Server 2008 R2 set to launch alongside Windows 7

 

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By Barry Collins

Posted on 6 Apr 2009 at 07:54

Microsoft has hinted that Windows Server 2008 R2 will be ready to launch alongside Windows 7 later this year.

The vice president of the company's Windows Server division, Bill Laing, told CNet.com that Server 2008 R2 will launch by the end of the year, but refused to confirm an exact date.

Laing confirmed that a Release Candidate of Server 2008 R2 was "not far away", suggesting it could appear alongside the Release Candidate of Windows 7, which is due to be released imminently.

Last week, representatives from Microsoft UK told PC Pro that the company had a couple of major announcements planned to coincide with the release of Windows 7 RC. The synchronisation of the Server 2008 launch now looks almost certain to be one of those.

Launching the two products simultaneously makes sense, not least because several of the business features in Windows 7 are dependent on a Server 2008 R2 infrastructure.

New additions such as Direct Access (a no-fuss alternative to VPN access to company networks) and Branch Cache (a feature that stores copies of files on local PCs and servers, reducing the amount of time it takes satellite offices to download files) are both only available to companies running Server 2008 R2.

Microsoft last week launched a new, low-cost version of Windows Server 2008 for small businesses, dubbed Foundation, although it failed to impress PC Pro's Jon Honeyball.