Microsoft released on Wednesday the first publicly available test version of Windows Server “Longhorn.”Beta 3 of the next version of Windows Server is available for evaluation. The final version of the server OS is due to ship in the second half of 2007. “As they take it for a test drive, our customers and partners will find we made some vast improvements in Windows Server ‘Longhorn’ to help them reduce costs and adapt to changing business needs,” said Bill Laing, general manager of the Microsoft Windows Server Division, in a statement released by the company. “Between early adopter customers and Microsoft IT, we have hundreds of servers running in production environments today. If there’s one message we want to send today, it is get ready, download and evaluate.” Longhorn features simplified management, including remote administration tools and Windows PowerShell scripting, the company said. Security has been enhanced through a Server Core installation option that reduces the server footprint and potential attack surface. Simplified failover clustering, dynamic partitioning and other system management features are included as well to provide interrupted network access, Microsoft said. Beta 3 is accessible here. Software Development