For the upcoming version of Windows, new critical features are being worked on including cluster support and support for one way replication. The core engine is also being reworked to provide dramatic performance improvements. We will also soon be starting major improvements for Windows 8 where we will be including innovative features which will revolutionize file access in branch offices

Some of the features include:

Distributed File System Replication (DFSR) service: A multi-master replication engine set up for folder synchronization across multiple servers. This may be something we will be seeing in Windows 8 Server.
Major improvements in BranchCache: BranchCache was a new feature developed in Windows 7. Basically when data from an intranet website or file server is accessed, it caches those files locally so the next user can access them more quickly. Major improvements can be expected for BranchCache.

Microsoft’s explanation

DFSR is Microsoft’s premier file replication engine and is an integral part of our branch office strategy and File Server role. It can scale to thousands of servers and replicate hundreds of terabytes of data. We have shipped the technology that powers file sharing in Windows Live Messenger, Windows Meeting Spaces (Vista) and Branch Office replication in Windows Server 2008 which has strong customer deployment. DFSR technology saves MS-IT and our customers more than 80% WAN bandwidth by using advanced On-The-Wire differential compression,” the software giant adds in the job posting.

With Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and Windows XP Service Pack 3 out of the way in the first half of the year, Microsoft is focusing on Windows 7 and Windows 7 Server, the next iterations of the Windows client and server platforms. But the Redmond company is also looking ahead, building Midori, a non-Windows operating system derived from the Microsoft Research’s Singularity project, but also Windows 8, the successor of Windows 7. An illustrative example is the work being done by the Windows Test Technologies team, which aims to build a new testing infrastructure for Windows 8 by mid-2009.

“WTT (Windows Test Technologies) is the foundation for how testing is done in Windows and in many other groups at Microsoft, such as MSN and SQL. It is the test automation framework used by all these teams,” Microsoft revealed.

Microsoft part-time Chairman Bill Gates did indicate that the Windows team is doing amazing things with Windows 7, but he failed to disclose details, or to offer an insight into what is cooking for Windows 8. Back in October 2007, Microsoft promised that the Windows Test Technologies team is set up to virtually “change how the Windows division ships products.”

The reference is related to all the efforts to overhaul the entire Windows test organization. Apparently, Windows 7 is left out of the equation, and only Windows 8 will be able to benefit from the revamped WTT.

“The WTT team is looking to make significant changes to it’s infrastructure for Windows 8. We want to address all the major problems our customers have faced over the last few years by developing a truly scalable and reliable testing infrastructure. This is a huge opportunity to drastically revamp WTT over the coming 18 months,” the Redmond company revealed in a resource published in October 2007.

But just because WTT will be overhauled sometime by April 2009 does not mean that Windows 8 testing will debut at the same time. In fact, Windows 7 is expected by the end of the following year, even though Microsoft is officially pointing to a three year period starting from the general availability of Windows Vista, which was January 30, 2007.

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