Windows 2000®
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How is Windows® 2000 Server different from Windows NT Server 4.0?
Windows® 2000 Server combines Internet services, COM+ application services,
networking services, and standards-based security and interoperability into an
application platform that can help your company stay competitive. New powerful
management capabilities in Windows® 2000 Server can reduce your organization's
cost of ownership through single-point administration and policy-based desktop
management.
Q: Why should my organization evaluate Windows® 2000 Server?
Staying competitive in the dynamic digital economy requires an organization
to have an advanced PC-based, client-server infrastructure that lowers costs and
adapts quickly to change. Windows® 2000 Server fulfills these requirements - it
is a powerful, reliable computing platform that provides a digital
infrastructure, and it lets you deploy new solutions rapidly.
Q: What is the Windows® 2000 Server family?
To provide products that match our customers' requirements, Microsoft is
introducing three different versions of the Windows® 2000 server operating
system. Windows® 2000 Server is the mainstream server operating system ideal
for small- to medium-sized application deployments, Web servers and
organizations with numerous workgroups and branch offices.
Windows® 2000 Advanced Server, formerly named Windows NT Server 4.0,
Enterprise Edition, is a more powerful server operating system, providing a
comprehensive clustering infrastructure for high availability and scalability,
and supporting memory up to 64GB.
Windows® 2000 Datacenter Server is a specialized high-end version of Windows®
2000 Server, supporting up to 32-way symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) and up to
64GB of physical memory. Like Windows® 2000 Advanced Server, it provides both
clustering and load balancing services as standard features. In addition,
Windows® 2000 Datacenter Server is optimal for large data warehouses,
econometric analysis, large-scale simulations in science and engineering, online
transaction processing, server consolidation projects and large-scale ISPs and
Web site hosting.
Q: Is Windows® 2000 Server enterprise-ready?
Because it uses a robust, reliable architecture, Windows® 2000 Server is the
foundation for highly scalable applications, delivering advanced features like
TCP/IP load balancing and asynchronous input/output performance. In addition to
hosting bigger workloads, Windows® 2000 Server runs on bigger systems, such as
16-way SMP.
Q: Will Windows® 2000 Server perform well in a large corporate
environment?
Microsoft Windows® 2000 Server is the appropriate choice for large
enterprises. Its robust, reliable architecture makes Windows® 2000 Server an
excellent foundation for highly scalable applications. It delivers advanced
features such as TCP/IP load balancing and asynchronous input/output
performance. In addition to hosting heavier workloads, Windows® 2000 Server can
run on larger systems, such as 16-way SMP computers, and it can support up to
64GB of memory.
Q: What is involved in upgrading to Windows® 2000 Server from a previous
Windows Server product?
Users can upgrade to Windows® 2000 Server from Windows NT Server 4.0,
Windows NT Server 3.51, or Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition. They
also can upgrade from Windows NT Server 4.0, Enterprise Edition, to Windows®
2000 Advanced Server. The upgrade process automatically installs Windows® 2000
Server into the same folder as the currently installed operating system and
retains existing users, settings, groups, rights and permissions.
Note: Users cannot upgrade directly to Windows® 2000 Server from versions of
Windows NT Server earlier than version 3.51. If they wish to upgrade from an
earlier version, they must first upgrade to either version 3.51 or version 4.0.
Q: Can Windows® 2000 Server help strengthen security in my organization?
Windows® 2000 Server delivers an integrated set of tools and services that
lets administrators implement security within the enterprise. It also helps
administrators protect the privacy of communications between different
organizations. Here are a few examples of how administrators can use Windows®
2000 Server to make their organizations' systems even more secure:
