Microsoft sets Windows Server 2003 RTM date

The release to manufacture date for the seven flavours of Microsoft’s latest server operating system means gold code should be just weeks away.

Microsoft has set 12 March as the release to manufacture date for the six new versions of its server operating system, paving the way for a shipping date of 29 April.

The six versions of Windows Server 2003 due to launch in April will be followed by a seventh, called Windows Small Business Server 2003, due late summer, said Mark Tennant, Microsoft’s Windows servers product marketing manager, speaking to ZDNet UK. Microsoft’s revamp of its server operating system range, which lost the .Net moniker recently following several previous name changes, will form a concerted effort to muscle in on the Unix market.

Microsoft is also hoping that 2003 will be the version that will persuade companies still using Windows NT4 to finally upgrade. Support for Windows NT 4 was due to be cancelled early this year, but pressure from customers forced Microsoft to put the date back to January 2005. “We want to get to the NT4 base onto Windows Server 2003. Customers say it is the one thing they have been waiting for,” said Tennant. “A lot of customers have been waiting for Exchange 2003.” Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 is due to be generally available in the summer.