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| Version of theWindows NT operating system | |
 | |
 Screenshot of Windows Server 2003, showing the Server Manager application which is automatically opened when an administrator logs on | |
| Developer | Microsoft |
|---|---|
| OS family | Windows Server |
| Working state | No longer supported |
| Source model | |
| Released to manufacturing | March 28, 2003; 21 years ago (2003-03-28)[1] |
| General availability | April 24, 2003; 21 years ago (2003-04-24)[2] |
| Final release | Service Pack 2 with May 14, 2019 security update (5.2.3790.6787) / April 19, 2019; 5 years ago (2019-04-19)[3] |
| Marketing target | Business and Server |
| Update method | Windows Update |
| Platforms | IA-32,x86-64,Itanium |
| Kernel type | Hybrid (Windows NT kernel) |
| Default user interface | Windows shell (Graphical) |
| License | Trialware[4] andvolume licensing,[5] withclient access licenses[6] |
| Preceded by | Windows 2000 Server (1999) |
| Succeeded by | Windows Server 2008 (2008) |
| Official website | Windows Server 2003 (archived atWayback Machine) |
| Support status | |
| All editions except Windows Storage Server 2003 and Windows Small Business Server 2003 (including R2): Mainstream support ended on July 13, 2010 Extended support ended on July 14, 2015[7][8][9] Windows Storage Server 2003 (including R2): Mainstream support ended on October 11, 2011 Extended support ended on October 9, 2016[10][11] Windows Small Business Server 2003 (including R2): Mainstream support ended on April 12, 2011 Extended support ended on April 12, 2016[12][13] | |
| Part ofa series of articles on |
| Windows XP |
|---|
| Siblings |
Windows Server 2003, codenamed "Whistler Server", is the sixth major version of theWindows NToperating system produced byMicrosoft and the first server version to be released under theWindows Server brand name. It is part of theWindows NT family ofoperating systems and was released to manufacturing on March 28, 2003[14] and generally available on April 24, 2003.[15] Windows Server 2003 is the successor tothe Server editions of Windows 2000 and the predecessor toWindows Server 2008.[16] An updated version, Windows Server 2003 R2, was released to manufacturing on December 6, 2005.[17] Windows Server 2003 is based onWindows XP.
Its kernel has also been used inWindows XP 64-bit Edition andWindows XP Professional x64 Edition.[18]
It is the final version of Windows Server that supports processors withoutACPI.
As of July 2016, 18% of organizations used servers that were running Windows Server 2003.[19]
Windows Server 2003 is the follow-up to Windows 2000 Server, incorporating compatibility and other features fromWindows XP. Unlike Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003's default installation has none of the server components enabled, to reduce theattack surface of new machines. Windows Server 2003 includes compatibility modes to allow older applications to run with greater stability. It was made more compatible withWindows NT 4.0 domain-based networking. Windows Server 2003 brought in enhanced Active Directory compatibility and better deployment support to ease the transition from Windows NT 4.0 to Windows Server 2003 andWindows XP Professional.[20]
Windows Server 2003 is the first server edition of Windows to support theIA64 andx64 architectures.[21]
The product went through several name changes during the course of development. When first announced in 2000, it was known by itscodename "Whistler Server"; it was named "Windows 2002 Server" for a brief time in mid-2001, followed by "Windows .NET Server" and "Windows .NET Server 2003". After Microsoft chose to focus the ".NET" branding on the.NET Framework, the OS was finally released as "Windows Server 2003".[22]
Windows Server 2003's codebase was reused for thedevelopment of Windows Vista under its codename, "Longhorn".[18] Pre-reset builds of "Longhorn" were based on the Windows .NET Server Release Candidate 1 (3663) codebase, whereas post-reset builds of "Longhorn/Vista" after the development reset in 2004 are based on the works-in-progress Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (3790.1232) codebase.[23]
Windows Server 2003 was the firstMicrosoft Windows version which was thoroughly subjected to semi-automatedtesting forbugs with a software system called PREfast[24] developed bycomputer scientist Amitabh Srivastava atMicrosoft Research.[25] The automated bug checking system was first tested onWindows 2000 but not thoroughly.[24] Amitabh Srivastava's PREfast found 12% of Windows Server 2003's bugs, the remaining 88% being found by humancomputer programmers.[24] Microsoft employs more than 4,700 programmers who work on Windows, 60% of whom aresoftware testers[25] whose job is to find bugs in Windowssource code. Microsoft co-founderBill Gates stated that Windows Server 2003 was Microsoft's "most rigorously tested software to date."[25]
Several improvements and new features have been added to Windows Server 2003.
