Windows Server 2008's ode to open source
Windows Server 2008 was released last Wednesday, the next generation in a product notable for its performance, stability and security. It's predecessor, Windows Server 2003, experienced strong sales growth, accounting for over half of the operating systems pre-installed on all servers shipped. Many of its features, such as the ability to create UI-free scaled down versions of the operating system using Windows Server Core, are obvious nods to the Unix competition. Sam Ramji, a director at Microsoft's Open Source Software Lab, noted as much in a response to a criticism on his blog:
Since my team includes architects of AT&T System V R/4 and Sequent Computer Systems, you can see that I believe a thorough knowledge of Unix is important to delivering modern operating systems.
The Windows Server engineering team has many veterans of not just Unix but VMS and MVS. These deep histories continually inform our design and development process as we advance our server operating system.
Sam Ramji is an example of one of the people at Microsoft who really "gets" the changed market landscape, and the need for Microsoft to react accordingly. In his blog, he listed key aspects of open source software which were reflected in Windows Server 2008.
- Modular archictectures
- Programming language agnostic
- Feedback-driven development
- Built-for-purpose systems
- Sysadmins who write code
- Standards-based communication
That last one has the most resonance for me, so I'll quote it in full:
Standards-based communication: Whether the standard is something from the IETF or W3C, or simply the implementation code itself, where these are used projects are more successful (think of Asterisk and IAX2) and attract a larger ecosystem of software around them.
In my opinion, Microsoft has no business making closed systems in 2008. Closed protocol systems aren't going to ignite a whole new category of business. Closed protocol Internet technology will not acquire a large user base, and will not change the world.
That doesn't mean Microsoft won't create its own in-house technology. Microsoft is a builder of platforms, and will create a lot more custom technology than companies that are not so oriented. The lesson from that last bulletpoint, however, is that that technology should always be open. It should be well documented, standardized, and made available to third parties for use on non-Microsoft platforms.
Doing this is important to Microsoft from an antitrust standpoint, to be sure. It is important, however, from a business standpoint as well. Today's market is not the same as existed in the 80s and 90s. I'm glad that people like Sam Ramji recognize that, and are spreading the message in Redmond.