server operating system, Windows .NET Server, would be delayed until the end of 2002, with general availability likely in early 2003. (See "Windows .NET Server Delayed" on page 9 of the Apr. 2002 Update.)

Longhorn

Longhorn is the code name for the next version of both Windows XP and the still-unreleased Windows .NET Server. (Previously Blackcomb was to be the next release; now it appears the Blackcomb code name will either be dropped or applied to a release that follows Longhorn.)

Details about Longhorn, including a firm release date, are still sketchy, but it is likely to include major improvements to graphics routines to improve display of text and images and a new storage model based in part on technology from Yukon, the code name for a major redesign of the storage system for SQL Server. Microsoft will likely provide additional information about Longhorn at the next Professional Developers Conference (PDC), the venue where Microsoft typically reveals new Windows APIs and features to software developers.

Availability Confusion Makes Decisions Harder

The Windows schedule information provided at WinHEC is insufficient for customers still running NT 4 to decide which server version of Windows to deploy in the near term and for customers trying to determine if Software Assurance makes sense for their organization.

Microsoft has not yet released a full Windows server life cycle as it has done for the Windows client. (See "Windows Desktop Life-Cycle Guidelines" on page 18 of the Apr. 2001 Update.) However, it has announced that Windows NT Server 4.0 (Standard and Enterprise Editions) will no longer be available in retail or OEM channels after July 1, 2002. This creates a quandary for companies that delayed deployment of Windows 2000 because they were uncertain about its stability, did not know how to best implement new features such as Active Directory, or simply did not have the resources to deploy it. Many of these customers would prefer to use NT 4 for new servers, then upgrade all these servers to Windows .NET when it becomes available. Now they face several choices: they can put the deployment of new servers on hold until Windows .NET is available (and perceived by customers as stable); incrementally deploy Windows 2000 Server for new servers (but not Active Directory); or purchase Windows 2000 Server licenses and downgrade them to NT 4.

Customers trying to determine whether purchasing Microsoft’s new Software Assurance (SA) upgrade plan makes sense for their organization face an even harder decision, as Microsoft has still not given a firm date for the release of Longhorn, but only hinted that it will be available in 2004. Without a firm date, customers (particularly those running Windows NT Server) will have a difficult time determining the value of the SA upgrade option, which requires companies to pay an annual fee of about 25% of the full price of a server product in exchange for the right to upgrade to any new version of the product. The only option for Windows NT Server users who think they might want to upgrade is to purchase, before July 31, 2002, Upgrade Advantage for Windows Server (SA is not available for NT Server), which will give them two years of upgrade rights, including the right to upgrade to Longhorn if it ships within that two-year time frame.

If Longhorn doesn’t ship within two years, those customers can then renew their upgrade rights (which will by then have been converted by Microsoft to SA) to give them additional time to upgrade to Longhorn.

Windows 2000 Server users (including those who have downgraded to Windows NT) have the option of purchasing SA for up to three years, which should get them a Longhorn upgrade at lower cost than buying the full product. (For more information, see "Major Makeover for Volume Licensing" on page 22 of the June 2001 Update.)

Resources

For information on the Windows client life cycle, see www.microsoft.com/windows/lifecycle.asp.

For information on the retirement of Windows NT 4.0, see www.microsoft.com/ntserver/ProductInfo/Availability/Retiring.asp.