Specialized Windows Server Editions

As with the Windows client, Microsoft has created a number of specialized editions of Windows Server to exploit new market niches, particularly niches where the standard Windows Server product’s price or footprint would impede its competitiveness. These include the following:

Windows Storage Server is an edition of Windows Server 2003 specialized for network-attached storage (NAS) devices, which are scalable, high-availability file servers with additional features to simplify backup, reorganization of disk space, and other management tasks. The latest version, Windows Storage Server 2003 inherited a number of Windows Server 2003 features including the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS), which lets customers quickly make copies of disk volumes while only briefly pausing the applications; and updated support for the iSCSI protocol, which enables communication with storage area network (SAN) devices over standard Internet protocols and high-speed Ethernet, rather than over expensive specialized networks such as Fibre Channel. The Windows Server 2003 R2 technologies that simplify the setup and management of storage will likely be incorporated into an R2 release of this product. Licenses for this product are sold exclusively to PC and device manufacturers through specialized channels. However, software updates are available through the company’s regular channels to enable organizations and individuals to update systems already in the field.