LCS: Impact of NetMeeting being retired in Vista (Peer to Peer behavior)
NetMeeting FAQ -
Information current as of October 4, 2005
Q: Will NetMeeting ship in Windows Vista?
A: No. Microsoft is not developing new versions of the NetMeeting feature and NetMeeting will not ship as part of the next major OS release, Windows Vista.
Q: Has Microsoft stopped shipping NetMeeting?
A: NetMeeting shipped as part of Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. NetMeeting has not been shipped as an independent feature since 2000 (when it became part of Windows 2000). There will be no future versions of NetMeeting and Microsoft does not recommend that customers invest in new deployments of NetMeeting.
Microsoft’s real-time collaboration strategy is built using the foundational elements of Office Live Communications Server, Office Communicator, and Office Live Meeting which represent elements of Microsoft’s real-time collaboration platform.
The Real-Time Collaboration group is committed to building and shipping new products based on customer feedback and market requirements. To meet the recent industry changes and requirements meant that it was not practical to continue to build on NetMeeting (which was first introduced in 1996) but to focus on an industry standard protocol SIP.
Q: Why has Microsoft stopped supporting NetMeeting?
A: NetMeeting is part of Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 and is still supported. In May, 2004 Microsoft announced extensions to its product support lifecycle and these extended benefits will apply to the NetMeeting feature of Windows XP. For more information regarding this May 2004announcement please see the following article.
Q: When is NetMeeting support ending?
A: According to Microsoft’s May 2004 announced extension of product support, NetMeeting, as part of the Windows XP OS, will be supported for free, until two years after Windows Vista ships, and then will have 5 year’s paid support. NetMeeting on Windows 2000 will be supported until 2005 for free and until 2010 as paid support. NetMeeting on Windows Server 2003 will be supported until 2008 for free and until 2013 as paid support.
For more information regarding this May 2004 announcement please see the following article.
Q: What about security?
A: Security is the top priority for Microsoft. Microsoft will continue to deliver hotfixes to resolve security issues in NetMeeting as required.
Q: How have customers been using NetMeeting?
A: Most customers have told Microsoft that they use NetMeeting for Remote Assistance in help desk scenarios, Application Sharing in small ad-hoc collaboration scenarios and at times for basic PC to PC based voice and video. All of these tasks can be more efficiently performed by utilizing Office Live Communications Server 2005, Office Communicator, and Office Live Meeting.
Q: What is the future strategy for the customer scenarios where NetMeeting is commonly used today?
A: In most cases the scenarios where NetMeeting is used today are delivered by real-time collaboration products like, Office Live Communications Server, Office Communicator, and Office Live Meeting. The Real-Time Collaboration group is committed to building and shipping new products based on custom feedback and market requirements and will continue to do so in the future.
Q: My development team is thinking about using NetMeeting as an element of a new collaboration solution- what should I recommend?
A: There will be no future versions of NetMeeting and Microsoft does not recommend that customers invest in new deployments of NetMeeting. Microsoft’s real-time collaboration strategy is built using the foundational elements of Office Live Communications Server, Office Communicator, and Office Live Meeting which represent elements of Microsoft’s real-time collaboration platform.
Q: What is the future for NetMeeting?
A: NetMeeting will be supported as part of Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. There will be no future versions of NetMeeting and Microsoft does not recommend that customers invest in new deployments of NetMeeting. Microsoft’s real-time collaboration strategy is built using the foundational elements of Office Live Communications Server and Office Live Meeting which represent elements of Microsoft’s real-time collaboration platform. NetMeeting will not be compatible with Microsoft’s next major OS release, Windows Vista.
Q: Will NetMeeting continue to be integrated with Microsoft Office programs once I move to Windows Vista?
A: No, this functionality will not be supported in Windows Vista. Microsoft’s recommendation is to utilize Office Live Communications Server 2005, Office Communicator and/or Office Live Meeting to collaborate in Microsoft Office programs when deployed on the Windows Vista operating system.
Q: Will third party developed applications written for NetMeeting API’s work in Windows Vista?
A: No, NetMeeting API’s will not work within Windows Vista and Microsoft does not recommend that customers invest in new applications or developments using NetMeeting. Instead Microsoft recommends that developers focus their new efforts on Microsoft‘s long-term real-time collaboration solutions Office Live Communications Server 2005, Office Communicator and Office Live Meeting
Q: My business runs applications that were written on the NetMeeting APIs. Once we deploy Windows Vista, how do you recommend we proceed?
A: Microsoft recommends that businesses communicate with their users that certain applications may run differently once Windows Vista is deployed, and that NetMeeting is not a component of Vista and will no longer be accessible – this includes via third party applications. Therefore, Microsoft encourages developers focus their new efforts on Microsoft‘s long-term real-time collaboration solutions Office Live Communications Server 2005, Office Communicator and Office Live Meeting
Q: I need backward compatibility from Microsoft Windows Vista users to Microsoft Windows XP users that are using NetMeeting. How can that be done?
A: Since NetMeeting is not compatible with Microsoft Windows Vista, there is no backward compatibility with Windows XP. Microsoft encourages customers to leverage Office Live Meeting in order to collaborate and hold meetings with users needing backward compatibility and businesses that may have deployments of both operating systems within their network environment
Q: What common scenarios did NetMeeting not address?
A: NetMeeting is not a presence based IM solution, this is a scenario addressed by Live Communications Server. NetMeeting does not work well across firewalls, in cases where this is a requirement Live Meeting is the recommended solution. Both LCS and LM represent significant advancements in ease of use (for both end users and administrators) over NetMeeting.
Q: What is the roadmap developers using NetMeeting?
A: While NetMeeting remains part of Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 and will be supported in accordance with Microsoft’s standard support cycle, Microsoft recommends that developers focus their new application efforts in the Real-Time Collaboration space on Office Live Communications Server, Office Communicator and Office Live Meeting, rather than NetMeeting. NetMeeting will not be compatible with Microsoft’s next major OS release, Windows Vista.
Q: What about Microsoft’s use of NetMeeting as a platform?
A: Certain elements of Microsoft’s current real-time collaboration products use NetMeeting components e.g. the T.120 application sharing in Windows Messenger and Microsoft Office Communicator. These linkages will not be retained in the Windows Vista versions of such products. Questions about Windows Vista APIs should be addressed to the Windows team (e.g. Windows Vista)
Q: Where can I find more information on Live Communications Server and Live Meeting?
A: The best place for information on Live Communications Server is http://microsoft.com/livecomm and the best place for information on Live Meeting is http://Microsoft.com/livemeeting