Join us for the Windows Server Summit virtual event, April 29-30, and on-demand.
Protect, adapt, and innovate with Windows Server
Drive productivity with seamless hybrid, multicloud, and on-premises infrastructure that adapts to business needs while helping fortify your organization’s security.
Why choose Windows Server 2025?
Protect with multilayered security
Help secure data and business-critical applications. Get modernized identity management and new safeguards against brute-force and lateral attacks.
Achieve cloud agility anywhere
Bridge on-premises and cloud-based servers and get the power of Azure delivered to your hybrid cloud environment with Azure Arc.
Optimize for future-ready infrastructure
Light up new possibilities with improved scalability, larger virtual machines, and GPU partitioning across VMs built to support AI workloads.
Windows Server 2025: Flexible, reliable infrastructure
-
Help secure data in transit over trusted connections with additional file server security from Windows Server.
-
Experience improved scale and performance in Active Directory Domain Services. Windows Server 2025 offers a new domain controller with a 32,000-page database.
-
Hyper-V offers robust hardware-based virtualization and isolation, virtualization-based security, and advanced capabilities such as GPU partitioning and failover clustering. Windows Server VMs are more scalable than ever, with support for 240 TB of RAM and 2048 virtual processors.
-
Deploy containers easily and efficiently with reduced container size and container base image portability.
-
Save time with enhanced networking capabilities including:
- Network ATC: One-click deployment of host network configuration across the cluster.
- Network HUD: Always-on alerting and remediation of network issues can help take hours off network setup and management tasks.
-
By connecting your on-premises Windows Servers to Azure Arc, you can subscribe to additional services that bring cloud innovations to your datacenter*. Examples include:
- Subscribe to receive hotpatching for on-premises and multicloud Windows Servers to minimize reboots.
- Access additional Azure Arc management services, including best practices assessment and disaster recovery.
- Pay-as-you-go pricing option for on-premises Windows Server.
Get even more out of Windows Server
Windows Server: Better on Azure
Take advantage of Azure innovation while using your team’s existing skills and investments.
Azure Arc
Extend the Azure platform to your hybrid, edge, and multicloud environments.
System Center
Simplify your datacenter deployment, management, and monitoring.
Azure Local
Deploy and manage virtual machines and containers at the edge with cloud-native HCI infrastructure.
Windows Admin Center
Manage Windows Servers from anywhere at no additional cost.
Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Strengthen your security posture and help guard against cyberthreats across hybrid and multicloud environments.
Pay-as-you-go for Windows Server 2025
For short-term capacity needs, scale up with the Azure Arc-enabled pay-as-you-go option for Windows Server.
Upgrade to Windows Server 2025
Upgrading to the latest Windows Server version is quicker and easier than ever.
Empower and protect your organization
Windows Server benefits from decades of Microsoft security expertise. Learn how Microsoft helps you stay ahead of ever-evolving cyber threats.
$20 billion investment in cybersecurity over five years
8,500+ security intelligence experts in 77 countries
Microsoft recognized by analysts as leader in security
See how customers are innovating with Windows Server
“It’s a relief to be protected by Microsoft’s world-class security.”
Atsushi Shintani, Executive Officer, General Manager of the Information System Department, Hokkoku Bank
Saved through optimization
“We have access to incredibly powerful technologies with Azure. We can provision new resources in only a few hours, which used to take us more than a week, and we can get new solutions to market far faster.”
Paulo Costa, Infrastructure Monitoring and Collaboration Manager, CTT
Initial savings with Windows Server on Azure
Back to customer stories section
Get started with Windows Server
Try Windows Server 2025
Experience better hybrid integration, performance, and security with Windows Server 2025.
Sharpen your skills
Learn about the latest features and explore Windows Server training.
Join Windows Server Community
Tips, previews, and discussion on the latest Windows Server technology updates.
Find your cloud solution
Explore now to find the right solution for your industry and business goals.
