Windows Server 2008 enhances network security in other ways as well. Tunneling is implemented in several Windows network services, and can be extended to any application through socket sharing. Several applications, even applications that use different protocols, can listen on a single TCP socket. Traffic analysis routes packets to the appropriate application, and port sharing doesn't interfere with load balancing.

The Bottom Line Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Microsoft, microsoft.com/server Very Good  8.5 criteria score weight Management 7 20% Performance 9 20% Scalability 10 20% Features 8 15% Security 9 15% Value 7 10% Cost: Standard: $999 with 5 CALs, $1,199 with 10 CALs. Enterprise: $3,999 with 25 CALs. Datacenter Edition: $2,999. Windows Web Server 2008: $469. Platforms: 32-bit or 64-bit AMD or Intel x86, or Intel Itanium CPU, with minimum speed of 1.4GHz. Memory and disk requirements vary by edition and features. Author’s recommended minimums for Windows Server 2008 Standard are 1GB of server RAM per virtual instance and 40GB of local hard disk for boot and swap. The GUI-less Server Core’s requirements are much lower. Bottom Line: You couldn’t ask for more, or for less. Windows Server 2008’s fine-grained, modular configurability lets you shrink the OS footprint down to virtualization guest-friendly size, and Server Core drops the Windows GUI to dramatically reduce the memory requirements of a virtualized guest. This server OS presents a minimal attack surface for guest and host instances, and generally removes the requirement for add-in server and client security. It isn’t a server in a box, but it’s Microsoft’s richest server OS by far. About our Reviews and Scoring Methodology

The potential for OS-level tunneling becomes evident when many guest OS instances are run on a single physical host. The Windows Server 2008 host acts as a gateway and load balancer. Tunneling may allow guests to share one TCP port such that one heavily monitored HTTPS socket might be the only direct access a virtual host has to the outside world. I haven't tested this to see if it's a feature in the current release, but I see this as tunneling's greatest potential use.

With or without tunneling, Terminal Services has grown from a convenience to a necessity. Remote Desktop Protocol version 6 and 6.1 are bundled with Vista, and count among the many new Windows Server 2008 features that roll out a red carpet for Vista clients. In the recent past, I have taken the position that IT shouldn't be forced into Vista. After working Vista with Windows Server 2008, especially Terminal Services, I have reversed my position. As you migrate from Windows Server 2003 to 2008, upgrade your clients as well.

Terminal Services is made simpler and more flexible through its ability to distribute what feel to users like stand-alone applications, but that actually run on the server. A double-click on an application on the Vista desktop will transparently launch a Terminal Services connection that doesn't take over the whole client. The install experience for these Terminal Server-hosted applications can be the same as ordinary apps, with applications delivered on physical media. Application virtualization that allows applications to run offline, directly on the client, will be delivered by the SoftGrid component of Microsoft's Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP), a separate package that is currently in open beta. This, too, requires Vista, giving Microsoft's "better together" campaign some teeth.

An essential upgrade
Microsoft Windows Server 2008 is technically advanced, and the combination of new features in the new OS with features found in Windows Server 2003 have the potential to boggle the mind and overwhelm servers. But Windows Server 2008's management tools, both built in and provided by System Center, absorb the shock and noise that come with a more powerful engine. Windows Server 2008 outguns Windows Server 2003 in features and throughput, especially with Hyper-V kicked in, to an extent that makes an upgrade essential. This, too, is a reversal of my previously expressed opinions on the subject.

As is always the case with enterprise operating systems, I have to close with the caveat that I've only managed to write up about half of Windows Server 2008's new features, but I've invested a great deal of time in working the preview editions, as well as early access to the Release to Manufacturing cut of the server. There is plenty to see, and Microsoft's relaxed policies with regard to downloadable trials will empower you to write your own review. Your direct experience with Windows Server 2008, System Center, and other components in the Windows Server System is what counts. My experience has left me extremely impressed. Windows Server 2008 on large-scale, virtualized enterprise servers will make alternatives a very hard sell.