Windows Server (formerly Windows NT Server) is a group of operating systems (OS) for servers that Microsoft has been developing since 1993. The first OS that was released for this platform is Windows NT 3.1 Advanced Server. With the release of Windows Server 2003, the brand name was changed to Windows Server. The latest release of Windows Server is Windows Server 2022, which was released in 2021.
Microsoft's history of developing operating systems for servers goes back to Windows NT 3.1 Advanced Server. Windows 2000 Server is the first OS to include Active Directory, DNS Server, DHCP Server, and Group Policy.
Traditionally, Microsoft supports Windows Server for 10 years, with five years of mainstream support and an additional five years of extended support. These releases also offer a complete desktop experience. Starting with Windows Server 2008 R2, Server Core and Nano Server configurations were made available to reduce the OS footprint.[12][13] Between 2015 and 2021, Microsoft referred to these releases as "long-term support" releases to set them apart from semi-annual releases (see below.)
For sixteen years, Microsoft released a major version of Windows Server every four years, with one minor version released two years after a major release. The minor versions had an "R2" suffix in their names. In October 2018, Microsoft broke this tradition with the release of Windows Server 2019, which should have been "Windows Server 2016 R2". Windows Server 2022 is also a minor upgrade over its predecessor.[14][15]
This document summarizes the differences between the installation options available for Windows Server 2012, including the features that are installed with each option, the management options available after installation, and how to switch between the installation options during use. It also explains the differences between the Server Graphical Shell and the Minimal Server Interface and how to switch between them. In addition, it discusses how to use Features on Demand to further reduce the disk footprint by including the binary files for only the server roles you actually use.
A server in Minimal Server Interface mode is about 300 MB smaller than the same server in Server with a GUI mode. A server in Server Core mode is about 4 GB smaller than the same server in Server with a GUI mode. For the smallest possible installation footprint, start with a Server Core installation and then completely remove any server roles or features you do not need by using Features on Demand.
If you convert to a Server Core installation, Windows features, server roles, and GUI management tools that require a Server with a GUI installation will be uninstalled automatically. You can specify the -WhatIf option in Windows PowerShell to see exactly which features will be affected by the conversion.
Only component sources from the exact same version of Windows are supported. For example, a component source derived from the Windows Server Developer Preview is not a valid installation source for a server running Windows Server 2012.
Certain server applications have dependencies on certain Windows services, libraries, applications, and files that are not available in Server Core installations, but the administrator wants to take advantage of the reduced need for updating typical of Server Core installations. The Minimal Server Interface offers additional compatibility while still maintaining a reduced system footprint (though to a lesser extent than a Server Core installation).
Secured connectivity in Windows Server 2022 adds another layer to security during transport. The new release adds faster and more secure encrypted hypertext transfer protocol secure (HTTPS) and industry-standard AES-256 encryption with support for server message block (SMB) protocol.
Customers are choosing a hybrid and multicloud approach to digitally transform their businesses. They can now take advantage of cloud services with on-premises Windows Server 2022 by connecting with Azure Arc.
Additionally, in Windows Server 2022 customers can take advantage of the File Server enhancements such as SMB Compression. SMB Compression improves application file transfer by compressing data while in transit over a network. Finally, Windows Admin Center, a tool loved by admins, brings modern server management experience such as with a new event viewer and gateway proxy support for Azure connected scenarios.
Customers who upgrade to Windows Server 2022 can take advantage of scalability improvements such as support for 48TB of memory and 2,048 logical cores running on 64 physical sockets for those demanding Tier1 applications. In this release, customers can also take advantage of advancements to Windows containers. For example, Windows Server 2022 improves application compatibility of Windows containers, includes HostProcess containers for node configuration, supports IPv6 and dual-stack, and enables consistent network policy implementation with Calico. Furthermore, we are continuing to work with the Kubernetes community to enable Windows Server 2022 container support and bring the new capabilities to Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) and AKS on Azure Stack HCI.
