256-Core Windows '08 Server Coming

The next version of Microsoft’s Windows Server 2008 will support up to 256 logical cores. Microsoft has slowly leaked out information of Server 2008 release 2 at recent events like WinHEC and Professional Developers Conference, but Microsoft’s Mark Russinovich is now revealing just exactly how the operating system will scale. In a video interview posted on the MSDN website, the founder of Sysinternals and programming guru, explains how Microsoft will remove bottlenecks, specifically the dispatcher lock, to handle dozens to hundreds of cores.

Windows Server 2008 will be based on Windows 7 code-base and will borrow heavily from Vista. Russinovich says most of the code will remain the same and this will help maintain application compatibility. As servers utilize more processors and cores, Microsoft will have to change to keep up with the times and Russinovich explains that Microsoft coders are working hard to eliminate the 32-core limitation that hasn’t changed since the Windows NT days.

Humphrey Cheung was a senior editor at Tom's Hardware, covering a range of topics on computing and consumer electronics. You can find more of his work in many major publications, including CNN and FOX, to name a few.

  • Tindytim
    So does this mean there won't be a Windows 7 Server?

    Seems odd to me that an OS that won't be released for at least another year has the server component coming out sooner, as an update to an earlier component.
    Reply
  • hcheung
    As a whole corporate environments (especially servers) move at a slower pace, so maybe Microsoft wants to maintain the illusion that this is just an incremental upgrade.
    Reply
  • neiroatopelcc
    "and exponentially increase your geek knowledge."
    I think I'll stick to just know that the current servers we have are on the limit of what the os can handle at present.
    Reply
  • zdzichu
    Tindytim: it is known thath Windows 7 server == Windows 2008 R2. W7 is just a polish of base laid by Vista changes.

    Anyway, 256 cores seems like a lot, but Linux support 4096 on x86/64.
    Reply
  • doomsdaydave11
    TindytimSo does this mean there won't be a Windows 7 Server?Seems odd to me that an OS that won't be released for at least another year has the server component coming out sooner, as an update to an earlier component. It's windows server 2008, not a part of windows 7
    Reply
  • Tindytim
    doomsdaydave11It's windows server 2008, not a part of windows 7
    Windows Server 2008 will be based on Windows 7 code-base

    It appears that Windows Server 2008 R2 will be the server variant of 7, or at least according to a few other publications.
    Reply
  • p05esto
    Very nice. MS is making a comeback after falling asleep for a few years there, and I hope they succeed. Us in America need to stand behind our own. Not to mean anything against another county, but our pride has weakened and it's time to step up over here.
    Reply
  • neiroatopelcc
    p05estoVery nice. MS is making a comeback after falling asleep for a few years there, and I hope they succeed. Us in America need to stand behind our own. Not to mean anything against another county, but our pride has weakened and it's time to step up over here.International coorperations have no nationailty. That applies both to "danish" AP møller and "us" microsoft and any other big international company really. Siemens isn't german, siemens is international.
    Reply