Microsoft Servers

Microsoft Servers (previously called Windows Server System) is a brand that encompasses a line of Microsoft server products. This includes the server editions of Microsoft Windows operating system itself, as well as products targeted at the wider business market. Unlike Microsoft's Dynamics or Office product lines, most of the products sold under this brand are not intended to be line-of-business services in and of themselves.

Former logo

Servers

As of December 2006, the lineup of Windows Server System software includes:

• BizTalk Server – Business process design and integration tools
• Commerce Server – E-Commerce portal
• Exchange Server – E-mail and collaboration server
• Internet Information Server (IIS) – Web server
• Forefront – Comprehensive line of business security products
• Host Integration Server – Data and management connector between Windows environments and mainframe systems such as AS/400
• Identity Integration Server – Identity management product
• ISA Server – Firewall and caching web-proxy, known as Microsoft Proxy Server in its earlier iterations
• Speech Server – Speech applications for automated telephone systems, including voice recognition
• SQL Server – Relational Database Management and business intelligence server
• Virtual Server – Virtualization of operating systems
• Windows Compute Cluster Server – High performance computing server
• Windows Home Server – Home server operating system
• Windows Server – Server operating system
• Windows Server Update Services – Software update services for Windows and other applications
• Windows Essential Business Server - Server offering for mid-size businesses
• Windows Small Business Server – Windows Server and additional technologies
• Windows Storage Server – File server-focused edition of Windows Server, with built-in back-up tools

Microsoft Office server products

Some of the products included in the Windows Server System product branding are designed specifically for interaction with Microsoft Office. These include:

• Forms Server – Server-based electronic forms
• Groove Server – Collaboration server; works in conjunction with Groove
• Communications Server – Instant messaging and presence server, integration with telephone PBX systems. Integrates with Office Communicator
• Project Server – Project management and resource allocation services; works as the server component to Microsoft Project
• SharePoint Server (MOSS), formerly Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server – Intranet portal server facilitating publishing, searching, and sharing of information.
• PerformancePoint Server – Business performance management server
• (older) Search Server
• FAST Search Server - Enterprise search server

Microsoft System Center

Microsoft System Center is a set of server products aimed specifically at helping corporate IT administrators manage a network of Windows Server and client desktop systems. When first introduced, the "System Center" brand included products from the Windows Server System line, but has since evolved to include new products.

As of June 2010, this line of products includes:

• System Center Essentials 2010 – Combined features of Operations Manager and Windows Software Update Service (WSUS), aimed at small and medium sized businesses
• System Center Capacity Planner 2007 – Provides purchasing and best-practice capacity planning guidance
• System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R3 – Configuration management, hardware/software asset management, patch deployment tools for Windows desktops (previously Systems Management Server)
• System Center Data Protection Manager 2010 – Continuous data protection and data recovery
• System Center Operations Manager 2007 – Services and application monitoring
• Reporting Manager
• System Center Service Manager – Ties in with SCOM, SCCM for asset tracking as well as incident, problem, change and configuration management (code name Service Desk)
• System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 – Virtual machine management and datacenter virtualization.
• System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008 – Mobile device management (PDAs, smartphones, etc.)

Other technologies

Some technologies that Microsoft has shipped separately from the Windows Server line of operating systems have been incorporated into the operating system itself. These include:

• Terminal Services
• Windows Media Services
• Rights Management Services
• Hyper-V
• Internet Information Services (IIS)

Discontinued server products

• Services for UNIX - SFU for Windows XP Pro and Windows Server 2003 only
• Microsoft Application Center – Deployment of web applications across multiple servers. Some of its capabilities are now in System Center.
• Microsoft BackOffice Server
• Content Management Server – Web site content management and publishing. Merged into Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server.
• Microsoft SNA Server – replaced by Microsoft Host Integration Server
• Microsoft Site Server – replaced by Microsoft Commerce Server
• Microsoft Proxy Server – replaced by Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration Server (ISA Server)

External links

• Official Microsoft Servers web site
• Official Microsoft System Center web site
• Official Windows Small Business Server web site