Beta 2 of Windows 2000 Datacenter Server Ships

The final beta of Windows 2000 Datacenter Server has been released to participating server manufacturers, software vendors, and research institutes. In announcing the beta, Microsoft also released additional details about how Datacenter will be packaged and licensed, measures to ensure that the certified configurations are not altered, and additional support requirements for vendors. Furthermore, Microsoft relaxed CPU requirements so that Datacenter vendors can offer fault-tolerant hardware configurations at less cost than originally anticipated.

New Product Information

Datacenter licensing. While the vendors will set the final prices of their Datacenter-based systems, Microsoft will license Datacenter in three categories: up to 8 CPUs, up to 16 CPUs, and up to 32 CPUs. System vendors are likely to price their servers accordingly. Datacenter servers will not include any Client Access Licenses (CALs)—these can be purchased via normal channels and will also be offered by the system vendors.