Windows Server customers who buy a 64-bit Opteron or Xeon server will be able to exchange their server license for a 64-bit edition at no cost. This free exchange is a great relief for companies waiting to buy Windows Servers until a 64-bit version is released. Microsoft is calling this the "technology exchange program", which is expected to be offered until sometime next year.
Although server customers may have to wait a little longer for a version of Windows that supports their 64-bit systems, they won"t have to pay for an upgrade when the software does ship.
Microsoft said Friday that customers that buy a 64-bit Opteron or Xeon server and pay for a license to Windows Server 2003 will be able to exchange that license for one that covers the 64-bit edition when it ships next year. Earlier this week, Microsoft announced it was pushing out the launch of that product until next year, the latest in a series of delays for the 64-bit edition.
So-called x64 chips--64-bit processors that build on the existing x86 instruction set--have been on the market since April 2003, when AMD introduced its first Opteron. Some analysts had expected that Microsoft would have a 64-bit version of Windows out by the end of 2003, and the company itself first promised the software would make its debut in the first part of this year. It pushed that date back to the end of this year before the latest delay.