Thread: Windows Server 2003 Editions

Windows Server 2003 presents many editions to suit your server wants. The more aspects you need more you are going to pay sadly. With four editions to select from you can choose version that is right for business.

Web Edition

Before the release of Windows Server 2003, if you wanted a Windows server utility as a Web server, you must purchase copy of Windows 2000 Server and utilize IIS. This was a misuse of money and functionality, as most aspects of Server would never be utilized. Now there is an edition of Windows intended to function entirely as a Web server, Server 2003 Web Edition. This will save companies money and give Microsoft a bigger share of Web server market. There is a difference in cost of about $700 to $800 between Web Edition and Standard Edition Server. Web Edition can host Web pages, Web applications, and XML services. It supports IIS 6.0, ASP.NET, and the .NET Framework. Web Edition supports up to two processors and 2GB of RAM. Client access licenses are not necessary when connecting to Web Edition. Though, you are only permitted ten inbound immediate SMB connections, to be utilized for content publishing. Web Edition permits you to install third-party Web server software like Apache, Web availability management software like Microsoft Application Center, and database engine software like Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine (MSDE). Web Edition does not support functions given below:

? Internet Authentication Services (IAS)

? Microsoft Metadirectory Services

? Domain controller functionality

? Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration Services (UDDI)

? Remote Installation Service

Standard Edition

Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition is alternative for Windows 2000 Server. It is meant for small to medium-sized industries. It is not restricted in functionality like Web Edition and it supports up to four CPUs and 4GB of RAM. This is good option for file and print servers, Web servers, and application servers that do not want to be collected. It can also work as a domain controller. Microsoft expects Standard Edition to be broadly utilized edition of Server 2003.

Enterprise Edition

Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition is alternative for Windows 2000 Advanced Server. Enterprise Edition is meant for any sized industry, but contains aspects frequently preferred by enterprise level organizations. It gives high performance and reliability. All aspects supported in Standard Edition are supported in Enterprise Edition, with support for clustering up to eight nodes. It supports good hardware than Standard Edition, and can utilize up to eight processors and up to 32GB of memory. There is a 64-bit version of Enterprise Edition for Intel Itanium machines. The 64-bit version supports up to eight processors and up to 64GB of RAM. Enterprise Edition is good for companies that want aspects or hardware not supported in Standard Edition.

Datacenter Edition

Datacenter Edition is Microsoft?s high-end OS. It is meant for companies that want consistent and scalable platform accessible. You cannot purchase Datacenter Edition Software and install it manually; only accepted tools vendors can purchase it and they should install it onto accepted hardware. Datacenter Edition has all aspects found in both Standard Edition and Enterprise Edition; and, it includes Windows System Resource Manager to aid in system management. It supports up to 32 processors and 64GB of memory in 32-bit edition. The 64-bit version supports up to 64 processors and 512GB of memory. If performance and consistency are at top of list, then Datacenter Edition is an outstanding option.
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KDX400A