Microsoft Announces Windows 10

Microsoft Corp. is reported to be testing an ARM-based version of Windows Server, according to Bloomberg, which cites unnamed sources familiar with the company’s plans.

If the story is true, it would be an interesting development. The prospect of ARM servers has generated quite a bit of buzz over the last year or so, mainly due to the chip’s energy efficiency in hyperscale data centers. They use a lot less power than Intel Corp’s x86 architecture, and that would translate to big energy savings for anyone operating a data center.

These days, most smartphones and tablet devices are powered by ARM chips (although Intel is trying to change that), but they’ve only just begun to appear in servers. Earlier this month, Hewlett-Packard Co., shipped out two versions of its Moonshot server running ARM – one powered by Applied Micro Systems’ 64-bit X-Gene SoC, and the other by Texas Instruments’ 32-bit ARM SoC.

But ARM servers would be given a lot more credibility if Microsoft was to port Windows Server to run on the architecture. It is, after all, one of the leading operating systems for data centers alongside Linux. Such a move would be a big threat to Intel, whose x86 processors currently power the vast majority of the world’s data center servers.

As to why Microsoft would be interested in ARM, it’s likely Redmond is just hedging its bets in case the popularity of ARM servers does take off. The company would probably rather not have to go through the effort of supporting two different architectures, but with several Linux vendors moving in that direction it feels compelled to do so. After all, Windows Server remains the world’s dominant operating system in terms of overall server shipments and revenues, and it certainly doesn’t want to lose that position.

That’s not to say Windows Server is definitely going to be available on ARM chips anytime soon. There’s a big difference between testing something out in a lab and actually commercializing that idea as a product – porting the hundreds of thousands of apps that currently only run on X86 architecture would be a massive undertaking, and one Microsoft would only contemplate if it decides it’s worth the hassle.