Longhorn Server also includes a GUI component so that IPv6 can be configured from the standard Network Connections interface with which you are likely familiar. IPv6 is no longer a third cousin; it's integrated directly into the product and, in fact, cannot be removed. It is also enabled by default.

3. There are many more controls for configuring and managing wireless connections. Wireless connections were essentially a free-for-all in Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, but now with Longhorn Server, administrators can denote lists of allowed and denied wireless networks so that users aren't connecting to random networks that might pop up wherever they happen to be. (This doesn't protect against spoofed SSIDs, however.)

Longhorn Server, and Windows Vista by definition, also fully support Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2), the newest and most secure wireless connection protection mechanism. This WPA support can be used in conjunction with 802.1x authentication to create a very secure, quarantined network when Network Access Protection (NAP) is enabled.

Additionally, the "netsh" command has a new "wlan" context that allows complete configuration of wireless connections from the command line, making the entire negotiation process easily scriptable.

4. The new firewall -- the Windows Firewall with Advanced Security -- now filters both incoming and outgoing packets and has a completely rewritten GUI interface. The new firewall component supports firewalling for incoming traffic, which was impossible in previous versions of Windows. The firewall, by default, drops all unsolicited incoming traffic that does not respond to a previous request. It also filters unsolicited traffic that hasn't been specifically allowed in the exception list. This weeds out a lot of viruses and other malware that spread through the network attacking hosts without protection for incoming traffic.