Microsoft is continuing to drop new clues about what users can expect in Longhorn Server, the version of its Windows Server product slated to ship in 2007, and beyond.

During an online Web chat on Wednesday, Windows Server Senior Vice President Bob Muglia touched on everything from a possible new home version of Windows Server, to the future of Active Directory.

Muglia reconfirmed that Longhorn Server Beta 1 will ship this summer, around the same time as Longhorn client Beta 1. And based on a comment from one of the Microsoft chat moderators, it sounds as if the current plan is to have code in testers' hands by August.

The moderator told participants to "please join us in the first part of August for a chat about Longhorn Server Beta 1."

While Microsoft potentially could hold an online chat about Longhorn Server Beta 1 before the company releases code, it would be uncharacteristic for the company to do so.

Microsoft officials, contacted after the chat, were not available to comment on whether Longhorn Server Beta 1 will be available to testers by August.

Muglia also raised the possibility that Microsoft could deliver, at some point in time, a home SKU of Windows Server. When asked by a chat participant whether Microsoft might introduce such a SKU, given the proliferation of media content and multiple machines in homes, Muglia hinted that such a SKU might be in the works.

"We are always looking for new opportunities where server technology can be leveraged, and the home definitely represents an exciting new area that we are looking at along with many others. Much of the great storage, replication, and management technology would be great in a home," Muglia responded. "We have seen many people install Small Business Servers at home, which really works quite well."

Microsoft officials were not available to comment on the company's plans for a home version of Longhorn Server.

Muglia also discussed a bit about the future of Active Directory, the directory-service infrastructure at the core of Windows Server, during the Web chat.

When asked by a participant whether Microsoft was planning to revisit Active Directory "resilience" by reworking Active Directory and other "server-intrinsic databases in Longhorn" so they don't require the Microsoft Jet database engine, Muglia noted that there are two versions of Jet: "Jet Red," which is what Microsoft Access uses, and "Jet Blue," which is "used widely within the Windows Server, including in Active Directory and Exchange Server.

"The Jet Blue used by Access is transactional and in general, has had good robustness characteristics," Muglia told participants. "We will always look at where we should go with this and someday, we'll host it on SQL (Server). But that is a ways away — certainly not Longhorn."

In recent weeks, Microsoft execs have been starting to share details on what users should expect from Longhorn Server. Microsoft officials have said that Longhorn Server will be role-based, allowing administrators to choose from among 20 different "levels of functionality" (such as print server; DHCP server, etc.) when configuring and deploying their Windows Server systems for specific tasks.

Longhorn Server also will include Network Access Protection security functionality; additional management capabilities; a new version of Internet Information Services; new Terminal Server functionality; cached-storage technology; a new error-reporting subsystem, code-named "Crimson"; and the Indigo Windows communications subsystem, which in Longhorn Server, will facilitate the distribution of applications, according to Muglia.

New virtualization capabilities for Longhorn are set to ship after the rest of the operating system, but before Longhorn Server R2, an interim Windows Server release which is expected to ship around 2009. Blackcomb is set to follow Windows Server R2. It is not expected to ship until some time next decade.