-
[*]
Additional charge applies to many services added through Azure Arc. See product pricing page for details.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Windows Server
| Developer | Microsoft |
|---|---|
| Source model |
|
| Initial release | July 27, 1993; 31 years ago |
| Latest preview | vNext (10.0.26280) / September 6, 2024; 8 months ago[1] |
| Update method |
|
| Default user interface |
|
| License | Trialware, SaaS, or volume licensing |
| Official website | www |
Windows Server (formerly Windows NT Server) is a brand name for server-oriented releases of the Windows NT operating system (OS) that have been developed by Microsoft since 1993. The first release under this brand name is Windows NT 3.1 Advanced Server, an edition of Windows NT 3.1. With the release of Windows Server 2003, Microsoft started releasing new versions under the name Windows Server. The latest release of Windows NT under the Windows Server brand is Windows Server 2025.[2]
Microsoft’s history of developing operating systems for servers goes back to Windows NT 3.1 Advanced Server. Windows 2000 Server is the first release to include Active Directory, DNS Server, DHCP Server, and Group Policy.
History
Windows NT Server 3.x
Windows NT 3.1 Advanced Server was released on July 27, 1993[citation needed] as an edition of Windows NT 3.1, an operating system aimed towards business and server use. As with its Workstation counterpart, Windows NT 3.1 Advanced Server was a 32 bit rewrite of the Windows kernel that retained a similar use interface to Windows 3.1. Unlike the latter, however, Windows NT 3.1 Advanced Server was a complete operating system that did not need to be run from DOS. Windows NT 3.1 Advanced Server, like its Workstation counterpart, featured new features such as multiuser support and preemptive multitasking.[3]
In 1994, Microsoft released Windows NT Server 3.5. It introduced TCP/IP and Winsock support integrated into the operating system, alongside the ability to use FTP. It also supported VFAT.[citation needed]
In 1995, Microsoft released Windows NT Server 3.51, an update to Windows NT Server 3.5, which added NTFS compression and support for the PowerPC architecture.[citation needed]
Windows NT Server 4.0
In 1996, Microsoft released Windows NT Server 4.0. It added the new user interface introduced in Windows 95 the previous year. In addition, it dropped support for the PowerPC, Alpha, and MIPS architectures. Microsoft updated Winsock to version 2 and IIS 2.0 and FrontPage are included.[citation needed]
Windows 2000 Server
Windows Server 2003
Windows Server 2003 is based on a modified version of Windows XP.
Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2
Windows Server 2008 is based on Windows Vista SP1, while Windows Server 2008 R2 is based on Windows 7.
Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2
Windows Server 2012 is based on Windows 8, while Windows Server 2012 R2 is based on Windows 8.1.
Windows Server 2016, 2019 and 2022
These versions of Windows Server are all based on Windows 10. Windows Server 2016 is based on Windows 10, version 1607, Windows Server 2019 is based on Windows 10, version 1809 and Windows Server 2022 is based on a modified version of Windows 10, version 21H2.
Windows Server 2025
This version of Windows Server is based on Windows 11. Windows Server 2025 is based on Windows 11, version 24H2.[4]
Members
Main releases
Main releases include:
- Windows NT 3.1 Advanced Server (July 27, 1993)
- Windows NT Server 3.5 (September 21, 1994)
- Windows NT Server 3.51 (May 30, 1995)
- Windows NT 4.0 Server (August 24, 1996)
- Windows 2000 Server (December 15, 1999)
- Windows Server 2003 (April 24, 2003)[5]
- Windows Server 2003 R2 (December 6, 2005)[6]
- Windows Server 2008 (February 27, 2008)[7]
- Windows Server 2008 R2 (October 22, 2009)[8]
- Windows Server 2012 (September 4, 2012)[9]
- Windows Server 2012 R2 (October 17, 2013)[10]
- Windows Server 2016 (October 12, 2016)[11]
- Windows Server 2019 (October 2, 2018)[12]
- Windows Server 2022 (August 18, 2021)[13]
- Windows Server 2025 (November 1, 2024)[14]
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, Server Core and Nano Server configurations were made available to reduce the OS footprint.[15][16] 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 would have been «Windows Server 2016 R2». Windows Server 2022 is also a minor upgrade over its predecessor.[17][18]
Branded releases
Certain editions of Windows Server have a customized name:
- Windows Storage Server (editions of Windows Server 2003 through 2016; editions of Windows Server IoT 2019 and its successors)[19][20][21]
- Windows HPC Server 2008
- Windows HPC Server 2008 R2
- Windows Home Server (an edition of Windows Server 2003)
- Windows Home Server 2011 (an edition of Windows Server 2008 R2)
