Windows Server 2008: Much Talk, Little Action

Discussion in 'News' started by tripwire45, Jun 27, 2008.

  1. tripwire45
    Honorary Member

    tripwire45 Zettabyte Poster

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    Windows Server 2008: Much Talk, Little Action



    When Microsoft's new back-end operating system launched earlier this year, a number of new features caught the eye, and it's fair to say that it was generally very well received. But now that the OS has been out for a while, is it all it was stacked up to be? This, it turns out, is a harder question to answer than it looks. Finding organizations that have adopted the OS are noticeably thin on the ground. In part that's because the product is so new, but there appears to be more to it than just that...The problem seems to be that although Windows Server 2008 may be a great operating system, few people feel the need to actually use it right now. "The codebase of Server 2008 is the same as Vista, and no one wants Vista," said Roy Illsley, senior research analyst at Butler Group. "Equally, there is no compelling case to implement Server 2008 just yet," he added.

    To see if you agree with this writer's assessment of Microsoft's newest server product, go to ServerWatch.com.
     
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Comments

    1. BosonMichael
      BosonMichael
      Microsoft is a victim of their own success: Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 still work, and work well. There's no compelling reason to upgrade.
    2. zimbo
      zimbo
      Well said Mike! and with that no reason to upgrade to the new certs anytime soon! :twisted:
    3. Phoenix
      Phoenix
      There are considerable reasons to upgrade Microsoft marketing have just dropped the ball hardcore the last few years!
    4. tripwire45
      tripwire45
      That said, you won't be able to buy Windows XP after June 30th. :(
    5. BosonMichael
      BosonMichael
      You can still take advantage of the Vista downgrade license rights after June 30th. :) And you can bet that companies will do so!

      White-box PC makers can still sell XP until Jan 31, 2009. After that date, OEMs can (but do not have to) still install XP Pro on orders with more than 25 PCs (basically installing your downgraded Vista for you).
    6. NightWalker
      NightWalker
      I agree, both are solid tried and tested operating systems. Uptake may be slow on Server 2008 but it will slowly replace Server 2003. It takes time for companies to get round to some upgrades. After all, most businesses upgraded from 2000 Server, there is no reason to believe they wont do the same with Server 2003.
    7. BosonMichael
      BosonMichael
      Yes, you are right, it will eventually gain ground, but it'll take time. Companies will buy Windows Server 2008 when two things happen:
      1) when they buy new servers - most are not gonna upgrade existing ones, and
      2) when all the apps they need for that server are 100% compatible with Server 2008. They know their apps work with 2003, and the app vendors support their software on 2003.
    8. Phoenix
      Phoenix
      My feelings are that a lot of people have held off until Hyper-V arrived (went RTM Thursday) If i was buying a shiney new OS I would certainly wait till one of the great features was actually available! lets not forget that Datacenter edition is now VLK, and each copy of that provides UNLIMITED virtualisation rights (like 2003 R2) the upgrade could be quite cost effective!
    9. zebulebu
      zebulebu
      There are two immediately compelling reasons to implement 2K8:

      1 - NAP

      People have been botching around with NAP solutions for years, but the only one I've ever seen that worked well on a consistent basis, and didn't require an absolutely empirical knowledge of just what is isn't normal traffic on your network is Sourcefire's 3D system. This has the benefit of years of development from the Snort peeps, but the drawback of being hideously expensive to implement if you do it properly. The other NAP/NAC vendors (especially Mirage and McAfee) have ****e products, that are extremely flaky and just as expensive as Sourcefire's gear. With MS NAP in 2K8 its free and, unlike the vast majority of MS offerings, works pretty well first time out of the box

      2 - App virtualisation in TS

      Hands up who just luuuurves paying Citrix their exorbitant licensing costs every year? Nope, didn't think so. App Virtualisation in 2K8 is an absolute cinch to implement and has the potential to absolutely annihilate Citrix, at least for places that are only using Citrix to deliver apps locally - obviously not those places that are using some of the admittedly clever wan acceleration stuff Citrix does.

      I agree that the 'usual' reasons to upgrade Windows at the back-end don't apply this time round (reliability being the main driver) and there are certainly no enhancements to core functionality that would compel me to do so (Read Only DCs are not an issue for me, but would have been in my last role where we often had to place servers in cupboards in remote locations that weren't as secure as I would have liked). However, MS marketing have definitely dropped the ball regarding TS enhancements and NAP - I showed my director videos of me implementing app virtualisation on my domain at home and his jaw hit the table. You could almost see him mentally knocking the cost of 400 Citrix licenses of next year's budget... :biggrin
    10. Sparky
      Sparky
      I expect to be rolling out Server 2008 next year for a couple of customers.

      Companies are always cautious when moving to a new OS, especially a server OS.
    11. nugget
      nugget
      Have to agree with you there Pheo. I've started rolling it out as various VMs.

      NAP is also a big plus for me.:twisted:
    12. Kitkatninja
      Kitkatninja
      Over the summer I'll be virtualising about 5 of our servers now that Hyper-v is RTM, the other benefits will be TS, especially App virtualisation in TS :)

      -ken
    13. Phoenix
      Phoenix
      Are we talking about Remote Apps with seamless windows or actual app virtualisation for TS ala Softgrid ala MS App-V 4.5?

      Remote Apps in TS are a piece of piss, infact I turned a bare 2k8 server into a TS, and presented Paint and Server manager via the TS Web Portal as remote apps right in front of AJs eyes! took all of 5 mins :)

      App Virtualisation ala Softgrid is a little more complex, but just as compelling!

      NAP is a corker, just putting together a quick demo of that for people to see

      WDS rides rings around RIS

      Hyper-V is not exactly shoddy, despite what it lacks next to ESX

      Server Core is brilliant for what it can be used for

      basically its a pretty easy sell to upgrade if you ask me (or my customers lol)

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