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Windows Server 2003 had four editions: Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter and Web. Other new features in this release included expanded encryption functionality, built-in firewall, greater Network Address Translation ( NAT) support and Volume Shadow Copy Service. Microsoft introduced server roles with this release, which allowed administrators to assign a specific function to a server, such as domain controller or DNS server. Microsoft hardened IIS, the web server feature, and disabled more default services to reduce exploit opportunities. Microsoft introduced the "Windows Server" brand with the release of Windows Server 2003 and touted its security improvements over Windows 2000. Windows 2000 had three editions - Server, Advanced Server and Datacenter - that were built to work with Windows 2000 Professional, the client OS. Microsoft also introduced several other key features in this release, including:
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Active Directory lets administrators perform various tasks, such as virtual private network configuration, data encryption and granting access to file shares on networked computers. Windows 2000 introduced Active Directory, a directory service that stores and manages information about network objects, including user data, systems and services. This server OS also could walk administrators through various tasks, such as sharing a hard disk with a feature called Administrative Wizards. Key features in this release were the ability to use a server as an Internet Information Server - now called Internet Information Services ( IIS) - and a domain name system server. Microsoft expanded the networking protocol capabilities in this release to make network resources available to a wider array of non-Microsoft machines. Microsoft borrowed the Windows 95 interface for this server OS release and also used many of the applications in the client OS, such as the File Explorer. Microsoft added more connectivity support for companies in a mixed environment with both Windows NT and NetWare servers to allow users to get services from each with a single credential. This server OS was optimized to deliver services faster to users through its updated networking stack. Microsoft fine-tuned this release to boost performance and reduce the amount of required memory. Other networking improvements allowed users on other non-Microsoft operating systems to access files and applications on the domain. Microsoft updated key networking features in this server release and added integrated support for TCP/IP and Winsock. Companies could use Advanced Server as a domain controller to store user and group rights. The 32-bit operating system featured a hardware abstraction layer ( HAL), which provided more system stability by blocking applications from direct access to system hardware. Microsoft released its Windows NT operating system in two formats: one for workstations and the other for servers. History of Windows Server 1993: Windows NT 3.1 Advanced Server Key features in later versions of Windows Server include Active Directory, which automates the management of user data, security and distributed resources, and enables interoperation with other directories and Server Manager, which is a utility to administer server roles and make configuration changes to local or remote machines. Later iterations of Windows Server can be deployed either on hardware in an organization's data center or on a cloud platform, such as Microsoft Azure. Windows NT had the ability to run on less costly x86 machines.Ī key feature in the NT architecture is symmetric multiprocessing, which makes applications run faster on machines with several processors. Prior to the release of Windows NT, many companies relied on the Unix operating system that required expensive RISC-based hardware to run file and printing services. Microsoft engineer David Cutler developed the kernel of Windows NT with the intent to provide speed, security and reliability that large organizations require in a server operating system.
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Microsoft Windows Server OS ( operating system) is a series of enterprise-class server operating systems designed to share services with multiple users and provide extensive administrative control of data storage, applications and corporate networks.ĭevelopment for Windows Server started in the early 1980s when Microsoft produced two operating system lines: MS-DOS and Windows NT.
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