- Hyper-V Server (a discontinued,[22] freeware edition of Windows Server 2008 through 2019)[23]
- Windows MultiPoint Server
- Windows Server Essentials[24][25]
- Windows Essential Business Server (discontinued)[26]
- Azure Stack HCI (an edition of Windows Server 2019 and later)[27]
Semi-Annual releases (discontinued)
Following the release of Windows Server 2016, Microsoft attempted to mirror the lifecycle of Windows 10 in the Windows Server family, releasing new versions twice a year which were supported for 18 months. These semi-annual versions were only available as part of Microsoft subscription services, including Software Assurance, Azure Marketplace, and Visual Studio subscriptions,[28] until their discontinuation in July 2021.[29][28]
The semi-annual releases do not include any desktop environments. Instead, they are restricted to the Nano Server configuration installed in a Docker container,[16][28] and the Server Core configuration, licensed only to serve as a container host.[16][28]
Semi-Annual releases include:[30]
- Windows Server, version 1709 (unsupported as of April 9, 2019; 6 years ago)
- Windows Server, version 1803 (unsupported as of November 12, 2019; 5 years ago)
- Windows Server, version 1809 (unsupported as of November 10, 2020; 4 years ago)
- Windows Server, version 1903 (unsupported as of December 8, 2020; 4 years ago)
- Windows Server, version 1909 (unsupported as of May 11, 2021; 4 years ago)
- Windows Server, version 2004 (unsupported as of December 14, 2021; 3 years ago)
- Windows Server, version 20H2 (unsupported as of August 9, 2022; 2 years ago)[31][32][33][34]
Annual releases
The Annual Channel was first announced in July 2023, with the first version being released on September the same year. Unlike the Semi-Annual releases, each Annual Channel release would receive six months of extended support in addition to the 18 months of regular support. Annual releases are made available every twelve months, hence the name. Datacenter is the only edition available.
Annual releases include:[35]
- Windows Server, version 23H2
See also
- List of Microsoft Windows versions
- Microsoft Servers
- Linux range of use § Servers, mainframes and supercomputers
- NetWare
- Open Enterprise Server
References
- ^ «Announcing Windows Server Preview Build 26280». Microsoft Tech Community. September 6, 2024. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
when reporting issues please refer to «VNext» rather than Windows Server 2025 which is currently in market.
- ^ «Windows Server 2025 now generally available, with advanced security, improved performance, and cloud agility». Microsoft Windows Server Blog. November 4, 2024. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
- ^ «30 years of Windows Server». TECHCOMMUNITY.MICROSOFT.COM. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
- ^ Woolsey, Jeff. «Introducing Windows Server 2025! — Microsoft Tech Community». Archived from the original on September 17, 2024. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
- ^ «Windows Server 2003 – Microsoft Lifecycle». Microsoft. March 8, 2008. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
- ^ «Windows Server 2003 R2 – Microsoft Lifecycle». Microsoft. March 8, 2008. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
- ^ «Windows Server 2008 – Microsoft Lifecycle». Microsoft. Retrieved September 25, 2012.
- ^ «Windows Server 2008 R2 – Microsoft Lifecycle». Microsoft. Retrieved September 25, 2012.
- ^ «Windows Server 2012 – Microsoft Lifecycle». Microsoft Support. Microsoft. January 2012. Retrieved October 10, 2012.
- ^ «Windows Server 2012 R2 – Microsoft Lifecycle». Microsoft.com. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
- ^ «Windows Server 2016 – Microsoft Lifecycle». Microsoft Support. Microsoft. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
- ^ «Windows Server 2019 – Microsoft Lifecycle». Microsoft Support. Microsoft. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
- ^ «Windows Server 2022 – Microsoft Lifecycle». Microsoft Support. Microsoft. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
- ^ Woolsey, Jeff. «Introducing Windows Server 2025». Microsoft Tech Community Hub. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
- ^ «What is Microsoft Windows Server LTSC (Long-Term Servicing Channel)? – Definition from WhatIs.com». SearchWindowsServer. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
- ^ a b c «Windows Server – Semi-Annual Channel (SAC) vs Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) – Thomas Maurer». Thomas Maurer. November 19, 2017. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
- ^ Sommergut, Wolfgang (August 24, 2021). «Windows Server 2022 released: Overview of new features». 4sysops. Archived from the original on August 24, 2021.