Internet Information Services (IIS) has been upgraded to v6.0.[26] There have also been significant improvements toMessage Queuing and toActive Directory, such as the ability to deactivateclasses from theschema, or to run multiple instances of thedirectory server (ADAM).[27] There was also a notable change in the ability to create arescue disk, which was removed in favor ofAutomated System Recovery (ASR).[28] Other Improvements toGroup Policy handling and administration[29] have also been made. For the first time in the history of Windows Server, a backup system to restore lost files has been created[30] together with improved disk management, including the ability to back up from shadows of files, allowing the backup of open files.[31] Another important area where improvements have been made are thescripting andcommand-line tools, with the improvements being part of Microsoft's initiative to bring a complete command shell to the next version of Windows.[32] Other notable new features include support for a hardware-based "watchdog timer", which can restart the server if the operating system does not respond within a certain amount of time.[33] On this version of Windows Server the Themes service is disabled by default, defaulting to the appearance of previous Windows versions (such as Windows 2000).[34]
Windows Server 2003 comes in a number of editions, each targeted towards a particular size and type of business.[35][36] In general, all variants of Windows Server 2003 have the ability to share files and printers, act as an application server, host message queues, provide email services, authenticate users, act as anX.509 certificate server, provideLDAP directory services, serve streaming media, and to perform other server-oriented functions.[37][38][39][40]
| Criteria | Web | Standard | Enterprise | Datacenter | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum physical CPUs | 2 | 4 | 8 | 64 | |
| Maximum RAM | IA-32 x86 | 2 GB | 4 GB | 64 GB | |
| x64 | — | 32 GB | 1 TB | ||
| IA-64 Itanium | — | — | 2 TB | ||
Windows Server 2003 Web is meant for building and hosting Web applications, Web pages, and XMLweb services. It is designed to be used primarily as anIIS web server[42] and provides a platform for developing and deploying XML Web services and applications that useASP.NET technology. Domain controller and Terminal Services functionality are not included on Web Edition. However, Remote Desktop for Administration is available. Only 10 concurrent file-sharing connections are allowed at any moment.[citation needed] It is not possible to install Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Exchange software in this edition without installing Service Pack 1[citation needed]. Despite supporting XML Web services and ASP.NET,UDDI cannot be deployed on Windows Server 2003 Web[citation needed]. The .NET Framework version 2.0 is not included with Windows Server 2003 Web, but can be installed as a separate update from Windows Update.[citation needed]
Windows Server 2003 Web supports a maximum of two physical processors and a maximum of 2 GB of RAM.[41] It is the only edition of Windows Server 2003 that does not require anyclient access license (CAL) when used as the internet facing server front-end forInternet Information Services andWindows Server Update Services. When using it for storage or as a back-end with another remote server as the front-end, CALs may still be required.[42][clarification needed]
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Standard is aimed towards small to medium-sized businesses. Standard Edition supports file and printer sharing, offers secure Internet connectivity, and allows centralized desktop application deployment. A specialized variant for thex64 architecture was released in April 2005.[43] The IA-32 variants supports up to four physical processors and up to 4 GB RAM;[41] the x64 variant is capable of addressing up to 32 GB of RAM[41] and also supportsNon-Uniform Memory Access.