On Azure: Azure Automanage (in preview) enables IT pros to not only automate cloud best practices but also put into practice our enterprise expertise with the Microsoft cloud adoption framework. With Azure Automanage for Windows Server, customers can migrate to Azure easily without any changes to network IP, securely do file transfer to Azure using SMB over QUIC, and implement hotpatch for new Windows Server Azure Virtual Machines.
To modernize existing applications, customers have many options in Azure depending on their application architectural needs. For example, Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) with native .NET support enables customers to modernize applications with Kubernetes, the container orchestrator of choice for many.
- Hyper-V Technology Overview
- What's new in Hyper-V on Windows Server
- System requirements for Hyper-V on Windows Server
- Supported Windows guest operating systems for Hyper-V
- Supported Linux and FreeBSD virtual machines
- Feature compatibility by generation and guest Plan for Hyper-V- Should I create a generation 1 or 2 virtual machine in Hyper-V?
- Plan for Hyper-V scalability in Windows Server
- Plan for Hyper-V networking in Windows Server
- Plan for Hyper-V security in Windows ServerGet started with Hyper-V- Download and install Windows Server 2019Server Core or GUI installation option of Windows Server 2019 as virtual machine host- Install the Hyper-V role on Windows Server
- Create a virtual switch for Hyper-V virtual machines
- Create a virtual machine in Hyper-VUpgrade Hyper-V hosts and virtual machines- Upgrade Windows Server cluster nodes
- Upgrade virtual machine versionConfigure and manage Hyper-V- Set up hosts for live migration without Failover Clustering
- Managing Nano Server remotely
- Choose between standard or production checkpoints
- Enable or disable checkpoints
- Manage Windows virtual machines with PowerShell Direct
- Set up Hyper-V ReplicaBlogsCheck out the latest posts from Program Managers, Product Managers, Developers and Testers in the Microsoft Virtualization and Hyper-V teams.- Virtualization Blog
- Windows Server Blog
- Ben Armstrong's Virtualization Blog (archived)Forum and newsgroupsGot questions? Talk to your peers, MVPs, and the Hyper-V product team.- Windows Server Community
- Windows Server Hyper-V TechNet forumRelated technologiesThe following table lists technologies that you might want to use in your virtualization computing environment.
The highly diverse scope of potential deployments makes it unrealistic to state recommended hardware requirements that would be generally applicable. Consult documentation for each of the server roles you intend to deploy for more details about the resource needs of particular server roles. For the best results, conduct test deployments to determine appropriate hardware requirements for your particular deployment scenarios.
Computers that run Windows Server must include a storage adapter that is compliant with the PCI Express architecture specification. Persistent storage devices on servers classified as hard disk drives must not be PATA. Windows Server does not allow ATA/PATA/IDE/EIDE for boot, page, or data drives.
Be aware that 32 GB should be considered an absolute minimum value for successful installation. This minimum should allow you to install Windows Server 2022 using the Server Core installation option, with the Web Services (IIS) server role. A server in Server Core mode is about 4 GB smaller than the same server using the Server with Desktop Experience installation option.
When you install Windows Server using the setup wizard, you can choose between Server Core or Server with Desktop Experience install options. With Server Core, the standard graphical user interface (the Desktop Experience) is not installed; you manage the server from the command line using PowerShell, the Server Configuration tool (SConfig), or by remote methods. Server with Desktop Experience installs the standard graphical user interface and all tools, including client experience features.
We recommend that you choose the Server Core install option unless you have a particular need for the extra user interface elements and graphical management tools that are included in the Server with Desktop Experience install option.
Unlike some previous releases of Windows Server, you cannot convert between Server Core and Server with Desktop Experience after installation. You will need to do a clean installation if you install later decide to use a different option.
AWS has the broadest global infrastructure with 77 Availability Zones (AZ) across 24 regions and 99.99% availability for each Amazon EC2 region. By moving your Microsoft workloads to AWS, customers can realize a 98% reduction in unplanned downtime, 71% faster deployment, and 26% higher developer productivity, per IDC. AWS also delivered 2x better performance and 62% lower cost for a SQL Server workload on an EC2 R5b.8xlarge instance when directly tested against the next largest cloud provider, per Principled Technologies.