- ^ Foley, Mary Jo (August 20, 2021). «Microsoft’s Windows Server 2022 is rolling out to mainstream users». ZDNet. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on August 22, 2021.
- ^ «Windows Storage Server Lifecycle (EOL)». EndOfLife.Software.
- ^ «Windows Server IoT 2019 for Storage». Microsoft.com. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
- ^ «Windows Server IoT 2022». Microsoft.com. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
- ^ Christensen, Elden (March 25, 2022). «Hyper-V in the 2022 Wave». Microsoft Tech Community. Self-published.
- ^ «Hyper-V Server». Search Product and Services Lifecycle Information. Microsoft. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
- ^ «Windows Small Business Server 2008 Technical FAQ». Windows Server Essentials documentations. Microsoft. December 14, 2010 – via Microsoft Docs.
- ^ Thurrott, Paul (September 3, 2011). «Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials». Supersite for Windows. Penton Media. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved September 26, 2011.
- ^ «Windows Essential Business Server». TechNet Archive. Microsoft. February 7, 2012 – via Microsoft Docs.
- ^ «Deploy the Azure Stack HCI operating system». Azure Docs. Microsoft. October 22, 2021.
- ^ a b c d «Windows Server servicing channels». Windows Server Library. Microsoft. July 5, 2022. Archived from the original on July 13, 2022.
- ^ «Microsoft to retire semi-annual Windows Server updates, will move entirely to LTSC releases». Neowin. July 28, 2021.
- ^ «Windows Server». Windows Server Semi-Annual Channel. Microsoft. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
- ^ «Windows message center: Windows Server, version 20H2 has reached end of servicing». August 9, 2022. Archived from the original on August 10, 2022.
- ^ «Windows Server release information». docs.microsoft.com. Archived from the original on August 9, 2022. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
- ^ «Windows 10, version 20H2 and Windows Server, version 20H2». docs.microsoft.com. Archived from the original on August 9, 2022. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
- ^ Popa, Bogdan. «Microsoft Retires Windows Server Version 20H2». news.softpedia.com. Archived from the original on August 10, 2022. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
- ^ «Windows Server». Windows Server Annual Channel. Microsoft. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
External links
- Official website
Пишут, что он совершенно бесплатно и свободно доступен на MS Evaluation Center, без регистрации и SMS – чего нельзя сказать про продукты импортозаместительные. Однако, лежащий там прямо сейчас файл:
26100.1.240331-1435.ge_release_SERVER_EVAL_x64FRE_en-us.iso
Размером 5307996160 байт,
MD5 8286AE65AB4D6FF2430B914D7901427B,
SHA256 16442D1C0509BCBB25B715B1B322A15FB3AB724A42DA0F384B9406CA1C124ED4
— это все тот же public preview — PKEYCONFIGVERSION 10.0.26100.1
В разделе Windows Server 2025 known issues and notifications указано что качать «оттуда» — это пока не так.
К серверу вышли обновления –
Update for Microsoft Defender Antivirus antimalware platform — KB4052623 (Version 4.18.24090.11) — Current Channel (Broad)
2024-10 Cumulative Update for Microsoft server operating system version 24H2 for x64-based Systems (KB5044284)
Версия до установки предпоследнего кумулятива (с предпоследним – KB5041571 от августа 2024) — 10.0.26100.1457
Пропустил я, оказывается, 2024-09 Cumulative Update for Microsoft server operating system version 24H2 for x64-based Systems (KB5043080)
Не обошлось без проблем – в каталоге под отметкой 2024-10 Cumulative Update for Microsoft server operating system version 24H2 for x64-based Systems (KB5044284) лежат:
windows11.0-kb5044284-x64_d7eb7ceaa4798b92b988fd7dcc7c6bb39476ccf3.msu
windows11.0-kb5043080-x64_953449672073f8fb99badb4cc6d5d7849b9c83e8.msu
– о чем и пишут с негодованием тут, и на Хабре, цитата:
Для предотвращения подобной ситуации рекомендуется заблокировать обновление KB5044284, чтобы предотвратить автоматическое обновление рабочих серверных систем до Windows Server 2025.
