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Microsoft Releases Another Windows Server 2003 R2 Beta
Microsoft has made available what could be the final beta of Windows Server 2003 R2, which is slated to ship by the end of the year.The server operating system release candidate, which is typically a final beta before general availability of the software, was made available for download from Microsoft's Web site.
Windows Server 2003 R2 release candidate 1 (RC1) is built on Windows Server 2003 SP1 and is actually the second release candidate. The first was RC0, which was released August 30. The first public beta was made available in May.
Key to R2 is an identity technology called Active Directory Federation Services. ADFS is one of the final pieces of Microsoft's identity management platform and it also represents the company's first implementation of the WS-Federation protocol it developed with IBM. Microsoft has positioned WS-Federation as the linchpin for integrating security infrastructures between companies.
Also part of R2 is branch office support so servers can be remotely managed from a central location, integration of Services for Unix into the core operating system, new storage management features, support for .Net Framework 2.0, and enhancements to the Windows SharePoint Services collaboration technology.(continue at source)