Microsoft Services for UNIX Requiem

“Just say the report of my death has been grossly exaggerated.” — Mark Twain (from Bartlett's on Bartleby)

A couple of reports came out last week on the end of Microsoft's Services for UNIX product line. 

• 1 Sept., Mary Jo Foley "It's the End of the Line for Microsoft's Services for UNIX Product" on Microsoft Watch (also on eWeek). 
• 1 Sept., Ina Fried, "Microsoft Makes UNIX Changes", on CNet.

Each makes it sound like Microsoft is wandering away from the product, emphasizing that it will hit end of life support in 2011, and with a bit of a hand wave towards some integration. 

I have a rather personal stake in this one.  In the Spring of 1995, Doug Miller and I started planning a company that would become Softway Systems and deliver the Interix UNIX-to-NT application migration technology until the acquisition by Microsoft in September 1999.  We were immediately wired into the Services for UNIX space, which had traditionally been purely an interoperability product (client and server NFS, NIS, etc.).  So I went hunting around old contacts, which lead me to Rik Wright who handles product marketing for SFU.  Here is the official statement from him:

Several platform level components of Services for UNIX will be available in Windows Server 2003 R2, but there are also components of Services for UNIX, such as NFS Gateway, that are not included in Windows Server 2003 R2.  Microsoft is responding to customer requests that some of the functionality of Services for UNIX be more tightly integrated with the Windows Server operating system.

The next generations of NFS client, NFS Server, User/Name Mapping, Telnet Server & Client, Password Sync and NIS Server components of Services for UNIX are all present in the Windows Server 2003 R2 builds. In addition, for UNIX application portability, we provide the Subsystem for UNIX-based applications which allows re-compiling of UNIX-based applications on Windows, including 64-bit support, database connectivity libraries and mixed-mode processing that is not available in SFU

The Subsystem for UNIX-based applications offers the same functionality as the Interix System in addition to 64-bit support and database connectivity enhancements. Microsoft has continued developing the Interix subsystem since we acquired it from Softway Systems, but this release is based on a completely new architecture that allows for considerable new functionality such as mixed-mode processing. The Subsystem for UNIX-based applications is backwards compatible with some Interix applications but may need recompiling of source for others.

Q. How will current SFU 3.5 customers adopt this new SFU technology?
A. Customers will have to upgrade to Windows Server 2003 R2 to take advantage of new functionality.

Q. Is the SFU functionality available in all editions of Windows Server 2003 R2?
A. Yes. This functionality is available in all editions.

Q. Will there be SFU version 4?
A. No. There are no plans for future out-of-band releases of Services for UNIX. Services for UNIX 3.5 will be supported on Windows Server 2003, SP1, Windows 2000 and Windows XP until 2011 with extended support offered until 2014.

So what's happening is that the primary parts of the product that would have been the next version are being included in the next release of the OS.   When I asked Rik where the (Interix) utilities and SDK would be available, he pointed me to here, which is similar to the free download site for SFU 3.5.

One day I'll blog the history of Softway and Interix.  For now, I'm simply happy to report that "it's not dead yet."

MORTICIAN: Bring out your dead!
      Bring out your dead!
      [clang] Bring out your dead!
      [clang] Bring out your dead!
      [clang] Bring out your dead!
      [clang] Bring out your dead!
CUSTOMER: Here's one -- nine pence.
DEAD PERSON: I'm not dead!
MORTICIAN: What?
CUSTOMER: Nothing -- here's your nine pence.
DEAD PERSON: I'm not dead!
MORTICIAN: Here -- he says he's not dead!
CUSTOMER: Yes, he is.
DEAD PERSON: I'm not!
MORTICIAN: He isn't.
CUSTOMER: Well, he will be soon, he's very ill.
DEAD PERSON: I'm getting better!
...
(Courtesy of http://www.rit.edu/~smo4215/monty.htm)