Microsoft Announces Release of Server Appliance Kit 2.0 Add-On Pack

REDMOND, Wash., Dec. 17, 2001 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the release of the Microsoft® Server Appliance Kit (SAK) 2.0 Add-On Pack, which delivers a comprehensive set of management capabilities for fixed-function server appliances such as Web servers and Network Attached Storage (NAS) appliances. Designed for IT administrators, the new capabilities are the Multiple Device Manager (MDM), which enables the management of many physical server appliance devices from a central console, and the Role-Based User Interface (RBUI), which supports delegated management of the Web UI. In addition, industry-leading original equipment manufacturers including Compaq Computer Corp., Dell Computer Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co., Maxtor Corp., RLX Technologies Inc. and Transtec AG announced their plans to ship Windows®
Powered server appliance products based on SAK 2.0 with the Add-On Pack.

“Customers have told us that both ease of use and management capabilities are key requirements for reducing the deployment and support costs for appliances in the IT server infrastructure,” said Keith White, senior director of the Windows Embedded Appliance and Platform Group at Microsoft. “Multiple Device Manager and Role-Based User Interface are great examples of the continuous innovation we’re making to ensure that Windows Powered server appliances continue to lead the industry and drive down the cost of ownership for customers.”

Windows Powered Server Appliances Continue Strong Momentum

Industry-leading OEMs including Compaq, Dell, IBM, Maxtor, NEC, RLX Technologies Inc. and Transtec are already building highly reliable Windows Powered server appliances that offer unparalleled administration, manageability and price performance. Adding to the list of OEMs, HP announced earlier this month its decision to start building its next-generation standards-based server appliance products on Windows 2000 with the SAK. In particular, NAS and Web server appliances are two of the fastest growing, with International Data Corp. (IDC) forecasting that in 2005 worldwide NAS sales will amount to $5.6 billion, with a 31.2 percent compound annual growth rate. IDC sees Windows Powered server appliances gaining strong momentum in the server appliance industry.

“Windows Powered server appliance solutions for NAS are experiencing a strong adoption rate among customers. Over the past few quarters, we’ve seen a strong upward trend in the number of shipments by OEMs offering Windows Powered NAS products,” said Mark Melenovsky, research manager for the Internet Infrastructure Hardware Program at IDC. “Important to IT administrators are strong management and ease-of-use capabilities, and we think the innovation coming from Microsoft demonstrates that it is committed to helping lower the total cost of ownership for customers.”

Companies such as Continental Airlines Inc. are deploying NAS devices based on the Windows 2000 operating system because of their industry-leading price performance, ease of use and reduced IT management cost advantages.

“With Windows Powered NAS appliances, we were able to add storage that integrates seamlessly into Continental’s corporate IT environment and Active Directory (TM) infrastructure, significantly reducing our deployment costs,” said Bob Edwards, staff vice president of Systems Technology at Continental Airlines. “A key benefit of having Windows Powered NAS devices is that, from an administrator’s view, you don’t have to learn new management tools, you manage the NAS servers just as you would any other Windows 2000 Server-based system, and overall administration costs are reduced for the IT infrastructure.”

Server Appliance Kit 2.0 Add-On Pack

Designed for use with Windows 2000, the Server Appliance Kit enables OEMs to utilize the proven interoperability, reliability and scalability of the Windows 2000 operating system, and provides a solution with which OEMs can build server appliances, thus shortening and simplifying the development process and decreasing time to market. The tools in the SAK 2.0 include the set of frameworks and software components that enable OEMs to build fixed-function server appliance devices such as NAS and Web servers. Two new key features are provided: Multiple Device Manager and Role-Based User Interface.

  • Multiple Device Manager (MDM) provides a powerful infrastructure that enables administrators to manage multiple devices from a central console, sparing them the necessity of working at machines that are in widespread locations. MDM offers a suite of capabilities, including Appliance Discovery, Device Grouping, Tracking and Auditing, and other updates to the Web UI and security and command line tools, allowing administrators to identify, select and log updates made to a set of appliances.

  • Role-Based User Interface (RBUI) meets the hierarchical requirements of the Web-hosting environment, allowing system administrators to delegate administrative tasks and protect access to the Web service for particular customer groups such as wholesalers, resellers or end users. RBUI provides three customized views that enable administrators to provide delegated management levels in the UI: for wholesalers, for easily creating and assigning new groups of users; for resellers, for Web development; and for end users, for authoring content and managing basic profiles.

About the Microsoft Windows Embedded Family

The Microsoft Windows Embedded operating systems and tools provide comprehensive software platforms for building the next generation of intelligent, 32-bit connected Windows Powered devices that demand rich applications and Internet services for a wide range of flexible solutions. In addition, Microsoft offers a wide range of programs and services designed to meet the specific needs of Windows Embedded customers, industry partners and developers. Windows Embedded operating systems currently shipping include Windows CE 3.0 and Windows XP Embedded. Based on the Windows 2000 platform, the Server Appliance Kit 2.0 is currently available to Web appliance developers, enabling the creation of reliable and scalable fixed-function server appliances. Next-generation Windows Embedded platforms currently in development include Windows CE .NET, the next generation of the Windows CE operating system, and Windows .NET Embedded Server, the componentized version of the next-generation Windows .NET Server platform.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.

Microsoft, Windows and Active Directory are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.

The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

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Supporting Quotes From Industry Leaders

“Compaq StorageWorks Universal Network Storage products answer the customer need for consolidated NAS and SAN architectures. The addition of the Microsoft SAK 2.0 Add-On Pack with its powerful features enriches NAS management, helping customers decrease costs across the storage utility. The recently announced StorageWorks NAS Executor E7000, with its ability to integrate with the SAN, will leverage Microsoft’s enhanced management tools to provide even greater value to our customers. Since Compaq StorageWorks is the world’s leading supplier of SANs, the benefit to the storage market will be significant.”

  • John Young

  • Vice President and General Manager
    Network Attached Storage Division
    Compaq

“Through its relationship with Microsoft, Dell has reduced time to market for its NAS and Web server appliances and delivered powerful yet simple-to-use products to customers. Microsoft’s Server Appliance Kit with the Add-On Pack is flexible and extensible, allowing Dell to develop value-added features and deliver award-winning storage and server appliance products.”

  • Russ Holt

  • Vice President
    Enterprise Systems Group
    Dell

“Windows is a key element of HP’s broad offering of standards-based server appliance products. The proven reliability and manageability of the Windows 2000 platform combined with the flexibility of the Server Appliance Kit Add-On Pack enable HP Windows blade server solutions for the Internet, telecommunications and enterprises to meet the most demanding customer requirements of the Internet datacenter.”

  • Maureen Mellon

  • General Manager
    Windows Systems Operation
    Hewlett-Packard

“Maxtor is committed to delivering innovative and complete enterprise storage solutions to meet customer requirements for high levels of reliability, scalability and interoperability. With the new Server Appliance Kit Add-On Pack’s robust features, both Maxtor and Microsoft continue to provide IT administrators with what they demand: storage solutions with a comprehensive set of data management capabilities and ease of use.”

  • Eric Kelly

  • President
    Network Systems Group
    Maxtor

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