Microsoft tempts data center customers
InfoWorld | at | by Mike
Working to better compete in the data center market against entrenched Unix and mainframe systems, Microsoft has launched a program to help customers build standard and tested configurations of its Windows 2000 operating system for data centers. The Microsoft Systems Architecture (MSA) program, announced Wednesday with partners including Dell, Nortel, Cisco and storage vendor EMC, is comparable to a cookbook for building data centers based on different scenarios. The program includes documentation about preconfigured systems that have been lab-tested by Microsoft and its hardware, software and networking partners.
The new program's goal is to entice customers to use the Windows 2000 operating system in place of more traditional Unix and mainframe operating systems from companies such as IBM and Sun Microsystems. Microsoft is also battling for market share against data center configurations based on low-cost servers running the Linux operating system.