What's New in Windows Server 2008 R2

Windows Server 2008 R2 has five core pillars which provide updates to existing functionality and new features. Learn more in the pillars below:

Web Application Platform
Windows Server 2008 R2 includes many enhancements that make this release the most robust Windows Server Web application platform yet. It offers an updated Web server role, Internet Information Services (IIS) 7.5, and greater support for .NET on Server Core.

The following improvements to IIS and the Windows Web platform are included in Windows Server 2008 R2:

• Reduced Effort to Administer and Support Web-Based Applications
• Reduced Support and Troubleshooting Effort
• Improved File-Transfer Services
• Ability to Extend Functionality and Features
• Improved .NET Support
• Improved Application Pool Security
• IIS.NET Community Portal

Enabling Server and Desktop Virtualization
Virtualization is a major part of today’s data centers. The operating efficiencies offered by virtualization allow organizations to dramatically reduce operational effort and power consumption.

Windows Server 2008 R2 provides the following virtualization types:

• Client and Server Virtualization Provided by Hyper-V
• Presentation Virtualization

Scalability and Reliability
Windows Server 2008 R2 is capable of unprecedented workload size, dynamic scalability, and across-the-board availability and reliability. A host of new and updated features contribute to this, including:

• Leveraging Sophisticated CPU Architectures
• Increased operating system componentization
• Improved performance and scalability for applications and services
• Improved Storage Solutions
• Improved Protection of Intranet Resources

Management
Another design goal for Windows Server 2008 R2 is to reduce the ongoing management of Windows Server 2008 R2 and to reduce the administrative effort for common day-to-day operational tasks. These administrative tasks can be performed on the server or remotely and include:

• Improved data center power consumption management
• Improved Management of File Services
• Improved remote administration
• Reduced administrative effort for administrative tasks performed interactively
• Enhanced command-line and automated management by using PowerShell version 2.0
• Improved identity management
• Improved compliance with established standards and best practices.

Better Together with Windows 7
Windows Server 2008 R2 has many features that are designed specifically to work with client computers running Windows 7. Windows 7 is the next version of the Windows operating system from Microsoft.

Features that are only available when running Windows 7 client computers with server computers running Windows Server 2008 R2 include:

• Simplified remote connectivity for corporate computers by using the DirectAccess feature
• Secured remote connectivity for private and public computers
• Improved performance for branch offices
• Improved security for branch offices
• More efficient power management
• Higher fault tolerance for connectivity between sites
• Improved virtualized desktop integration
• Increased protection for removable drives
• Improved prevention of data loss for mobile users

For more information on Windows 7, click here

Product Editions

Windows Server 2008 R2 is available in multiple editions to support the varying server and workload needs of organizations. From the powerful Datacenter edition providing a solid platform for virtualized workloads, Enterprise edition for your mission-critical applications, and role-based editions such as Web Server, Windows Server 2008 R2 has an edition available to suit your every need. Learn about the various editions of Windows Server 2008 R2 below, their specifications and functions, and choose the one that best suits your organization’s needs.

Windows Server 2008 R2 Foundation 
A cost-effective, entry-level technology foundation targeted at small business owners and IT generalists supporting small businesses. Foundation is an inexpensive, easy-to-deploy, proven, and reliable technology that provides organizations with the foundation to run the most prevalent business applications as well as share information and resources.

Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard
The most robust Windows Server operating system to date. With built-in, enhanced Web and virtualization capabilities, it is designed to increase the reliability and flexibility of your server infrastructure while helping save time and reduce costs. Powerful tools give you greater control over your servers, and streamline configuration and management tasks. Plus, enhanced security features work to harden the operating system to help protect your data and network and provide a solid, highly dependable foundation for your business.

Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise 
An advanced server platform that provides more cost-effective and reliable support for mission-critical workloads. It offers innovative features for virtualization, power savings, and manageability and helps make it easier for mobile workers to access company resources.

Windows Server 2008 R2 Datacenter
Delivers an enterprise-class platform for deploying business-critical applications and large-scale virtualization on small and large servers. Improve availability, enhance power management, and integrate solutions for mobile and branch workers. Reduce infrastructure costs by consolidating applications with unlimited virtualization licensing rights. Scale from two to 64 processors. Windows Server R2 2008 Datacenter provides a foundation on which to build enterprise-class virtualization and scale-up solutions.

