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If yours is like many businesses today, you’re busy adapting to the challenges and opportunities brought by the Internet. The Microsoft Windows® 2000 Server operating system can make the transition easier. Now you can use the Internet to improve all your business operations—from how your employees work together to how you extend your network to customers and partners.

Building on the solid Internet technologies delivered in Windows NT® Server 4.0, Windows 2000 Server provides a well-integrated package containing the application development environment, security, and scalability you need to get more out of existing applications. Plus you can build new and versatile solutions using the most complete set of Internet technologies available.

With Windows 2000 Server, you can:

Integrated Web and Application Services

Active Server Pages (ASP), first introduced as a component of Windows NT Server 4.0, revolutionized the way Web content was served. This technology allowed organizations to create dynamic and highly personalized Web sites. The implementation of Active Server Pages in Windows 2000 Server is faster, more reliable, more scalable, and ready to run on high-end multi-processor hardware.

Windows 2000 also introduces new technologies that let you build richer Web applications and solutions, such as the next generation of the Microsoft Component Object Model, COM+. Developers using COM+ find it much easer to create and use software components, and benefit from a runtime environment and services that are easily used from any programming language or tool.

Another technology revolutionizing the Internet is the Extensible Markup Language (XML). XML enables easy integration of data from multiple sources, reduced network traffic, granular updates, and more meaningful searches. The Windows 2000 XML Parser is implemented as a COM component, providing a complete XML foundation for Windows DNA-based applications.

In addition, Windows 2000 includes integrated support for streaming media, which allows organizations to develop and distribute real-time presentations and rich multimedia content to both internal and external audiences. Imagine being able to send full screen video to your users’ desktops on demand, while providing CD-quality audio, digital rights management, and great integration with other application software.

Internet Scalability and Flexibility

When Windows NT was introduced, it provided something that was revolutionary in high-volume commercial operating systems: symmetric multi-processing (SMP) support. SMP meant that Windows NT could take equal advantage of multiple microprocessors on the same PC. Although microprocessors continue to get faster and faster, real scalability is achieved by adding more processors or by adding more PCs to a cluster—a process known as "scaling out."

Windows 2000 provides the technologies required to let your Internet applications grow without limitations. For example, it allows the most demanding high-end applications to use more computer memory. In addition, Windows 2000 Server supports four simultaneous processors, while Windows 2000 Advanced Server supports eight. Further, core parts of the operating system have been tuned to ensure that you get more than ever out of each processor. For example, Active Server Pages scales two to three times better on multiple processors than Windows NT 4.0 does.

Should your Internet site grow particularly large, services such as Network Load Balancing (NLB), which is part of Advanced Server, enable you to grow your Internet site by simply adding PCs. NLB then directs traffic on the site to spread it across the multiple machines without requiring you to learn whole new development techniques or reengineer all of your applications.

Security

As businesses extend their networks beyond original boundaries, for example by adding extranets and Internet sites, they need to increase system security. In addition, employees typically store confidential information on laptops and other mobile computing devices, which may be lost or stolen. To help companies enhance their security to address new ways of using information, Windows 2000 provides end-to-end security. This means that organizations can integrate systems both inside and outside the corporate network boundaries, while providing complete access control and data protection. Security features include advanced techniques for identifying who is accessing the system, including the use of digital "keys" to access selected data, and a single ID that permits users to access not only their own computer, but also other shared resources (such as printers or files) on the corporate network, the Internet, or even a business partner’s network.

Windows 2000 Server provides comprehensive, standards-based security services, including flexible authentication, data encryption, flexible and secure network access, protection of virtual private networks (VPNs) using core Internet standards such as IP Security (IPSec), secure transaction processing, and security extensions for the development platform such as the CryptoAPI.

Conclusion

In summary, Windows 2000 Server provides the integrated Web and application development services, scalability, flexibility, and security services to allow organizations to extend their business to the Internet. With Windows 2000 Server, businesses can securely connect with their customers, partners, and employees—wherever Internet access is available. Businesses can use the Internet infrastructure to offer expanded and innovative applications, rich content, and secure access to information, products, and services.