In addition to IIS, Quixtar is focusing on Active Directory improvements around replication that help cut the time it takes the company to bring up a new directory server from eight days to less than four hours. Quixtar has nearly 3.5 million objects in its directory.

"This is our Web directory and all our authentications and authorizations and all our apps that need a log-in go through Active Directory," says Matt Behrens, supervisor for IT infrastructure at Quixtar.

Like Quixtar, analysts say Longhorn's list of features will force other users to focus on the handful of capabilities most relevant to them.

"There are a lot of little things, it's a grab bag," says John Enck, an analyst with Gartner. "There are some good incremental improvements, but I still think Longhorn will trickle out into companies. I don't think there will be people lining up to get the software when it is released." Enck also cautions users that Microsoft could still pull features before final release as it has routinely done in the past with other products.

But what seems solid is a core of features starting with a modular deployment architecture, called Server Core, designed to make life easier for IT right out of the gate.

Server Core is made up of the Windows kernel and a set of infrastructure "roles" that install only the components needed for any of eight specific functions: Active Directory, Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services, DHCP, DNS, File, Print, Windows Media Services and Windows Server Virtualization (when it ships).

The idea is to make deployment less complex and more secure by eliminating unneeded services and installing only the parts of the operating system needed for a specific workload.

Server Core is coupled with Server Manager, a management tool that provides a prebuilt Microsoft Management Console that includes reference to each installed role and feature, and links to tools for diagnostics, configuration and storage.

Windows Server 2008 introduces Read-Only Domain Controllers (RODC), which are designed for branch offices to speed log-ons and reduce the exposure of the directory infrastructure to hackers or from physical theft of servers.

Experts say the combination of RODCs, Server Core, the new Encrypting File System (EFS) and BitLocker combine to offer dramatic security improvements for branch office deployments.

Windows Server 2008 also features Server Message Block (SMB) 2.0, a file sharing protocol that takes advantage of the new Transactional File System feature in the server and supports over-the-wire encryption of files.

The server also aligns with Vista including NAP, which checks the health of computers before letting them on the network, and Terminal Services enhancements including RemoteApp, which makes remote applications appear as though they are running locally.

Microsoft also has improved the scheduling and memory management capabilities to address the demands of multicore processing.

"We have shifted to 64-bit in our core thinking and development," says Bill Laing, general manager of the Windows server division.

Vista and Longhorn also both support Microsoft's new remote access Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol (SSTP) that creates a VPN tunnel that travels over HTTPS.

Microsoft hopes SSTP will help reduce help desk support calls associated with IPSec VPNs when those connections get blocked by firewalls or routers. SSTP eliminates issues associated with VPN connections based on the Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol or Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol that can be blocked by some Web proxies, firewalls and network-address translation routers that sit between clients and servers.

Overall, Microsoft says the server should appeal to users on many levels.

"We think the uptake will be similar to Windows Server 2003; it rolled out pretty consistently across enterprises," Laing says. "We don't think there are any big barriers that are going to be holding people back."