Microsoft develops Cluster Server 2003 OS

Priced at $469 per node, the software would be ready for sale only in August.

Redmond: Microsoft has finished developing its computer cluster operating system Cluster Server 2003, the firm announced. This is another step in the company's efforts to bring Windows into supercomputing, analysts said.

Microsoft said on June 9 that the code for the Windows Cluster Server 2003 was ready. Windows cluster Server 2003 is will enable multiple users to work simultaneously to control high-performance computing works.

This is seen as a tactical move by Microsoft, the world's largest software maker, as these high computing works were increasingly being done by Linux clusters. So Microsoft's entry was a foregone conclusion.

Director of High Performance Computing at Microsoft, Kyril Faenov was quoted as saying in an interview that this was a long-term investment for the company.

Microsoft had planned to develop the software much before, but it delayed it to carry out more tests.

Microsoft also said some of its early customers for Cluster Server 2003 including Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems and Cornell University's biology department have started using the software.

The software maker also said Dell, Hewlett-Packard and International Business Machines are among the PC makers planning to make use of Windows cluster Server 2003.

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