Making the Experience Better Together with Windows 7

Windows Server 2008 R2 has many features that are designed specifically to work with client computers running Windows 7. Windows 7 is the next version of the Windows operating system from Microsoft. Features that are only available when running Windows 7 client computers with server computers running Windows Server 2008 R2 include:

Simplified remote connectivity for corporate computers by using the DirectAccess feature
One common problem facing most organizations is remote connectivity for their mobile users. One of the most widely used solutions for connecting remote users is a virtual private network (VPN) connection. Depending on the type of VPN, users may need to install VPN client software on their mobile computer and then establish the VPN connection over the Internet. The DirectAccess feature in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 allows Windows 7 client computers to directly connect to intranet-based resources without the complexity of establishing a VPN connection. The user has the same connectivity experience both in and outside of the office. The following figure contrasts the current VPN-based solutions with the DirectAccess solution.

Secured remote connectivity for private and public computers
Another common problem for remote users is the ability to access intranet-based resources from computers that are not owned by the user’s organization, such as public computers or Internet kiosks. Without a mobile computer provided by their organization, most users are unable to access intranet-based resources. A combination of the Remote Workspace, Presentation Virtualization, and Remote Desktop Gateway features allows users on Windows 7 clients to remotely access their intranet-based resources without requiring any additional software to be installed on the Windows 7 client. This allows your users to remotely access their desktop as though they were working from their computer on the intranet. From the user’s perspective, the desktop on the remote Windows 7 client transforms to look like the user’s desktop on the intranet, including icons, Start menu items, and installed applications that are identical to the user’s experience on his or her own computer. When the remote user closes the remote session, the remote Windows 7 client desktop environment reverts to the previous configuration.

Improved performance for branch offices
Driven by challenges of reducing cost and complexity of Branch IT, organizations are seeking to centralize applications. However, as organizations centralize applications the dependency on the availability and quality of the WAN link increases. A direct result of centralization is the increased utilization of the WAN link, and the degradation of application performance. Recent studies have shown that despite the reduction of costs associated with WAN links, WAN costs are still a major component of enterprises’ operational expenses.

More efficient power management
Windows 7 includes a number of power-management features that allow you to control power utilization in your organization with a finer degree of granularity than in previous operating systems. Windows 7 allows you to take advantage of the latest hardware developments for reducing power consumption in desktop and laptop computers. Windows Server 2008 R2 includes a number of Group Policy settings that allow you to centrally manage the power consumption of computers running Windows 7.

Improved virtualized desktop integration
Windows 7 introduces the RemoteApp & Desktop (RAD) feeds feature, which helps integrate desktops and applications virtualized by using Remote Desktop Services with the Windows 7 user interface. This integration makes the user experience for running virtualized applications or desktops the same as running the applications locally.

Why Upgrade to Windows Server 2008 R2?

Top Reasons to Upgrade to Windows Server 2008 R2
Windows Server 2008 R2 is the newest Windows Server operating system from Microsoft. Designed to help organizations reduce operating costs and increase efficiencies, Windows Server 2008 R2 provides enhanced management control over resources across the enterprise. It is designed to provide better energy efficiency and performance by reducing power consumption and lowering overhead costs. It also helps provide improved branch office capabilities, exciting new remote access experiences, streamlined server management, and expands the Microsoft virtualization strategy for both client and server computers.

Overview the Top 5 Reasons to Upgrade

1. Powerful Hardware and Scaling Features

Windows Server 2008 R2 was designed to perform as well or better for the same hardware base as Windows Server 2008. In addition, R2 is the first Windows Server operating system to move solely to a 64-bit architecture.

Windows Server 2008 R2 also has several CPU-specific enhancements. First, this version expands CPU support to enable customers to run with up to 256 logical processors. R2 also supports Second Level Translation (SLAT), which enables R2 to take advantage of the Enhanced Page Tables feature found in the latest AMD CPUs as well as the similar Nested Page Tables feature found in Intel’s latest processors. The combination enables R2 servers to run with much improved memory management.

Components of Windows Server 2008 R2 have received hardware boosts as well. Hyper-V in Windows Server 2008 R2 can now access up to 32 logical CPUs on host computers—twice Hyper-V’s initial number of supported CPUs. This capability not only takes advantage of new multicore systems, it also means greater virtual machine consolidation ratios per physical host.

