What's New in Windows 2003 Datacenter?

Microsoft began offering an advanced version of Windows 2000 Server called Datacenter Edition through selected OEMs beginning in mid-2000. Targeted at customers willing to pay extra for exceptional reliability, availability, and scalability, Datacenter is not only a server technology but also a channel program that requires vendors to offer special levels of coordinated support, testing, certification, and availability guarantees. Windows Datacenter OEMs are free to offer both clustered and nonclustered systems running the Datacenter Edition, but the OS itself is not available to customers separate from the hardware. (For more details on Datacenter, see “Windows 2000 Datacenter Targeting High-End Unix Servers” on page 3 of the June 2000 Update.)

The program has changed slightly with the launch of Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition:

64-bit systems. Datacenter vendors may now offer 64-bit Intel Itanium-based systems, with support for up to 64 processors and 512GB of memory.

New partner levels and support options. Microsoft has reorganized the old Datacenter program into the Windows Datacenter High Availability Program, which makes small changes to the requirements for Datacenter partners’ support, testing, and certification services and requires them to provide operational assessments, change management services, and configuration audits for their customers. The new program also allows OEMs to subcontract these services to Certified Datacenter Support Providers (see www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/docs/Dcprogwp.doc for more information.) Microsoft hopes that the new program’s options and flexibility increases the number of Windows Datacenter OEMs, reduces their costs, and makes their offerings more appealing to customers.