Windows Server 2008 Technologies

The following table describes new and updated Windows Server® technologies available in Windows Server® 2008.

Feature

Description

Active Directory Rights Management Services

Active Directory Rights Management Services (AD RMS) is an information protection technology that works with AD RMS-enabled applications to help safeguard digital information from unauthorized use.

For more information, see the "What's New in Active Directory Rights Management Services" topic.

Distributed File System

Distributed File System (DFS) allows administrators to group shared folders located on different servers and present them to users as a virtual tree of folders known as a namespace. A namespace provides numerous benefits, including increased availability of data, load sharing, and simplified data migration.

For more information, see the "What's New in DFS in Windows Server 2008" topic.

File Server Resource Manager

The File Server Resource Manager (FSRM) API is used to limit the size of a given directory using directory quotas, restrict the type of data that can be stored under a given directory using file screens, and generate storage reports that administrators can use to analyze storage utilization.

For more information, see the "File Server Resource Manager" topic.

Image Mastering

The image mastering API enables applications to stage and burn images to CD and DVD optical storage media. Other disc-like media that lay images in the same manner can also use this API.

For more information, see the "What's New" topic in the Image Mastering API documentation.

Internet Information Services (IIS) 7.0

The Windows SDK includes the IIS 7.0 SDK documentation. The binaries are not yet available in the SDK.

For more information, see the "Internet Information Services (IIS) 7.0 SDK" topic.

Media Foundation

Media Foundation is the next-generation multimedia platform for Windows® that enables developers, consumers, and content providers to embrace the new wave of premium content with enhanced robustness, unparalleled quality, and seamless interoperability.

For more information, see the "What's New in Media Foundation" topic.

Network Access Protection

Network Access Protection (NAP) for Windows Server 2008 is a new set of operating system components that provide a platform for protected access to private networks.

For more information, see the "Network Access Protection" topic.

Reading and Managing Event Logs

Using the .NET Framework namespace System.Diagnostics.Eventing.Reader, users can develop applications that read and manage event logs on Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008.

For more information, see the "Reading and Managing Event Logs" topic.

Server Core for Windows Server 2008

Server Core is a minimal installation of Windows Server 2008 that requires users to complete the initial configuration from the command line.

For more information, see the "What's New in Server Core" topic.

Teredo

Teredo is an IPv6 transition technology that provides address assignment and host-to-host automatic tunneling for unicast IPv6 traffic when IPv6/IPv4 hosts are located behind one or multiple IPv4 network address translators (NATs).

For more information, see the "Teredo" topic.

Terminal Services

Terminal Services provides technologies that enable access, from almost any computing device, to a server running Windows-based programs or the full Windows desktop. Users can connect to a terminal server to run programs and use network resources on that server.

For more information, see the "What's New in Windows Server 2008" topic.

Volume Shadow Copy Service

The Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) is a set of COM APIs that implements a framework to allow volume backups to be performed while applications on a system continue to write to the volumes.

For more information, see the "What's New in VSS in Windows Server 2008" topic.

Windows Deployment Services

Windows Deployment Services (WDS) is the revised version of Remote Installation Services (RIS). WDS enables the deployment of Microsoft Windows operating systems, particularly Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. WDS can set up new clients with a network-based installation without requiring that administrators visit each computer or install directly from CD or DVD media.

For more information, see the "Windows Deployment Services" topic.

Windows Error Reporting

Windows Error Reporting (WER) is a new error-reporting feature that enables users to notify Microsoft of application faults, kernel faults, and unresponsive applications.

For more information, see the "What's New in WER" topic.

Windows Event Collector

Windows Event Collector enables users to subscribe to receive and store events on a local computer (event collector) that are forwarded from a remote computer (event source).

For more information, see the "Windows Event Collector" topic.

Windows Installer

Windows Installer enables customers to provide better corporate deployment and provides a standard format for component management.

For more information, see the "What's New in Windows Installer" topic.

Windows PowerShell™

Windows PowerShell is a .NET-connected environment designed for administrative automation. Windows PowerShell provides a new approach to building commands, composing solutions, and creating management GUI tools.

For more information, see the "Windows PowerShell Portal" topic.

WMI Provider Extensions

Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) is a standardized infrastructure that makes it easier to manage computers running the Windows family of operating systems. It provides a consistent way to register and discover which system components and applications can be managed. WMI also provides clear rules about how to implement new management functionality and how to use that functionality.

For more information, see the "WMI Provider Extensions" topic.

See Also

Concepts

Windows Vista Technologies