2003 or 2008 Server?

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Hey guys would like to hear what you think.

My new job place (will be starting next week) is currently using windows 2003 server. According to the manager,
they have a 2008 Server up and running but hasnt been put into production. They are planning to move to 2008.

The question now is should i study 2003 or 2008?
Does 2008 cover a majority of 2003 information? So if i study 2008 will it helps me to understand 2003?

The company has around 50 servers all 2003. All virtualise. 2008 is in testing.

NOTE: I will not be taking any server exams. I am looking to see which one i should study and learn from. I.E. getting the books, virtualisation (which i am currently running 2003, but trying to run 2008 virtual lab) and watching Trainsignal Videos.

So before i plow ahead with my investment, would like to know what would you do?

 

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Do both but 2003 first.

As with a lot of businesses these days they still use XP and still have win2k3 and will do for some time to come.

Microsoft is due to stop supporting XP officially in 2014 however I canr see a lot of businesses stopping using it just because of that and I am sure it will be the same with win2k3.

The company you are working for hasn't put the 2008 server into production yet, did you aks why they haven't? the probable answer is they don't really need to yet.

But this could be your chance to do something like document the scop of what would be involved in implementing it into the current network, what pitfalls there might be and the advantages and if your allowed you could set it up on a virtual network that is identical to what you really have and test it. Obviousley this might have already been done but it would hurt to ask.

 

I would learn both, but I would start out by learning Server 2003. It's the predominant server OS out there, and it'll be used for years to come, even after Server 2008 becomes predominant.

 

As the others have said you should learn both, but its not as daunting as it sounds, get a good solid grounding in 2003 and when you move onto 2008 study material you'll find that its just 2003 with extra bells and whistles so you can skim over a good few pages in the 2k8 books cause you'd already know it.

 

I would also opt for what the others have echoed as I am learning and studying towards achieving my MCSE in W2K3.

However, at work we already have W2K8 servers in production and have virtualised our W2K8 servers and P2V'd most of our W2K3 servers into our VMWare virtual network infrastructure environment. Best wishes