Microsoft Windows Server 2003

Windows Server 2003 is based off of the same core technology as Windows XP and formed the basis for a wide variety of Server systems released by Microsoft. You can think of Server 2K3 as Windows XP expanded to provide the services and functionality required by a server infrastructure.

There are a multitude of further enhancements and specializations of Windows Server 2003 that fulfill specific niches in Microsoft's vast array of server initiatives and technologies.

Compared with Windows NT 4.0 which is the predecessor server technology to 2K3, there are a host of improvements that include all the ones introduced in vanilla Windows XP. Compared to the consumer operating system, Microsoft has implemented various technologies that are suited to the server market. One of the more notable changes is to the IIS technology which is significantly faster and more stable than the XP counterpart.