Windows for server appliances released

Windows 2000, released a year ago, has been catching on more slowly than the Redmond, Wash., company had hoped, but a less-widely known version has been growing in popularity. It's a version that computer makers modify for server appliances, special-purpose servers that don't need many of the features required by full-fledged general-purpose servers.

IBM, Compaq and Maxtor use this server appliance version in various products, a Microsoft spokeswoman said, and Dell recently introduced a data storage server that uses it.

Microsoft Corp. (msft) has released a beta version of the second version of the product, the company said. Companies selling server appliances based on the product can pick and choose among various components, reducing the memory requirements and improving performance by shucking unneeded software. -- Stephen Shankland, Special to ZDNet News