Microsoft cuts features from Windows Server 2003 R2

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According to Microsoft-watch.com today, Microsoft is cutting up R2. Not content with delaying SUS 2.0 but Microsoft are now killing features from its "release two" of Windows Server 2003. Steven Bink (a Windows Server MVP) is rightly angered at Microsoft's decision to remove Network Access Protection and "Access Anywhere" the RDP and filesharing over https (rpcproxy) killer feature. I was personally looking forward to these features and many corporations and small businesses are likely to be confused with Microsoft's Server release schedules.

Only a few months ago Microsoft announced a 2 year 4 year plan. Every 4 years a major Server release and every 2 an "update" which would include service packs and extra features that customers requested. It seems Microsoft are already backtracking on this and are delaying crucial products like SUS/R2 etc.

When it comes to the Windows Server Roadmap it may as well be a jigsaw as any part of it can be moved at any stage.

View: R2 Stands for "remove that too"

View: Microsoft Trims Next Windows Server Release @ Microsoft-watch.com

Thanks to daveS of the forums for this submission!

(2 replies) #1 deadmonkey on 18 Oct 2004 - 19:21

I hate to say it (as I am a Microsoft admin) but it is things like this that make more businesses look at alternatives such as Linux. I personally would rather admin a Windows server than a Linux server but that is just me. Microsoft are making themselves look very stupid as nobody knows if they can really believe what they say. How is a company going to plan ahead if the software they are planning to deploy keeps changing after an "official" feature set release?!

#1.1 neufuse on 18 Oct 2004 - 19:38

it's people like stock holders and such that want to see release and upgrades now and now and now... if MS didn't have people breating over their backs they'd have time to get everything done for the release... Linux has a similar problem because you can't always get everything in a single release, but with linux its a continious stream of changes.. so it looks like they are always adding something when really its a long list of stuff like MS has.. and a good deal of the cut features will be added in later as addon packs like SharePoint Services was for 2003 originally

#1.2 preichert on 19 Oct 2004 - 07:28

Well, it's difficult anyway to manage all those delays and feature cuts from Microsoft when you're trying to advocate their products to your customer.

I have been sponsoring a huge project based on SQL Server 2005 in the mid last year. After all feasabiluity studies and all the telling about the product being released in the right time frame to have the project aproaching completion, I have received an e-mail from Microsoft that this product was going to be delayed. I've tried to manage that reorganizing project plans and then when it was starting to look good again, Microsoft came a second time with that e-mail telling they were delaying SQL 2005 to the first half of 2005.

My customer decided to do not wait for SQL Server, as I didn't had any other excuses for that and decided to give a try on Oracle 10g, which was being just released.

This customer is unlikely to be migrating to SQL Server 2005 any time in the future, as the investment he is doing on Oracle is too big and he wasn't even willing to consider SQL Server 2000 as an alternative because it is already out dated and have recently had many security problems in the news, so, Microsoft have lost on that.

When I say that I want a roadmap is because I'm trying to plan with my customers where to put their Euros in a way that will preserve their investment, and it is not good to keep changing that plan two or three times in a year.

(2 replies) #2 slapnuts_ox on 18 Oct 2004 - 19:35

I have noticed a trend lately.....MS announces something and then delays, delays, delays, cuts features, delays and finally releases a stripped version after all the hype of their initial version. Longhorn and Server 2k3 are both prime examples. Im not saying that they will not be good products but they are not what was initially promised.

#2.1 snake-eyes on 18 Oct 2004 - 21:35

Longhorn was released? Where have I been...?

#2.2 Ateoto on 19 Oct 2004 - 17:26

I think he just means when longhorn is released it is going to be stripped down. They are already taken out a few of the coolest features.

(2 replies) #3 paulhaskew on 18 Oct 2004 - 22:48

I personally wouldn't state "delay" as the term. How is it a delay when you are writing software?

You can only program so fast, you have to check for errors, when you are starting from scratch it takes time.

I agree with #1.1 about the whole stock holders stuff... People just want update after update, faster, faster, faster, then they whine that stuff is missing, or may not be 100% ok... well you wanted it didn't ya?

#3.1 werejag on 19 Oct 2004 - 00:07

when you hype up a feature in the next release of a piece of software. you had better be on time and have that feature.

#3.2 Darkinspiration on 19 Oct 2004 - 03:37

true but it would seem like microsoft can't keep the pace. I cannot help but wonder if it's because of potential security leak in the new features ?

(2 replies) #4 Raa on 19 Oct 2004 - 06:29

OH NOES!!!!! Steven Bink's having a whinge... lets make it a news post and tell the world.

OMFG... Whats the world coming to. Quick I'm gonna get my frickin MVP and post the world about a feature I want in the new o/s not being put in and get a news post made for me.

>sigh< it never ends.

#4.1 mrbester on 19 Oct 2004 - 10:46

His point is valid (as was #1.2). You get hyped up to the max about the next Big Thing[tm] that is coming and you plan business around it. Then you get shafted by delay after delay (normally a lot less hyped than the big flashing-neon-sign that said "Coming Fall 2004!"

until your customer goes somewhere else.

Notice that there hasn't been a sniff of what the new version of IE in Longhorn may or may not be able to do. I'd go for the mindset of "They aren't going to do a damn thing with it, it'll be just as crap as it is now, only with extra features to introduce new security holes and to hell with W3C compliance". Who is to say I'm wrong?

#4.2 noyb on 19 Oct 2004 - 11:37

Nah you pretty much nailed it. They can pretty much get away with taking Longhorn to pieces and sticking it on the back burner until they get round to finishing it, but the server market is alot more competative and is a market MS could lose some serious ground in.

#5 Sub on 19 Oct 2004 - 18:17

Network Access Protection huh? Whats so protective about users being able to bypass firewalls and packet state filters to acccess their PC's from home, and introduce viruses into my network...

I'm glad this Network access protection is removed...Its a POS thats circumvents all firewalls....Even Microsofts own ISA 2004 firewall.

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