Microsoft has made available a beta version of its
Windows Server 2003 for systems using the Advanced Micro Devices
64-bit Opteron processor.
The beta version of Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition for
64-Bit Extended Systems had been available toseveral hundred
testers since October but is now available for anyone interested in
trying it out through a customer preview program, said John
Borozan, a product manager at Microsoft.
Microsoft expects tens of thousands of users to download the
beta of the server software.
"A lot of customers are using Opteron with 32-bit Windows. The
release of this beta is the first time they can tap the additional
power of that hardware using 64-bit Windows," Borozan said.
When it ships some time in the second half of this year, Windows
Server 2003 for 64-Bit Extended Systems will be available in
Standard and Enterprise editions. There are no plans for a separate
beta for the Standard version.
At the same time that Microsoft ships the software for Opteron
systems, it will introduce a Standard edition of Windows Server
2003 for 64-bit Itanium-based servers. Microsoft already ships
Enterprise and Datacentre versions of Windows Server 2003 for this
Intel processor, which competes with AMD's Opteron.
Release of the Windows Server software for Opteron-based systems
was pushed back about six months last October. Originally the
company had said it would deliver the product in the first half of
this year.
Pricing for all 64-bit versions of Windows Server 2003 will be
the same as for the comparable versions of the product's 32-bit
entries: $999 for Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition, which
includes five client-access licences (cals), and $3,999 for Windows
Server 2003 Enterprise Edition, which includes 25 cals.
The beta of Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition for 64-bit
Extended Systems, the software for Opteron-based systems, is
available through Microsoft's website at:
www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/64bit/extended/default.mspx
Joris Evers writes for IDG News Service