Часть серверов на Windows Server 2022 автоматически обновились до Windows Server 2025 без необходимой лицензии
После обновления версия должна стать 26100.1742, но обновление пока не качается, висит на 8% с обеда. (Обновлено: пока писал текст, обновление докачалось, и теперь версия 10.0.26100.2033. Ничего не понимаю.)
В остальном все традиционно: ждем первого сервис пака.
Microsoft Windows Server OS (operating system) is a series of enterprise-class server operating systems designed to share services with multiple users and provide extensive administrative control of data storage, applications and corporate networks.
Development for Windows Server started in the early 1980s when Microsoft produced two operating system lines: MS-DOS and Windows NT. Microsoft engineer David Cutler developed the kernel of Windows NT with the intent to provide speed, security and reliability that large organizations require in a server operating system.
Prior to the release of Windows NT, many companies relied on the Unix operating system that required expensive RISC-based hardware to run file and printing services. Windows NT had the ability to run on less costly X86 machines.
A key feature in the NT architecture is symmetric multiprocessing, which makes applications run faster on machines with several processors.
Later iterations of Windows Server can be deployed either on hardware in an organization’s data center or on a cloud platform, such as Microsoft Azure.
Key features in later versions of Windows Server include Active Directory, which automates the management of user data, security and distributed resources, and enables interoperation with other directories; and Server Manager, which is a utility to administer server roles and make configuration changes to local or remote machines.
History of Windows Server
1993: Windows NT 3.1 Advanced Server
Microsoft released its Windows NT operating system in two formats: one for workstations and the other for servers. The 32-bit operating system featured a hardware abstraction layer (HAL), which provided more system stability by blocking applications from direct access to system hardware. Companies could use Advanced Server as a domain controller to store user and group rights.
1994: Windows NT 3.5 Server
Microsoft updated key networking features in this server release and added integrated support for TCP/IP and Winsock. Other networking improvements allowed users on other non-Microsoft operating systems to access files and applications on the domain.
1995: Windows NT Server 3.51
Microsoft fine-tuned this release to boost performance and reduce the amount of required memory. This server OS was optimized to deliver services faster to users through its updated networking stack. Microsoft added more connectivity support for companies in a mixed environment with both Windows NT and NetWare servers to allow users to get services from each with a single credential.
1996: Windows NT Server 4.0
Microsoft borrowed the Windows 95 interface for this server OS release and also used many of the applications in the client OS, such as the File Explorer. Microsoft expanded the networking protocol capabilities in this release to make network resources available to a wider array of non-Microsoft machines. Key features in this release were the ability to use a server as an Internet Information Server — now called Internet Information Services (IIS) — and a domain name system server. This server OS also could walk administrators through various tasks, such as sharing a hard disk with a feature called Administrative Wizards.
2000: Windows 2000
Windows 2000 introduced Active Directory, a directory service that stores and manages information about network objects, including user data, systems and services. Active Directory lets administrators perform various tasks, such as virtual private network configuration, data encryption and granting access to file shares on networked computers.
Microsoft also introduced several other key features in this release, including:
- Microsoft Management Console (MMC),
- NTFS 3.0 file system and
- support for dynamic disk volumes.
Windows 2000 had three editions — Server, Advanced Server and Datacenter — that were built to work with Windows 2000 Professional, the client OS.
2003: Windows Server 2003
Microsoft introduced the «Windows Server» brand with the release of Windows Server 2003 and touted its security improvements over Windows 2000. Microsoft hardened IIS, the web server feature, and disabled more default services to reduce exploit opportunities.
Microsoft introduced server roles with this release, which allowed administrators to assign a specific function to a server, such as domain controller or DNS server.
Other new features in this release included expanded encryption functionality, built-in firewall, greater Network Address Translation (NAT) support and Volume Shadow Copy Service.
Windows Server 2003 had four editions: Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter and Web.
2005: Windows Server 2003 R2
Rather than a version number, Microsoft began using the R2 — or release two — designation with Windows Server 2003 R2. Organizations always need to buy a new Windows Server license to use the new server operating system, but R2 releases used the client access licenses (CALs) of the immediately preceding server version to eliminate the need to upgrade those licenses.
This version improved on the security and safety features in Windows Server 2003.
Key new features in this release were:
- Active Directory Federation Services, which lets administrators broaden single sign-on access to applications and systems beyond the corporate firewall.