Windows Server 2003 Enterprise is aimed towards medium to large businesses. It is a full-function server operating system that supports up to 8 physical processors and provides enterprise-class features such as eight-nodeclustering usingMicrosoft Cluster Server (MSCS) software and support for up to 64GB ofRAM throughPAE.[41] Enterprise Edition also comes in specialized variants for the x64 and Itanium architectures. With Service Pack 2 installed, the x64 and Itanium variants are capable of addressing up to 1 TB and 2 TB of RAM,[41] respectively. This edition also supportsNon-Uniform Memory Access (NUMA). It also provides the ability to hot-add supported hardware. Windows Server 2003 Enterprise is also the required edition to issue custom certificate templates.[citation needed]
Windows Server 2003 Datacenter is designed[44] for infrastructures demanding high security and reliability. Windows Server 2003 is available for IA-32, Itanium, and x64 processors. It supports a maximum of 32 physical processors on IA-32 platform or 64 physical processors on x64 and IA-64 hardware. IA-32 variants of this edition support up to 64 GB of RAM.[41] With Service Pack 2 installed, the x64 variants support up to 1 TB while the IA-64 variants support up to 2 TB of RAM.[41] Windows Server 2003 Datacenter also allows limiting processor and memory usage on a per-application basis.
This edition has better support forstorage area networks (SANs): It features a service which uses Windowssockets to emulate TCP/IP communication over native SAN service providers, thereby allowing a SAN to be accessed over anyTCP/IP channel. With this, any application that can communicate over TCP/IP can use a SAN, without any modification to the application.[citation needed]
The Datacenter edition, like the Enterprise edition, supports 8-nodeclustering.[citation needed] Clustering increases availability and fault tolerance of server installations by distributing and replicating the service among many servers. This edition supports clustering with each cluster having its own dedicated storage, or with all cluster nodes connected to a common SAN.
Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 (CCS), released in June 2006, is designed for high-end applications that requirehigh performance computingclusters. It is designed to be deployed on numerous computers to be clustered together to achievesupercomputing speeds. Each Compute Cluster Server network comprises at least one controlling head node and subordinate processing nodes that carry out most of the work.[45]
Compute Cluster Server has a built-inMessage Passing Interface, theMicrosoft Messaging Passing Interface v2 (MS-MPI) which is used to communicate between the processing nodes on the cluster network. Alternative MPI Stacks can also be used with the OS.[46] It ties nodes together with a powerful inter-process communication mechanism which can be complex because of communications between hundreds or even thousands of processors working in parallel.
Theapplication programming interface consists of over 160 functions. A job launcher enables users to execute jobs to be executed in the computing cluster. MS MPI was designed to be compatible with the reference open sourceMPI2 specification which is widely used inHigh-performance computing (HPC). With some exceptions because of security considerations, MS MPI covers the complete set of MPI2 functionality as implemented in MPICH2, except for the planned future features of dynamic process spawn and publishing.[47]
Windows Storage Server 2003, a part of the Windows Server 2003 series, is a specialized serveroperating system fornetwork-attached storage (NAS).[48] Launched in 2003 atStorage Decisions in Chicago, it is optimized for use in file and print sharing and also instorage area network (SAN) scenarios. It is only available throughOriginal equipment manufacturers (OEMs).[49] Unlike other Windows Server 2003 editions that provide file and printer sharing functionality, Windows Storage Server 2003 does not require any CAL.[50]
Windows Storage Server 2003 NAS equipment can beheadless, which means that they are without any monitors, keyboards or mice, and are administered remotely.[51] Such devices are plugged into any existingIP network and the storage capacity is available to all users. Windows Storage Server 2003 can useRAID arrays to providedata redundancy,fault-tolerance and high performance.[52] Multiple such NAS servers can be clustered to appear as a single device, which allows responsibility for serving clients to be shared in such a way that if one server fails then other servers can take over (often termed afailover) which also improves fault-tolerance.[53]
Windows Storage Server 2003 can also be used to create aStorage Area Network, in which the data is transferred in terms of chunks rather than files, thus providing more granularity to the data that can be transferred. This provides higher performance todatabase andtransaction processing applications. Windows Storage Server 2003 also allows NAS devices to be connected to a SAN.[citation needed]
Windows Storage Server 2003 led to a second release named Windows Storage Server 2003 R2. This release adds file-server performance optimization, Single Instance Storage (SIS), and index-based search. Single instance storage (SIS) scans storage volumes for duplicate files, and moves the duplicate files to the common SIS store. The file on the volume is replaced with a link to the file. This substitution reduces the amount of storage space required, by as much as 70%.[54]
Windows Storage Server 2003 R2 provides an index-based, full-text search based on the indexing engine already built into Windows server.[54] The updated search engine speeds up indexed searches on network shares. This edition also provides filters for searching many standard file formats, such asZIP archives,AutoCAD models,XML documents,MP3 audio files,PDF documents, and allMicrosoft Office file formats.
