LOG de MSN

Microsoft (NSDQ:MSFT) has modified its Web server licensing terms for Windows Server 2008 in what looks like an attempt to compete more effectively with open source alternatives, CRN has learned.According to an internal Microsoft document viewed by CRN, Microsoft will not require a client access license (CAL) for the Windows Web Server 2008 SKU, and will allow users to run any type of database software with no limit on the number of users, provided they deploy it as an Internet-facing front-end server.While Windows Server 2003 Web Edition, the predecessor to Windows Web Server 2008, didn’t require a CAL, it did impose a limit of 50 users, as well as some database restrictions, according to channel partners.Solution providers expect these changes to go a long way toward making Windows Web Server 2008 more competitive with the LAMP stack. “I think Microsoft is clearly determined to gain ground in that space,” said George Brown, CEO of Database Solutions, a Cherry Hill, N.J.-based Microsoft partner.Microsoft has been making steady gains in Web server market share in recent months. An August Netcraft survey found that Microsoft held 34.2 percent of the Web server market, compared to 48.4 percent for Apache, leading to industry speculation that Microsoft could eventually threaten Apache’s market dominance.

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Source: ChannelWeb Network