Updated: July 11, 2020 (September 5, 2005)

R2 to Include Unix Services

As managing vice president, Rob Helm covers Microsoft collaboration and content management. His 25-plus years of experience analyzing Microsoft’s technology... more

Unix compatibility components will ship in Windows Server 2003 R2, a minor update to Windows Server due in late 2005. With that release, Windows Server begins to take over for Services for Unix (SFU), a free feature pack that enables Windows servers to use Unix-compatible file-sharing and directory protocols and run Unix applications. The move will simplify deployment of Unix-compatible Windows servers, which will benefit organizations managing mixed Windows-Unix shops and Microsoft partners trying to migrate customers to Windows. However, slowing Unix migrations and the rise of virtualization technology could make Unix compatibility less important for Windows than it has been.

Network, Application Compatibility in Windows Server

Major features of Services for Unix that will ship with Windows Server 2003 R2 include the following:

File sharing. Windows 2003 R2 includes client and server for Network File System (NFS), a file-sharing protocol widely used on Unix. This enables a Windows server to host files for use by Unix clients, and access files hosted on Unix servers.

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