Windows Server 2003 SP2 Resets Baseline

A second service pack for Windows Server 2003, scheduled for release in the first quarter of 2007, will allow enterprise customers and OEMs to reset servers to a standard, supported OS version. SP2 can be installed on Windows Server 2003 SP1, Windows Server 2003 R2 (which includes SP1), or Windows XP for x64 processors. SP2 will include more than 700 fixes not previously distributed through Microsoft’s online update services. However, SP2 excludes updates for some key components, such as the .NET Framework, which customers will have to update separately.

Many customers will already have downloaded, tested, and deployed the more than 40 updates for Windows Server 2003 SP1 security vulnerabilities that were previously released on Windows Update or Microsoft Update. However, many fixes are not available for download from the automatic update sites. (See the illustration “Windows Server 2003 SP2 Fix Summary“.) Some are hotfixes that address specific, serious problems in a specific customer situation but don’t affect security. Other fixes address bugs that customers have reported to Microsoft but do not warrant a hotfix, or that Microsoft has discovered in the course of fixing other bugs or adding new functionality to the OS.