Microsoft .NET Framework

  • Article

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

Microsoft .NET Framework

Microsoft .NET Framework provides the most comprehensive and powerful means to build, deploy, and manage the broad range of Web services that are made possible by XML and related technologies. For more information, see the .NET Framework page at the Microsoft Web site.

  • XML Web services
    XML Web services allow applications to communicate and share data over the Internet, regardless of operating system or programming language. The Windows Server 2003 family is the foundation of the Microsoft .NET vision, delivering an unprecedented computing foundation to organizations of all sizes.
  • .NET Framework tools
    Using the tools that are provided with .NET Framework, application developers can easily build Windows applications that blend XML Web services with traditional applications, improving communication, collaboration, and connectivity inside and outside their organizations.
  • Other .NET technologies
    Other .NET technologies that are included in the Windows server 2003 family are the integration of Microsoft .NET Passport with Active Directory, native support for Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) as the foundation for XML message passing in Message Queuing, and integration of component architecture with XML Web services. Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration (UDDI) Services is also included with some products in the Windows server 2003 family. UDDI Services is not included with Windows Server 2003, Web Edition. In addition, Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition, supports only stand-alone installations of UDDI Services. Distributed installation support is available with Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition, and Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition. In a stand-alone installation of UDDI Services, both the UDDI Web server component and the UDDI database component are installed onto a single server. In a distributed installation, UDDI components are distributed across multiple servers. For more information about Message Queuing, see Using Message Queuing. For more information about SOAP, see Network protocols and technologies. For more information about Internet-related services, see Internet and e-mail services and features. For more information about UDDI Services, see UDDI Services overview.
  • Built on industry standards
    The Windows Server 2003 family is built on industry standards so that you can extend existing applications and quickly develop new ones.

The Microsoft .NET Framework is built into all products in the Windows Server 2003 family except for the 64-bit versions.

The 32-bit version of .NET Framework 1.1 is supported by 64-bit versions of Windows Server operating systems and can be installed for 32-bit applications running on 64-bit versions of Windows operating systems (WOW64).

To install .NET Framework 1.1, see "Microsoft .NET Framework Version 1.1 Redistributable Package" at the Microsoft Download Center Web site. To install the service pack, see "Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 Service Pack 1" at the Microsoft Download Center Web site.

Important performance and scalability information

If a 32-bit version of the .NET Framework is installed on the 64-bit Itanium-based systems, applications created for the 32-bit version of the Framework will bind and run against it. Therefore, applications created with the Microsoft .NET Framework Version 1.1 run only in a 32-bit process within the WOW64 compatibility environment. Due to the design of x86 emulation for the Itanium processor family and the WOW64 subsystem, applications are restricted to execution on one processor.

Single processor execution and x86 emulation reduce the performance and scalability of 32-bit .NET Framework applications running on Itanium-based systems. We recommend that applications using the .NET Framework Version 1.1 be used for interactive, client applications. With .NET Framework applications that demand high performance and scalability, such as high-load ASP.NET applications, we do not recommend this environment. We suggest that application developers instead evaluate the .NET Framework Version 2.0, which includes 64-bit support for Itanium-based systems, for increased performance and scalability.