operating system (Win2k, W2k, NT5, Windows NT 5.0) An
Early
beta versions were referred to as "Windows NT 5.0".
Windows 2000 was officially released on 2000-02-17.
Windows 2000 is most commonly used on
Intel x86 and
Unlike Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000 is not available for
It is available in four flavours:
- Professional: the
client version, meant for desktop
- Server: "entry-level" server, designed for small
deployments, and departmental file, print, or
intranetservers.
- Advanced Server: high throughput, larger scale servers
and applications, and small to medium scale
web sites.
- Data Center Server: software for large-scale server
clusters (in development as of 2000-03-14).
New features in Windows 2000 include:
- Greatly improved built-in security mechanisms, including
- Terminal services for displaying application interfaces on
- File protection that prevents user programs from
accidentally deleting or overwriting critical system files.
- Improved user interface, including a single point to control
the entire system.
- Improved management tools, including remote administration.
Minimum system requirements, according to Microsoft, are
more.
Irix. Novell's NDS also provides a service similar to
Active Directory.
Windows 2000 will be followed by
Windows XP Professional and
(2002-01-28)