- Active Directory Application Mode, which stores data for applications that may be considered not secure enough to use in the Active Directory system.
This version also added enhancements to file replication and data compression for branch office servers. Among the security improvements in this release was the Security Configuration Wizard, which let administrators apply consistent security policies to multiple machines.
2008: Windows Server 2008
Windows Server 2008 added new features such as:
- Hyper-V virtualization software,
- failover clustering,
- Event Viewer,
- Server Core — the minimal deployment option managed via the command line, and
- Server Manager console, used to add and manage server roles and features on local and remote machines.
Microsoft also overhauled the networking stack and Active Directory to enhance its Group Policy and identity management capabilities.
Windows Server 2008 came in four editions: Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter and Web.
2009: Windows Server 2008 R2
Microsoft used its Windows 7 kernel for this server operating system and touted its improved scalability and availability features.
Microsoft enhanced Active Directory for improved handling of user accounts and more granular control with policies. The company also updated Terminal Services functionality and rechristened it to Remote Desktop Services (RDS).
New features in this release include BranchCache and DirectAccess, both aimed at improving how users in remote locations are able to get their work done.
This server OS, like its predecessor, shares some of the administrative and security functionality used in the Windows Vista client operating system. Windows Server 2008 R2 also marked a change from a 32-bit server operating system to a 64-bit version.
2012: Windows Server 2012
Microsoft embedded a number of cloud-related features to Windows server 2012, going so far as to dub it the «Cloud OS,» so organizations could run services more easily in public or private clouds. The company also made significant updates to the operating system’s storage infrastructure and Hyper-V virtualization platform.
New features worth noting in this release were the Hyper-V virtual switch, Hyper-V Replica, Storage Spaces and ReFS file system.
In another change with this release, Microsoft switched the default installation option to Server Core, which requires administrators to use PowerShell. Upon this release, PowerShell had 2,300 cmdlets available for management.
This server version came in four editions: Essentials, Foundation, Standard and Datacenter. The Standard and Datacenter editions had the same feature set, but a Standard license permitted organizations to run two virtual machines (VMs), while Datacenter permitted an unlimited number of VMs.
2013: Windows Server 2012 R2
Microsoft made expansive changes across the board with Windows Server 2012 R2, including significant updates to virtualization, storage, networking, information security and web services.
New features of note:
- Desired State Configuration (DSC) built on PowerShell to prevent configuration drift and maintain consistency across the organization’s machines.
- Storage tiering added to Storage Spaces boosts performance by automatically moving frequently called blocks of data to solid-state storage.
- Work Folders allow users to retrieve and save company files on work and personal devices through replication to servers in the organization’s data center.
2016: Windows Server 2016
Microsoft nudged enterprises closer to the cloud with a number of new features tailored to ease workload migrations, such as support for Docker containers and software-defined enhancements in networking.
Microsoft debuted Nano Server, a minimal server deployment option intended to boost security by shrinking the attack vector. Microsoft says Nano Server is 93% smaller than a full Windows Server deployment.
Another nod to security comes in the new Hyper-V shielded VM feature, which uses encryption to prevent data inside a VM from being compromised.
The Network Controller is a key new networking feature that allows administrators to manage the switches, subnets and other devices on the virtual and physical networks.
This server OS comes in Standard and Datacenter editions. In previous Windows Server versions, the Standard and Datacenter editions had the same feature set, but different license rights and use restrictions. In Windows Server 2016, the Standard edition does not have the more advanced features in virtualization, storage and networking.
2017: Semi-Annual Channel and Long-Term Servicing Channel releases
In June 2017, Microsoft announced it would split Windows Server into two channels: the Semi-Annual Channel (SAC) and the Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) — formerly the Long-Term Servicing Branch.
The SAC caters to enterprises with a DevOps framework that prefer a shorter term between feature updates to get the most recent updates for rapid application development cycles. SAC releases will come every six months — one in the spring and one in the fall — with mainstream support of just 18 months. Microsoft tailors the LTSC for companies that prefer the more traditional release cycle of two to three years between major feature updates with the typical five years of mainstream support followed by five years of extended support.
The LTSC naming convention will retain the Windows Server YYYY format — such as Windows Server 2016 — while the SAC releases will follow a format of Windows Server version YYMM. Microsoft said it plans to add most of the enhancements — with some variations — from the SAC releases into upcoming LTSC releases.
