Windows Server 2003

Windows Server 2003
Version of the Windows NT operating system
Screenshot of Windows Server 2003, showing the Server Manager application which is automatically opened when an administrator logs on
DeveloperMicrosoft
OS familyWindows Server
Working stateNo longer supported
Source model
Released to
manufacturing		March 28, 2003; 21 years ago (2003-03-28)[1]
General
availability		April 24, 2003; 21 years ago (2003-04-24)[2]
Final releaseService Pack 2 with May 14, 2019 security update (5.2.3790.6787) / April 19, 2019; 5 years ago (2019-04-19)[3]
Marketing targetBusiness and Server
Update methodWindows Update
PlatformsIA-32, x86-64, Itanium
Kernel typeHybrid (Windows NT kernel)
Default
user interface		Windows shell (Graphical)
LicenseTrialware[4] and volume licensing,[5] with client access licenses[6]
Preceded byWindows 2000 Server (1999)
Succeeded byWindows Server 2008 (2008)
Official websiteWindows Server 2003 (archived at Wayback Machine)
Support status
All editions except Windows Storage Server 2003 and Windows Small Business Server 2003 (including R2):
Mainstream support ended on July 13, 2010
Extended support ended on July 14, 2015[7][8][9]

Windows Storage Server 2003 (including R2):
Mainstream support ended on October 11, 2011
Extended support ended on October 9, 2016[10][11]

Windows Small Business Server 2003 (including R2):
Mainstream support ended on April 12, 2011
Extended support ended on April 12, 2016[12][13]

Windows Server 2003, codenamed "Whistler Server", is the sixth version of the Windows Server operating system produced by Microsoft. It is part of the Windows NT family of operating systems and was released to manufacturing on March 28, 2003[14] and generally available on April 24, 2003.[15] Windows Server 2003 is the successor to the Server editions of Windows 2000 and the predecessor to Windows Server 2008.[16] An updated version, Windows Server 2003 R2, was released to manufacturing on December 6, 2005.[17] Windows Server 2003 is based on Windows XP.

Windows Server 2003's kernel has also been used in Windows XP 64-bit Edition and Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, and was the starting point for the development of Windows Vista.[18]

Windows Server 2003 is the final version of Windows Server that supports processors without ACPI. Its successor, Windows Server 2008, requires a processor with ACPI in any supported architecture (x86, x64 and Itanium).

As of July 2016, 18% of organizations used servers that were running Windows Server 2003.[19]

  1. ^ "Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Released to Manufacturing". News Center. Microsoft. March 28, 2003. Archived from the original on January 13, 2015.
  2. ^ "Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Is Available Worldwide Today". News Center. San Francisco: Microsoft. April 24, 2003.
  3. ^ "Description of the security update for the remote code execution vulnerability in Windows Server 2003 SP2". Microsoft. May 14, 2019.
  4. ^ "Windows Server 2003 Evaluation Kit". microsoft.com. Microsoft. 6 November 2003. Archived from the original on 1 January 2005.
  5. ^ "Volume Licensing Programs for Windows Server 2003". microsoft.com. Microsoft. 15 June 2004. Archived from the original on 13 January 2005.
  6. ^ "Windows Server 2003 Pricing". microsoft.com. Microsoft. 6 February 2004. Archived from the original on 29 December 2004.
  7. ^ "Windows Server 2003 - Microsoft Lifecycle". Microsoft Docs. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  8. ^ "Windows Server 2003 R2 - Microsoft Lifecycle". Microsoft Docs. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  9. ^ "Windows Server 2003 end of support". Microsoft. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  10. ^ "Windows Storage Server 2003 - Microsoft Lifecycle". Microsoft Docs. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  11. ^ "Windows Storage Server 2003 R2 - Microsoft Lifecycle". Microsoft Docs. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  12. ^ "Windows Small Business Server 2003 - Microsoft Lifecycle". Microsoft Docs. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  13. ^ "Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2 - Microsoft Lifecycle". Microsoft Learn. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  14. ^ "Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Released to Manufacturing". News Center. Microsoft. 28 March 2003.
  15. ^ "Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Is Available Worldwide Today". News Center. San Francisco: Microsoft. 24 April 2003. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  16. ^ Mosley, Dion (2023-01-02). "Windows Server Basics - Learning Windows Server 2003". Windows Server Brain. Retrieved 2023-01-14.
  17. ^ GitHub-Name. "Windows Server 2003 R2 - Microsoft Lifecycle". learn.microsoft.com. Retrieved 2023-01-13.
  18. ^ "Rob Short (and kernel team) - Going deep inside Windows Vista's kernel architecture - Going Deep - Channel 9". Channel 9. Microsoft. Archived from the original on 2021-01-29.
  19. ^ Mackie, Kurt. "Windows Server 2003 Still Used by 18 Percent of Orgs -- Redmondmag.com". Redmondmag. Retrieved 2023-05-25.