19 May 2007

Microsoft Starts to Get the Modularity Bug

First, this incredible opening par:

Some of the changes in the upcoming release of Windows Server 2008 are a response to features and performance advantages that have made Linux an attractive option to Microsoft customers.

Er, say that again? Windows Server 2008 is explicitly responding to GNU/Linux?

Then, this little nugget:

"Having less surface area does reduce the servicing and the amount of code you have running and exposed, so we have done a lot of work in 2008 to make the system more modular. You have the server manager; every role is optional, and there are more than 30 components not installed by default, which is a huge change," Laing said.

Ah, yes, modularity....

4 comments:

Cristiano Betta said...

So, for short, they decided to finally enable you to disable their normally mandatory services? Doesn't sound like much of a change, but more like a response to what sysadmins are already doing: turning a lot of services off.

Glyn Moody said...

It may not seem much, but it represents quite a shift from the standard position of "everything including the kitchen sink" to be built into the stack and turned on by default.

Cristiano Betta said...

Well, that totally depends is their modularity equals the one they use for Internet Explorer. It is the elementary independance between modules which is the important thing to realize.

Glyn Moody said...

Certainly, the scale is important. But equally, I think once you start down the road of modularity, and begin to realise its benefits, then the scale gradually sorts itself out anyway.