Maya leaned back. "You know, 2008 is only two years away. Longhorn Server. The one with the new kernel, the new UI, the new everything."
He slid the Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition disc — the original gold MSDN pressing — out of its sleeve. The 32-bit version. The one that could still run legacy Exchange 2003 clusters and old FoxPro databases held together with duct tape and prayer. The one that addressed only 4 GB of RAM but felt like driving a tank when all you needed was to crush a mailbox store.
The DL380 rebooted. The POST screen flashed: "HP ProLiant — 4 GB RAM — 2 x Intel Xeon 3.0 GHz — Smart Array 6i — 5 logical drives."
Leo nodded. "The Smart Array 6i wants drivers that didn't exist when this server was born. We're slipstreaming tonight."
The blue text-mode setup screen appeared. The one that hadn't changed since Windows 2000. The one that said "Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition" in stark white letters on a background that felt like a 1990s corporate training video.