By Dan Jones
Microsoft Corp said yesterday that it has completed development work on the delayed Windows 2000 operating system. After what group VP Jim Allchin of Microsoft’s platforms group called a three-and-a-half year journey, the code has been sent to manufacturers and OEM partners, in preparation for the actual launch of the OS on February 17.
I promised customers that we wouldn’t ship Windows 2000 until it was ready, Allchin said of the OS, which was originally expected to be launched towards the end of 1999. Allchin tried to put the delay in perspective claiming that the OS is the most widely tested product in the history of Windows Development.
According to Allchin, the main goal of the Windows project is to deliver a reliable, available operating system that combines web- enabled features drawn from Windows 98 with the stability of NT, while reducing total cost of ownership for businesses. Microsoft has release to manufacturing (RTM) versions of Windows 2000 professional, the version of the OS aimed at the corporate desktop and laptop market; Windows 2000 Server – which Allchin described as a multi-purpose network OS – and Windows 2000 Advanced Server, Microsoft’s play for dot.com platforms and enterprise business.
Windows Server edition will support up to two-way symmetrical multiprocessing (SMP), while Advanced Server will add cluster support along with the Convoy TCP/IP load balancing technology from Microsoft’s Valence Research Inc acquisition (CI No 3,482), along with four-way SMP and support for up to 64Gb main memory. Mention of the Windows 2000 Datacenter edition, which takes SMP support up to 16-way or 32-way, was conspicuously absent at yesterday’s launch. The Datacenter edition is expected to ship three months later than the other versions of Windows 2000.
Allchin didn’t know exactly how much Microsoft has spent on developing Windows 2000. We’re into a billion would be my guess, he said. Deborah Willingham, vice president of Microsoft’s business enterprise division, said that to back the flagship operating system launch in February, Microsoft will run a multimillion dollar advertising campaign aimed at IT managers.
