Windows 2000 Versions

Windows 2000 is available in four different versions: Professional, Server, Advanced Server, and Datacenter Server. The differences among Win2000 versions are subtle and few. Here is an overview …

You’ll usually find Win2000 Professional on desktop PCs and file servers of small workgroups. On a desktop system, Win2000 Pro supports as much as two processors and 2GB of RAM. If you install Win2000 Pro on a workgroup file server, it will provide all of the basic file and print sharing as its bigger brothers, along with IIS (Internet Information Server) and ICS (Internet Connection Sharing). Although it’s not set in stone; Win2000 Pro generally runs out of steam after about 20 client connections, so you should only consider it a file server OS (operating system) for small networks.

Win2000 Server can have as many as four processors and as much as 4GB of RAM in a single server, and like Win2000 Pro, it handles file and print services and IIS. Where the two versions differ is in the more advanced network features. For example, you can install Microsoft’s Active Directory on a Win2000 Server system for user authentication and management, but that’s probably something you aren’t too worried about on a home or small business network.

Another feature that home networks probably won’t use but corporate networks will appreciate is Win2000 Server system via the network and run a remote control session on the server. Terminal Services gives a remote user direct access to the local resources on the file server. Technical support and help desk departments, as well as remote users, regularly make use of Terminal Services, but most home and small network users probably won’t even install it.

Finally, the other major difference between the 2000 Pro and Server versions is Server’s ability to act as an application server. On a small scale, Win2000 Pro can run such programs as database engines and other networked applications, but for any real capacity, scalability, and performance, you need Win 2000 Server.

The other two versions of Win2000 offer additional hardware support and other enterprise-critical features. Win2000 file Advanced Server supports eight processors and 8GB of RAM; Win2000 Datacenter Server supports 32 processors and 32GB of RAM. So, if you need sever clustering or network load balancing, and then check out Win2000 Advanced Server or Win2000 Datacenter Server.