With Windows Server 2008 appearing in (surprisingly) 2008, and Windows 7 (client) scheduled for 2010, some folks grew mighty confused about the possibility of a Windows 7 Server appearing shortly thereafter. Even Microsofties talked about something called “Windows 7 Server” in blogs, newsgroups, and conferences.

So would there be a major Windows Server update just two or three years after the last major version? And what impact would this have on the masses that still haven’t moved from Windows Server 2003 (or even 2000)?

Thankfully, the Group Product Manager for Windows Server, Ward Ralston, has clarified the issue. There will be no Windows 7 Server. Instead, we will see an update to Windows Server 2008 called (unsurprisingly) Windows Server 2008 R2 which will incorporate any server-side enhancements needed for Windows 7 clients. Ralston’s comments about a 2/4 schedule of minor/major updates leads me to assume that the next major Windows Server update will come in 2012 at the earliest and will probably share whatever the post-Windows 7 client codebase becomes.

See the official Microsoft Windows Server Roadmap for more details, and note that Windows Storage Server 2008 is noted for release this year. I can’t wait to get my hands on that!

VMware just released Update 2 for VMware ESX Server 3.5 (Virtual Infrastructure), and it includes some storage fixes of note:

1. Support for Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) for filesystems Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008 guests.  This means VMware services like VCB and SRM can now signal Windows Server to quiesce filesystems before creating a clone or snapshot and is a major addition!
2. Windows Server 2003 guests also get application quiescing, where supported.
3. You can now extend a live, running VMFS volume as storage is added, just like Windows Vista and 2008 guests could already do with raw device mode (RDM).  Note that this only works for flat disks with no persistent snapshots open.

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