Section A.1. General Notes

A.1. General Notes

The first thing to note is that Microsoft will, more likely than not, significantly rearchitect the Windows server-based kernel in this release, which can mean compatibility problems and new security features that can break existing applications. Since the company is betting its future development over the next decade (give or take a few years) on Longhorn Server, it's prepared to break with compatibility, which heretofore has been the utmost priority for its new releases. So it's in your best interest to obtain a beta copy as soon as it's released so you can begin lab testing with the new offering. This change to the kernel certainly isn't set in stone, but most Microsoft watchers agree that the company has had its eye on such a radical reconstruction for a while.

When Longhorn Server rolls around, we can expect more of the same emphasis on security and a hardened exterior surface. Microsoft is purportedly experimenting with releasing different versions of the product targeted specifically at several different types of businesses, including small and medium businesses, high-performance computing, and storage. Of course, there will probably be others as well. There's even talk of a Home Server edition that would serve as a media and communications hub for a modern housea burgeoning market that, if Microsoft takes advantage of it, could be served well by this proposed edition.