Moving to Windows Server 2003 worth it?

[Ramuman]

Hi guys, I'm currently running Windows XP Pro on my rig as follows:

1.2 Athlon
256 MB SDR SDRAM
GF2 Ultra

and so forth.

What I want to know is if a move to Windows Server 2003 standard would be worthwhile for a couple of reasons. First I'm looking for increased security, and second a slightly better platform to host a very basic IIS web server. The later is a secondary reason, I'm more interested in having a secure OS and an extremely stable OS. Of course the server versions should fit the bill, but what about compatibility? I don't game that much, but I do use several accessories like an iPod, digital camera, camcorder etc. to connect with my PC and I want to have nearly complete support in the this arena. How is the support for Windows XP program in Server 2003?

I get nearly all MS products for either free or for a substantial discount through my school's engineering department which is the only reason I'm considering this.

[iantaylor]

Stick with XP, win2k3 is not alot different from xp, i have used win2k3 for months now and all i can say is that win2k3 has more networking features.

also xp can run IIS fine or just as good as 2k3, and for the compatibility its the same as xp.

[ua549]

IIS 6.0 in W2k3 is much better and more secure than IIS 5.0 in older OS's.

The overall security model in W2k3 is superior to that in older OS's.

That said, if you aren't going to use W2k3 as a serious server, why pay several hundred dollars plus client access licenses for something you won't use. Unless you have an application that requires a server, stick with XP Pro.

[Ramuman]

Originally posted by ua549
IIS 6.0 in W2k3 is much better and more secure than IIS 5.0 in older OS's.

The overall security model in W2k3 is superior to that in older OS's.

That said, if you aren't going to use W2k3 as a serious server, why pay several hundred dollars plus client access licenses for something you won't use. Unless you have an application that requires a server, stick with XP Pro.

Like I said our school's engineering department gets programs for very cheapo free. I'm a member of the ACM here and as such we get all MS OSes for free (upto 2003 Enterprise Server). The school has a multi liscence academic MSDN subscription and we basically just stop by the office and pick up a product key and bare disc (no fancy packaging). Office and such we have to pay for, but since this is free, I just wanted to see if it would be worth my time to move to it from XP Pro. Like I said, I'm most concerned with in this order: Stability, compatibility, security and finally the server.

I know that Apache on Linux would be the way to go, but I'm not that serious and I want to just have one OS (i.e. Windows).

So basically in my position would you do it for free?

[Thermo]

Originally posted by Ramuman


Like I said our school's engineering department gets programs for very cheapo free. I'm a member of the ACM here and as such we get all MS OSes for free (upto 2003 Enterprise Server). The school has a multi liscence academic MSDN subscription and we basically just stop by the office and pick up a product key and bare disc (no fancy packaging). Office and such we have to pay for, but since this is free, I just wanted to see if it would be worth my time to move to it from XP Pro. Like I said, I'm most concerned with in this order: Stability, compatibility, security and finally the server.

I know that Apache on Linux would be the way to go, but I'm not that serious and I want to just have one OS (i.e. Windows).

So basically in my position would you do it for free?

You had better read the licence that your school has, if it the standard one, like we have at where I work, personal use it not allowed. It is only for the equipment owned and deployed by the Dept.of Edu.

[Ramuman]

Originally posted by Thermo


You had better read the licence that your school has, if it the standard one, like we have at where I work, personal use it not allowed. It is only for the equipment owned and deployed by the Dept.of Edu.

Its for the students. We have a diffrent group here called IATS that maintains the school's software liscences. They made us sign a liscence agreement before we could get any of the free software and apparently it was part of MS' antitrust settlement that they had to promote educational institutions. We can use one copy of each program on one machine as long as we are in the department and taking at least one class in the department. We only get the development programs, OSes and a few specific programs for free. Office etc., we still have to buy through the bookstore at the standard student discount.

The sites located here:
http://acm.missouri.edu/

Another incentive is I'm building a new rig at home and I'll either have to install Windows XP Home on it (see my other thread in General Hardware) and keep Pro on this PC as is or I can install Server 2003 on one and Pro on the other. This is the only way I can get 2 legal copies of Windows on both my computers for free since we only get one liscence per student per program .

[Digital Froggy]

If you do move to Win2k3 you will also have to purchase a copy of Symantec Corporate Antivirus. A standard antivirus program won't work on a Microsoft server OS. I imagine that program ain't cheap either.

[iantaylor]

I use Symantec Corporate Antivirus v8.0 and works great

[ua549]

Originally posted by Ramuman


We can use one copy of each program on one machine as long as we are in the department and taking at least one class in the department. We only get the development programs, OSes and a few specific programs for free. Office etc., we still have to buy through the bookstore at the standard student discount.

. . . we only get one liscence per student per program .

You still need to purchase client access licenses (CALs) for each PC or connection to a Win2 or Win2k3 server. Ditto for server based applications.