Windows 7 ushers in a new era, one in which 32-bit support is not only not the standard, but on the brink of being discarded entirely and nothing more than optional. With the evolution of the Windows operating system post-Windows Vista RTM, Microsoft has found itself at the heart of the transition from 32-bit to 64-bit computing architectures. The Redmond company was signaling even in 2008 that, pushed by OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), the consumer market was following business customers in developing a predilection for adopting 64-bit machines over 32-bit computers. Now, with the advent of Windows 7, Microsoft is embracing x64 over x86, producing not only the first ever exclusively 64-bit Windows platform with Windows 7 Server, but also making 32-bit support optional, also for Windows Server 2008 R2.“You may not but have have [sic] been waiting for a looong time for this to be happening. We finally ship an operating system where the support of 32-bit applications has become optional. All 64-bit baby,” revealed Microsoft Evangelist Volker Will. “With Windows Server 2008 R2 Server Core we will ship the first operating system with optional 32-bit support. You will have to explicitly enable 32-bit application support. WoW64, the 32-bit app support layer, is not installed by default. This reduces the attach surface, helps saving memory and makes the whole OS, when running native 64-bit apps only, leaner.”
This is of course valid only for the server version of Windows 7, and especially for the Core installation of Windows Server 2008 R2. The Windows 7 client, will, in accordance with the inertia that 32-bit machines continue to have, be delivered in both 32-bit and 64-bit flavors. Microsoft has not announced any plans to cut 32-bit support out of the Windows client with Windows 8, the successor of Windows 7, as of yet.
“The only person impacted by this change is most likely the system administrator. If admins run 32-bit code on Server Core they’ll receive an error message that the application cannot be executed due to lack of 32-bit application support. 32-bit support is an optional component and can be installed by running the following command from the command line: start /w ocsetup ServerCore-WOW64,” Will added.
However, following the “Start /w ocsetup ServerCore-WOW64” necessary to install WoW64, admins will also need to deploy .NET 2.0 WoW64 support via this command: “Start /w ocsetup NetFx2-ServerCore-WOW64”.
Windows Server 2008 R2 Beta (Windows 7 Server Beta) is available for download here.
Windows 7 Beta is available for download here.
Product keys to activate Windows 7 Beta are available here.
