Microsoft Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-based Systems

The Microsoft® Windows Server® 2008 for Itanium-Based Systems operating system provides high levels of performance, reliability, and scalability, and it is a competitor to reduced instruction set computer (RISC)-based UNIX systems. Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-Based Systems is designed for scalable database workloads and for custom and line-of-business applications.

After you migrate a system running an Itanium-based version of Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-Based Systems, most applications should continue to run correctly. Most applications are backward compatible, which allows you to incorporate new functionality into existing applications incrementally and to rewrite your applications to take advantage of the APIs and functionality of Windows Server 2008.

Like the Itanium-based versions of Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-Based Systems supports client-side functionality for administration, management, and server tools.

This document explains the features, server roles, and optional components that are supported in Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-Based Systems.