How to determine application compatibility with Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2

This article contains the results of application compatibility testing that was performed for the English version of Windows Server 2003 SP2. The Windows Application Experience test teams tested more than 1,500 server applications and desktop applications on computers that were running Windows Server 2003 SP2. The goal of the test teams was to verify that the server applications and the desktop applications maintained the same level of functionality that was verified for Windows Server 2003 and for Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1).

The application compatibility tests focused on the following areas:

• Primary functionality of the application
• Functionality of the application on hardware that uses No-Execute (NX) technology
• Remote administration functionality from the server to the client
• Clustering scenarios for cluster-aware applications

All tests were performed by using the default settings in the English version of Windows Server 2003 SP2. An application was considered to have passed the tests only after the functionality of the application in Windows Server 2003 SP2 was compared to the functionality of the application in Windows Server 2003 and in Windows Server 2003 SP1.

The applications that were tested included many server application segments. These server application segments include the following:

• Antivirus
• Firewall
• Backup
• Database
• Communication
• Systems management
• Active Directory directory service
• Business intelligence
• Web development
• System utilities
• Desktop applications
• Finance
• Games

If you want to determine the compatibility of one of your applications, this article contains two easy-to-use tables that summarize the results of these application compatibility tests. The first table lists the applications that passed the tests, in alphabetical order by vendor. The second table lists the applications where regressions were found, also listed by vendor. The second table contains some recommendations that you can use to possibly resolve or work around regression issues.

To quickly search for your specific application, you can perform these simple steps:

1. Press CTRL+F.
2. Type the name of your application.
3. Click Next.

This content is designed for an intermediate to an advanced computer user. If you are not comfortable with advanced information, you might want to contact support for help. For information about how to contact support, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

This content requires you to know the vendor, title, and version of your application. You can locate this information on the packaging of your application. If you need help with determining any of these items, you can try to contact the vendor of your application.

List of applications that passed the application compatibility tests

The following table lists applications that have passed the application compatibility tests.

List of applications where a regression was found during the application compatibility tests

The table in this section lists the known application regressions. The table contains recommendations that you can use to possibly resolve or to possibly work around the issue. Microsoft provides this information only as a convenience for our customers. We do not support, endorse, or recommend any one of these products. We do not provide implied warranties of the merchantability or the fitness of these products for any particular purpose. Moreover, we do not provide expressed warranties or implied warranties of any kind for these products.

For more information about application compatibility testing that was performed for the English version of Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For information about your hardware manufacturer, visit the following Web site: Microsoft provides third-party contact information to help you find technical support. This contact information may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this third-party contact information.

The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, about the performance or reliability of these products.

If these Microsoft Knowledge Base articles do not help you resolve the problem, or if you experience symptoms that differ from those that this article describes, please search the Microsoft Knowledge Base for more information. To search the Microsoft Knowledge Base, visit the following Microsoft Web site: Then, type the text of the error message that you receive, or type a description of the problem in the Search Support (KB) field.