Windows Storage Server 2003 R2 includes built in support for Windows SharePoint Services and Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server, and adds a Storage Management snap-in for the Microsoft Management Console. It can be used to manage storage volumes centrally, includingDFS shares, on servers running Windows Storage Server R2.
Windows Storage Server 2003 R2 can be used as aniSCSI target with standard and enterprise editions of Windows Storage Server 2003 R2, incorporatingWinTarget iSCSI technology which Microsoft acquired in 2006 by from StringBean software.[55][56] This will be an add-on feature available for purchase through OEM partners as an iSCSI feature pack, or is included in some versions of WSS as configured by OEMs.
Windows Storage Server 2003 can be promoted to function as a domain controller; however, this edition is not licensed to run directory services. It can be joined to an existing domain as a member server.[57]
Windows Storage Server 2003 R2 was available in the following editions:[58][59]
| Express | Workgroup | Standard | Enterprise | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of physical CPUs[i] | 1 | 1–4 | 1–64 | |
| x64 variants available | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Numbers of disk drives | 2 | 4 | Unlimited | |
| NICs | 1 | 2 | ||
| Print service | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| CALs required | No | No | No | No |
| Clustering | No | No | No | Yes |
| iSCSI target support | Optional | Optional | Optional | Optional |
Windows Unified Data Storage Server is a variant of Windows Storage Server 2003 R2 with iSCSI target support standard, available in only the standard and enterprise editions.[60]
Windows Small Business Server (SBS) is asoftware suite which includes Windows Server and additional technologies aimed at providing a small business with a complete technology solution.
The Standard edition of SBS includesMicrosoft Remote Web Workplace,Windows SharePoint Services,Microsoft Exchange Server, Fax Server,Active Directory, a basicfirewall,DHCP server andnetwork address translation capabilities. The Premium edition of SBS addsMicrosoft SQL Server 2000 andMicrosoft ISA Server 2004.
SBS has its own type of CAL that is different and costs slightly more than CALs for the other editions of Windows Server 2003. However, the SBS CAL encompasses the user CALs for Windows Server, Exchange Server, SQL Server and ISA Server, and hence is less expensive than buying all other CALs individually.
SBS has the following design limitations, mainly affecting Active Directory:[61]
To remove the limitations from an instance of SBS and upgrade to regular Windows Server, Exchange Server, SQL and ISA Server, there is a Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2 Transition Pack.[63]
Windows Home Server (WHS) is an operating system from Microsoft based on Windows Small Business Server 2003 SP2.[64] Windows Home Server was announced on January 7, 2007, at theConsumer Electronics Show byBill Gates and is intended to be a solution for homes with multiple connected PCs to offer file sharing, automated backups, and remote access.[65]
Windows Home Server began shipment to OEMs on September 15, 2007.[66]
Windows Server 2003 for Embedded Systems replaced "Windows 2000 Server for Embedded Systems". Intended use was for building firewall, VPN caching servers and similar appliances.[67] Variants were available with "Server Appliance Software" and with "Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration Server"[68]
Availability of the original version ended May 28, 2003. Availability of R2 ended March 5, 2006. End of extended support was July 14, 2015 (all variants except Storage Server[10]), and End of Licence was May 28, 2018 (R2 and original).[69] The End of Licence date is the last date that OEM's may distribute systems using this version. All variants continued to receive Critical security updates until the end of extended support:[70]
Release 2 for Embedded Systems was available in 32 and 64 bit variants, Standard (1-4 CPU) and Enterprise (1-8 CPU):[71]
Windows XP Professional x64 Edition was released less than a month after Windows Server 2003 SP1,[72] and used the same kernel and source code tree. While many features of the 32-bit variant of Windows XP were brought over into Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, other limitations imposed by constraints such as only supporting 64-bit drivers, and support for 16-bit programs being dropped led to incompatibilities with the 32-bit Windows XP editions available. It later received a Service Pack update as part of the release of Windows Server 2003 SP2.[citation needed]
On March 30, 2005, Microsoft released Service Pack 1 for Windows Server 2003. Among the improvements are many of the same updates that were provided to Windows XP users with Service Pack 2. Features that are added with Service Pack 1 include:
A full list of updates is available in the Microsoft Knowledge Base.[79]
Service Pack 2 for Windows Server 2003 was released on March 13, 2007.[80] The release date was originally scheduled for the first half of 2006.[80] On June 13, 2006, Microsoft made an initial test version of Service Pack 2 available to Microsoft Connect users, with a build number of 2721. This was followed by build 2805, known as Beta 2 Refresh. The final build is 3790.