Microsoft released its first SAC release — Windows Server version 1709 — in October 2017. Highlights of this release were support for Linux containers with kernel isolation provided by Hyper-V and a refactored Nano Server strictly for use as a base OS container image.
Businesses with Software Assurance on their Windows Server Standard or Datacenter licenses or a Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) license can download the SAC releases from Microsoft’s Volume Licensing Service Center. Organizations without Software Assurance can use SAC releases in Azure or another cloud or hosting environment.
Windows Server — это целая линейка операционных систем, которые Microsoft специально создает для использования на серверах. Windows Server выпускается под этим названием с момента выпуска Windows Server 2003. Однако даже до этого были доступны серверные версии Windows, например, Windows NT 4.0 была доступна как для обычных домашних компьютеров, так и для серверов.
Обычно каждый выпуск Windows Server соответствует обычной пользовательской версии Windows. Например, Windows Server 2003 — это серверная версия Windows XP, Windows Server 2016 основана на Windows 10 Anniversary Update, а Windows Server 2019, основана на версии Windows 10 версии 1809.
С первого взгляда не поймешь, чем Windows Server отличается от обычных версий Windows — рабочий стол выглядит так же, есть значки и даже есть кнопка Пуск. Поскольку Windows Server и обычная версия имеют общую базу кода, многие вещи можно делать одинаково и там, и там, например, загружать и устанавливать программы, а многие основные функции включены в Windows Server. Однако в Windows Server не получится найти различные свистелки для пользователя — например Microsoft Store или браузер Edge. Скажем так — серверная версия Windows отлично подходит для корпоративных целей, когда компании нужно создать внутренний или внешний сервис, который будет решать конкретную бизнес задачу.
Давайте теперь про основные различия: первое, что Windows Server включает в себя, это специальное корпоративное программное обеспечение, которое называется Enterprise Management Software
С помощью него можно давать серверу различные роли, например:
- Роль Active Directory: это готовая роль, в которой сервер, сможет выступать как контроллер домена, и будет выполнять всю проверку подлинности учетных записей пользователей в компании.
- Роль DHCP и DNS Server: сервер может автоматически назначать IP-адреса всем устройствам в сети, и резолвить адреса.
- Быть файловым хранилищем: хранить важные файлы и устанавливать порядок доступа к ним.
- Службы печати: позволяет обеспечивать общий доступ к принтерам и сканнерам.
- Службы обновления Windows: можно направлять все обновления рабочей станции через этот сервер и настраивать определенные правила их работы.
- Веб сервер: позволяет поднимать на этом сервере сервисы, которые будут доступны для других пользователей через web-доступ.
И это лишь малая часть возможных ролей в Windows Server. Очень часто кампании имеют больше одного сервера, и конечно же разделяют разные роли между ними.
Еще одним важным отличие серверной Windows от пользовательской, это меньшее количество аппаратных ограничений. Например, Windows 10 позволяет юзерам устанавливать 2 ТБ оперативной памяти, что кажется и так очень много, но Windows Server предоставляет до 24 ТБ ОЗУ, потому что компаниям нужны большие мощности. Представь сервер, на котором крутятся десятки виртуальных машин! Конечно ему потребуется много оперативной памяти. А еще Windows Server может обрабатывать больше ядер и процессоров, так как имеет 64 сокета.
Помнишь мы сказали, что Windows Server выглядит так же как обычный Windows? Да, но серверная Windows может вообще работать без графической оболочки! Windows Server можно установить двух формах — Server Core или Desktop Experience.
Если вы отдадите предпочтение Windows Server Core без графического интерфейса, то будете наслаждаться управлением сервером через командную строку PowerShell, или сможете накатить инструмент с графическим интерфейсом, например RSAT (Remote Server Administration Tools) или Windows Admin Center. Не подумайте, это не мазохизм — это позволяет снизить нагрузку на сервер убрав “тяжелый” интерфейс. А еще многим администраторам, зачастую, удобнее работать с конмадной строке.
Что выбрать под мой сервак, спросишь ты? Linux или Windows? Зависит от цели: Linux экономичнее и по деньгам, и по ресурсам, но если ты работаешь с инфраструктурой Microsoft, то тут нужно определенно выбирать Windows Server.