Windows Server 2008 to sport Linux-esque features

On the server side of things, most of the exciting news these days focuses on Linux. That's not too surprising, considering that Microsoft hasn't updated Windows Server in 4 years now. But if initial impressions of Windows Server 2008 (the company's last 32-bit server OS) offer any indication, Microsoft is starting to see open-source as a legitimate threat and is, accordingly, addressing some of Linux's most popular features in its latest release.

For example, Linux has long been lauded for its small surface area (i.e. the software has a small resource footprint), making it seem more secure than the comparatively bloated Windows code. "Having less surface area does reduce the servicing and the amount of code you have running and exposed, so we have done a lot of work in 2008 to make the system more modular," said Bill Laing, general manager for Microsoft's Windows Server division. "You have the server manager; every role is optional, and there are more than 30 components not installed by default, which is a huge change." On the web server and hosting front as well, Microsoft is playing catch up. "We did a lot of work over the incremental work done in [Internet Information Server] IIS 6 and giving the tools to hosters so they had packages. But, really, the thrust behind IIS 7 was to respond to Linux and I think we have had an effect if you look at the data on Internet-facing Web server numbers," Laing said. Even Linux's trademark customization will be present in Windows Server 2008, to a degree. "We also have server core, which doesn't have the GUI [graphical user interface], so I would say that is a response to the options people had with Linux that they didn't have with Windows," Laing said. Remember Linux fans: imitation is the most sincere form of flattery.

For more on Windows Server 2008:
- see this eWeek article