That being said, there really are a lot of good reasons why you should consider rapidly moving to Server 2008 in your IT environment. Along with these are reasons why the upgrade to Server 2008 is likely going to be much easier on you than was XP to Vista. Since most of us are waiting on our own local launch party, let's put a positive spin on the top 12 reasons why you'll quickly upgrade to Windows Server 2008.

Reason #1 - Security. One of the major priorities linked to Server 2008 is the idea of improved security. Server 2008 includes a much improved firewall, one that you'll actually want to turn on and use everywhere. Its Group Policy linkages to the Windows Firewall with Advanced Security are designed in a way that you'll want to configure them for both on- and off-domain use. Configuring the firewall all across your network can significantly reduce the type and virulence of certain exploits that make their way into your network.

Also linked to this concept of security are Server 2008's levels of componentization. It appears that with Server 2008 and the currently in-development Windows 7 that Microsoft has finally heard the word: Monolithic operating systems aren't going to work anymore. Server 2008's componentization means that the code for capabilities you aren't using isn't even installed onto the hard drive of your servers. No code means no potential for exploit.

Reason #2 - Management. Server 2008 gains the new Server Manager console that aggregates many of the old consoles from previous O/S's into a single location. But although it's gotten much of the press, Server Manager is neither the only nor the biggest improvement in the realm of management. The Windows Remote Management service, incorporated natively into Server 2008, will significantly enhance both Microsoft and 3rd party management toolsets. Windows Remote Shell allows for the remote launching of command line tools in a way similar to the Sysinternals PSExec tool. Event logs and scheduled tasks both get major overhauls. Even old PerfMon gets a facelift, integrating the old Server Performance Advisor toolkit to become the Reliability and Performance Monitor.

Reason #3 - Group Policy. One of the only major changes between Server 2008 RC0 and RC1 was the incorporation of Group Policy Preferences. Preferences allow you the administrator to configure a set of "preferred" settings for computers in your domain. Depending on how you create the preference, it can be enforced on users, or you can allow them to adjust their own configuration once set. The single most useful part of preferences is the ability to now easily set registry settings and other common needs without custom administrative templates or login scripts. Want to ensure that WinZip always uses the highest level of compression? Encode that registry key into a preference. Eliminate Acrobat's splash screen? Same process. Assign specific printers, ODBC settings, scheduled tasks, or power options? It's all in there.

Reason #4 - Server Core. Windows Server without the Windows. Server Core is a brilliant idea that will likely become a tool for specialized uses. With Server Core, the only console interface is the command line. Its inability to run managed code and lack of GUI means that most of the behaviors that cause system problems, like installing unnecessary software or Internet surfing on the server itself, go away because they simply aren't supported. Server Core's very, very low hardware requirements also will endear it towards shops that simply can't afford the constant upgrade cycle. Right now, Server Core needs one major element to make it a big success: 3rd party application support. But once our anti-virus and backup software vendors reformulate their products to work with it, you'll start seeing the Windows form of UNIX in many places.

Reason #5 - Hyper-V. Hyper-V is Microsoft's still-in-the-oven virtualization solution that bolts onto Server 2008. Likely unavailable for up to six months after the server's RTM date, Hyper-V has one major thing going for it: Price. Though Hyper-V has its detractors, Microsoft's $28 pricing model makes it a compelling add. Also announced is a major coup in Microsoft's decision to support managing other hypervisors within System Center Virtual Machine Manager. With this capability, you'll be able to manage your VMware hosts using the same interface as you manage your Hyper-V ones. Integration? Cross-platform support? This is a new but very welcome behavior for Microsoft.

Reason #6 - NTBackup. A lesser known update, with Server 2008 the venerable NTBackup gets a host of new features that make it a serious backup solution contender. Now called Windows Server Backup, this tool can do full backups of any server that supportd bare-metal restoration. This means that if a server dies, it can be restored back to like hardware with a single step. Its backups now integrate with the Volume Shadow Copy Service. VSS's snapshots mean no more worrying about open files being skipped in your backups. All of this ties together into a comprehensive solution that ensures all-around better backups.

Tomorrow I continue with Part 2. Alternatively, you can sign up for the monthly Windows Administration in Realtime eJournal at this site. There you'll get immediate access to Issue #2 which contains this article and a whole lot more. What the heck, its free!