COM+, MSMQ Boost Windows as Application Server

Large-scale server applications such as e-commerce sites could benefit from enhancements to COM+ and Microsoft Message Queuing (MSMQ) coming in Windows .NET Server 2003. Companies already running such applications on Windows NT 4.0 and 2000 should evaluate these services when deciding whether to upgrade to Windows .NET Server, as should companies doing new development with the .NET Framework and Visual Studio .NET. Windows .NET Server also delivers new COM+ and MSMQ features for creating and using Web services, but these features don’t yet support the primary mission for Web services: cross-platform, cross-organization application integration.

(For a quick review of concepts for components and the COM+ and MSMQ services, see the sidebar “Windows .NET Server Component Concepts“.)

Shoring Up Server Applications

All the new COM+ and MSMQ features of Windows .NET Server are designed to enhance its role as an “application server,” that is, a software platform for running large-scale business applications. (See the illustration “Windows as an Application Server“.) Selling Windows as an application server is strategically important to Microsoft and its partners, because once a company has a critical application running on Windows, it will likely continue to invest in Windows servers and other Microsoft products, such as the SQL Server database software or the BizTalk Server or Host Integration Services application integration offerings.