Windows Server 2003 SP2 has been Released!

Windows server system

 

 

Check this out folks!  Service Pack 2 has been released!  The service pack is available now on Windows Update so check it out and see where it applies to your environment.

Service Pack 2 is available for Windows Server 2003 RTM & SP1; Windows Server 2003 R2; Windows Server 2003 Compute Cluster Edition with SP1; Windows Server 2003 RTM KN Edition; Windows Server 2003 Storage Server Edition; Windows Server 2003 Storage Server with Unified Storage Edition and Windows Server 2003 Small Business Server.  Wow!  We have coverage across our platforms which is a first for a service pack. 

Below are details of what this service pack provides:

  • Improves overall reliability, stability, performance and security
  • Roll up of all existing Hotfixes and Security updates
  • Incorporated top customer feedback received via various support channels
  • Single package install experience across multiple Windows Server SKUs including R2
  • Support for WPA2
  • Support for MMC 3.0 (now it's inbox for Windows Server 2003 RTM and SP1 users)
  • Support for Scalable Networking Pack that provides TCP offloading capabilities
  • Upgrade to Windows Deployment Services (from RIS) for Vista & Server Longhorn deployments
  • Improved SAP workload performance when using SQL on Windows Server 2003
  • Improved performance by reducing the filter set from ~400 to just 2 filters
  • Support for Web enrollment from a Vista client to a Windows Server 2003 CA
  • Support for single launching point for common support tools
  • Improved security for traffic between extranet and internal assets protected via IPSec
  • Support for new light weight out of box XML parser (XMLLite)
  • New fully localized languages for international customers using Windows Server 2003 x64

To find out more details of these features check out the Technical Overview.

Cheers, Jeffa