Posted on 06/08/2005 8:12:09 AM PDT by ShadowAce
Tired of playing second fiddle in Web hosting, Microsoft is revamping its server software in an attempt to snatch market share away from the popular Apache-Linux combination.
When the software giant releases Longhorn Server in 2007, it will introduce a re-architected edition of its Internet Information Services Web server, said Bob Muglia, senior vice president in charge of Windows Server development.
The changes will make IIS more modular, which will speed up performance for Web applications, he said.
"We're componentizing IIS so you can load just the pieces of the Web server that you really need," Muglia said. "In the process of doing that, we'll be supercompetitive to Apache."
The open-source Apache Web server, which is often run on Linux, is the most widely used Web server and frequently used to serve Web pages on public Internet sites.
Taking a page from Apache, Microsoft intends to introduce a "plug-in architecture" to run applications inside the Web server, Muglia added.
"Web (hosting), security and high-performance computing are the three areas where Linux has more strength," he said. "Clearly, the one we're weakest in is hosting."
To make Windows Server a more attractive option than Linux for security, Microsoft intends to bolster its software with policy-based administration tools to simplify the task of setting up virtual private networks and authenticating network access across several servers.
The company is also looking to adapt its existing antispyware software to its Windows Server and business customers, Muglia said.
He declined to detail packaging plans, but he said that these enhancements would not be worked into the R2 update of Windows Server 2003, which is due by the end of this year.
"Right now we've got an antispyware beta that's out and we're looking at how we can deliver that technology to the enterprise on a broader basis," he said. "The big difference is that enterprises need to manage things, whereas consumers manage themselves."
To combat Linux in the high-performance computing market, Microsoft next year will release its first product in that area, called Windows Server 2003 Compute Cluster Edition, Muglia said.
and it will bring with it an entirely new batch of viruses....
Personally I think anyone who considers IIS for hosting a public-facing website deserves to be taken out and shot. For his own sake.
"re-architected"
That kind of brutal assault on the English language should be grounds for dismissal from any job in journalism.
Anything that works and is popular in the PC/server realm, Micro$oft is making their own version that's better, faster, stronger, cheaper and more stable.
Simple effective strategy... put doubt in the minds of buyers and users. Make them think you really will produce something wonderful. Then, once they've delayed their plans waiting for your product, inertia will push most of them to use your stuff even if it falls short of your promises.
Bill Gates was never a great programmer. But he is a shrewd businessman.
Will his be free and open source? Will it run on an OS free from licensing fees? If not where's the appeal? Second fiddle upgrade for cash versus free, more innovative version?
I doubt it. MS doesn't work that way.
Exactly. Great programmers don't build companies into multi-billion global enterprises.
Im happy they are going down this road, but like always they had to be dragged kicking and screaming..
I'm sure the Redmond Flying Monkeys will be along very soon to tell us the Microsoft solution is better than Apache whether it's used more often or not, and Apache users are fools for going with what has been handed down from the Sinai of the Great Northwest.
Must have learned this from IBM.
I worked for a software company that did this for decades and is still doing it. I also worked for a startup competitor that no longer exists.
That was kinda in the back of my mind when I posted this. :)
GMTA
"re-architected "
AAarrrgghhhh!!!!!!
"re-architected"
Discuss. ;O)
Don't forget "componentizing"
We're supercompetitive, thanks for asking.
How about this one which appears in the same article: "componentizing".
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