Microsoft has described Service Pack 2 as a "standard" service pack release containing previously released security updates, hotfixes, and reliability and performance improvements.[81] In addition, Service Pack 2 containsMicrosoft Management Console 3.0, Windows Deployment Services (which replacesRemote Installation Services), support forWPA2, and improvements toIPsec and MSConfig. Service Pack 2 also addsWindows Server 2003 Scalable Networking Pack (SNP),[82] which allows hardware acceleration for processing network packets, thereby enabling faster throughput. SNP was previously available as an out-of-band update for Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1.
Windows Server 2003 R2 is an updated release of Windows Server 2003. It was released to manufacturing on December 6, 2005 for IA-32 and x64 platforms, but not forIA-64.[83] It was succeeded byWindows Server 2008.
New features of Windows Server 2003 R2 include:[84]
Windows Server 2003 R2 was distributed in twoCDs, one containing a copy of Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1 included and another containing a host of optionally-installed new features needed for Windows Server 2003 R2 installation, similar to that ofMicrosoft Plus! for Windows 95.[85]
On July 13, 2010, Windows Server 2003's mainstream support expired and the extended support phase began. During the extended support phase, Microsoft continued to provide security updates; however, free technical support, warranty claims, and design changes are no longer being offered.[86] Extended support lasted until July 14, 2015.[86] Mainstream support for Small Business Server edition ended on April 12, 2011 and extended support ended on April 12, 2016. Mainstream support for Storage Server edition ended on October 11, 2011 and extended support ended on October 9, 2016.
Although Windows Server 2003 is unsupported, Microsoft released an emergency security patch in May 2017 for the OS as well as other unsupported versions of Windows (includingWindows XP,Windows Vista andWindows 7 RTM without a service pack), to address a vulnerability that was being leveraged by theWannaCry ransomware attack.[87][88]
In 2020, Microsoft announced that it would disable the Windows Update service for SHA-1 endpoints for older Windows versions. Since Windows Server 2003 did not get an update for SHA-2, Windows Update Services are no longer available on the OS as of late July 2020.[89] As of March 2024, many of the old updates for Windows Server 2003 are available on theMicrosoft Update Catalog.[90] A third-party tool named Legacy Update allows previously-released updates for Windows Server 2003 to be installed from the Update Catalog.[91]
On September 23, 2020, theWindows XP Service Pack 1 and Windows Server 2003 source code was leaked onto theimageboard4chan by an unknown user. Anonymous users managed to compile the Windows Server 2003 source code, as well as a Twitter user who posted videos of the process on YouTube proving that the code was genuine,[92] butwas removed from the platform on copyright grounds by Microsoft. The leak was incomplete as it was missing theWinlogon source code and some other components.[93][94] The original leak itself was spread usingmagnet links and torrent files whose payload originally included Server 2003 and XP source code and which was later updated by additional files among which were previous leaks of Microsoft products, its patents, media aboutconspiracy theories aboutBill Gates byanti-vaccination movements and an assortment of PDF files on different topics.[95]
Microsoft issued a statement stating that it was investigating the leaks.[96][97][98]
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