• Chart: What Windows Server 2003 SP1 Fixes

The first service pack for Windows Server 2003 should create fewer application compatibility problems than Windows XP SP2. Nonetheless, the inclusion of new and significantly updated features and more than 200 bug fixes means customers should test the Windows Server 2003 SP1 as if it were a new release of Windows before deploying it in their organization.

What's in SP1?

New features in Windows Server 2003 SP1 will increase the security and reliability of Windows Server. They include the Security Configuration Wizard, designed to help administrators properly configure security settings for particular server roles, and the Post-Setup Security Update feature, which blocks all inbound connections to the server immediately after installation until Windows Update has delivered the latest security updates.

In addition to these new features, SP1 includes changes to Internet Explorer (IE), remote procedure calls (RPC), and the Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM). These changes were initially released as part of Windows XP SP2 and caused compatibility problems with some production applications. Consequently, customers should make sure they understand the new features and changes. For example, some reported problems include the following:

• Running the Security Configuration Wizard can create a configuration that prevents Exchange Server 2003 from responding on the required ports even though all the services are running, and Outlook users will not be able to connect to their e-mail accounts
• ISA Server 2000 requires a patch to work with the hardened implementation of RPC.

Windows Server 2003 shipped with relatively few security vulnerabilities—only 13 vulnerabilities warranted security bulletins and patches since its release. Although these patches are included in SP1, customers may want to review the complete list of specific bug and vulnerability fixes in SP1. If they are comfortable with the security patches or workarounds they already have in place, they could wait and install SP1 with the Windows Server 2003 R2 interim release, scheduled for later this year. Windows Server 2003 SP1 will be a requirement for deploying R2, and deferring the installation of SP1 until R2 will avoid two major server deployments in the same year.

Resources

A complete list of the bugs fixed in Windows Server 2003 SP1 is available at support.microsoft.com/kb/824721.

The new Windows Server 2003 features included in SP1 are described in "Service Pack Enhances Windows Server Security" on page 10 of the Feb. 2005 Update.

Information on obtaining SP1 is available at www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/windowsserver2003/servicepack/default.mspx.

To ensure that the Security Configuration Wizard creates a configuration compatible with Exchange, see support.microsoft.com/?id=896742.

The download necessary to run ISA Server 2000 on Windows Server 2003 SP1 is available at www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=678cdcb6-6f05-45c0-acfa-d8e3774b8e9c&displaylang=en.