Storage and Print Solutions
Storage Solutions
The Windows Server storage solutions have matured with every version of the operating system. With Windows Server 2008, management improvements and performance optimizations combine to make the storage subsystem the most advanced to date.
- Storage Explorer
Administrators can gain a complete view of their storage infrastructure by using Storage Explorer. This MMC snap-in uses Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) classes to generate a tree-structure of all the components with the storage area network (SAN), including fabrics, platforms, storage devices, and logical unit numbers (LUNs).
- Disk Management
Administrators can easily expand and shrink volumes, including the system volume. All volumes are aligned so that they are optimized for use by server products, such as Microsoft Exchange Server.
- Windows Server Backup
Windows Server Backup supports the Volume Shadow Copy Service when backing up volumes. Backups can be scheduled and stored on media, such as CDs, DVDs, drive volumes, and network file shares. Windows Server Backup, based on the same technology as System Center Data Protection Manager, can create incremental backups of data to support nearly instantaneous recovery in the event of corruption or failure.
- Failover Clustering
Administrators have better control over clustered storage than ever before. Failover clusters now support GUID partition table (GPT) disks that can have capacities of larger than 2 terabytes. They can also dynamically modify the resource dependencies, making additional disks available while the applications are still accessible to clients.
Print Solutions
In Windows Server 2008, the printer subsystem includes a new printer architecture that provides users with better printer and print-server performance, and provides a new foundation for future applications. Windows Server 2008 integrates the XML Paper Specification (XPS) throughout the print subsystem to provide a new level of efficiency, compatibility, and document quality to the entire print subsystem:
- Efficiency
The XPS print path uses the new XPSDrv printer drivers. These new printer drivers use a modular architecture that allows them to process documents in the print queue more efficiently.
- Compatibility
The new print architecture not only maintains compatibility with existing applications and printer drivers, but also gives existing applications the ability to use features that can only be found in the XPSDrv printer drivers. New applications that are written to use the .NET Framework 3.0 can take advantage of all of the features that are offered throughout the new print path.
- Document Quality
Users will see higher quality output from the XPSDrv printer drivers. The new printer drivers are not limited to the graphics device interface (GDI) graphics processing functions. This gives them the ability to process graphics in alternate color spaces and to use higher performance graphics libraries that were not available to the older, GDI-based printer drivers.
XPS Documents
The XPS Document format is a new document format that is based on a fixed-layout document technology. The Microsoft XML Paper Specification and Open Packaging Conventions (OPC) define the new format, and these specifications are built on industry standards, such as XML and ZIP.
The XPS Document format provides broad platform support and is standard with Windows Vista. It is also supported in Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 by the .NET Framework 3.0. Cross-platform solutions are also made possible by the open and royalty-free specifications. Many vendors of print and scan products are already developing solutions around XPS technologies to take advantage of the performance and quality improvements that are available to both .NET Framework 3.0 and Win32 applications.
New Print Paths
Windows Server 2008 introduces the new XPS print path to the server operating system. The XPS print path uses the XPS Document format throughout the print path from the application to the printer, and makes it possible to achieve true WYSIWYG print output. New print paths in Windows Server 2008 enable:
- Eliminating the file format conversions that are common with the GDI-based printer drivers to improve print performance and printed output quality, and help reduce overall spool file size.
- Compatibility with in-house color/graphics, and support for advanced color spaces and technologies in the printer driver components.
- Use of 32-bit-per-channel color, CMYK color space in the printer driver, named colors, and n-inks.
- Direct support for transparencies and gradients.
- Conversion print paths to support existing applications and printer drivers.
New Printer Driver Model
XPSDrv printer drivers in Windows Server 2008 use a new modular architecture that extends the existing driver infrastructure with new features and capabilities, while retaining compatibility with existing printers and applications. The XPSDrv printer driver architecture:
- Supports the Windows Presentation Foundation while also being compatible with Win32-based applications.
- Supports Point and Print to Windows XP, and the XPSDrv printer drivers can also be hosted on Windows Server 2003 print servers.
- Allows IT departments to include their own custom filters that perform such functions as adding a corporate watermark, or implementing print job accounting and quota management.
- Enables independent hardware vendors (IHVs) to share common functionality between similar driver models which can help improve the reliability of driver components and improve print server driver post-processing by supporting the re-use of common printer driver components.
Improved Print Server Management Tools
The Print Management Console (PMC), first shipped in Windows Server 2003 R2, is enhanced in Windows Server 2008. The PMC in Windows Server 2008 includes support for print server migration from Windows 2000 Server and Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008. It also features an improved Network Printer Installation Wizard, which reduces the number of steps that an administrator must perform to add network printers to the print server by automatically locating printers and installing the driver when the driver is available.
Web Services on Devices
Windows Server 2008 provides built-in support for Web Services on Devices (WSD), a set of protocols for consuming and controlling services on network-connected devices. Web Services on Devices can greatly simplify the customer experience around connecting, installing, and using printers. Microsoft is working in collaboration with several printer manufacturers to support this protocol in their devices.
Scalability Improvements
To reduce the processing load on the print server, print rendering is performed on the Windows Vista client rather than on the server. By moving the processing load from the server to the clients, one server can support more print clients than before. In addition, depending on the print job content and the Page Description Language (PDL), network bandwidth can be reduced significantly, in some cases.
In Windows Server 2008, the print spooler uses Remote Procedure Calls (RPC) to communicate between the client and the server. By dramatically reducing the number of separate processing threads required for RPC, Windows Server 2008 can greatly enhance performance in medium- to large-scale print environments. |