2. Reduced Power Consumption

Windows Server 2008 introduced a 'balanced' power policy, which monitors the utilization level of the processors on the server and dynamically adjusts the processor performance states to limit power to the needs of the workload. Windows Server 2008 R2 enhances this power saving feature by adding Core Parking and expanding on power-oriented Group Policy settings.

Active Directory Domain Services Group Policy in Windows Server 2008 already gave administrators a certain amount of control over power management on client PCs. These capabilities are enhanced in Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 to provide even more precise control in more deployment scenarios for even greater potential savings.

3. Hyper-V in Windows Server 2008 R2

Windows Server 2008 R2 also holds the much-anticipated update to Microsoft’s virtualization technology, Hyper-V. The new Hyper-V was designed to augment both existing virtual machine management as well as to address specific IT challenges, especially around server migration.

Hyper-V is an enabling technology for one of Windows Server 2008 R2’s marquee features, Live Migration. With Hyper-V version 1.0, Windows Server 2008 was capable of Quick Migration, which could move VMs between physical hosts with only a few seconds of down-time. Still, those few seconds were enough to cause difficulties in certain scenarios, especially those including client connections to VM-hosted servers. With Live Migration, moves between physical targets happen in milliseconds, which means migration operations become invisible to connected users.

Customers employing System Center Virtual Machine Manager for Hyper-V will also enjoy additional management and orchestration scenarios, including a new VM-oriented Performance and Resource Optimization feature and updated support for managing failover clusters.

The new Hyper-V also has core performance enhancements, including the previously mentioned ability to take advantage of up to 64 logical processors and to beef up that CPU performance with host support for Second Level Translation (SLAT). Finally, VMs can also add and remove storage without requiring a reboot and also boot from VHD as well.

4. Reduced Desktop Costs with VDI

Much of the interest in virtualization solutions is in the server world. However, equally exciting advances are being made in presentation virtualization, where processing happens on a server optimized for capacity and availability while graphics, keyboard, mouse, and other user I/O functions are handled at the user’s desktop.

Windows Server 2008 R2 contains enhanced Virtual Desktop Integration (VDI) technology, which extends the functionality of Terminal Services to deliver certain business programs to their employee’s remote desktops. With VDI, programs that Remote Desktop Services sends to a computer are now available on the Start menu right alongside programs that are locally installed. This approach provides improved desktop virtualization and better application virtualization.

Desktop virtualization will benefit from features including improved personalization management, a near-invisible integration of virtualized desktops and applications in Windows 7, better audio and graphics performance, a seriously cool Web access update and more. VDI provides more efficient use of virtualized resources and better integration with local peripheral hardware as well as powerful new virtual management features.

5. Easier and More Efficient Server Management

Although increasing the capabilities of your server operating system is always a good thing, the perceived downside has always been additional complexity and workload for day-to-day server managers. Windows Server 2008 R2 specifically addresses this problem with lots of work evident across all of its management-oriented consoles. Features in these tools include:

• Improved data center power consumption and management, as evidenced earlier
• Improved remote administration, including a remotely-installable Server Manager
• Improved identity management features via the updated and simplified Active Directory
• Domain Services and Active Directory Federated Services

Windows Server 2008 R2 also improves on the popular PowerShell feature introduced in Windows Server 2008. PowerShell 2.0 significantly enhances the earlier version with the inclusion of more than 240 new pre-built cmdlets as well as a new graphical user interface (GUI) that adds professional-level development features for creating new cmdlets. The new GUI includes colored syntaxing, new production script debugging capabilities, and new testing tools.

What's New in Windows Server 2008 Licensing

Licensing of Windows Server 2008 remains generally consistent with Windows Server 2003 R2, with a few changes:


Licensing in Virtualized Environments
Microsoft continues to make it easier to take advantage of the benefits of server virtualization technology. Organizations that virtualize computing environments can increase operational efficiency through server consolidation, application re-hosting, disaster recovery, and software test and development.

Windows Server 2008 CAL Licensing in Virtualized Environments
Windows Server 2008 CALs are not required if you are using Windows Server 2008 solely as a virtualization host. The only exception to this is if you are running Windows Server 2008 virtual machines, which would require Windows Server 2008 CALs. For example, if you deploy Windows Server 2003 virtual machines onto Windows Server 2008, you do not require Windows Server 2008 CALs for your virtual machine users (you will still require CALs for your appropriate WS edition, in this case for Windows Server 2003).

Expanded Use Rights for Windows Server 2008 Standard to Support Virtualization Scenarios
To continue enabling software virtualization, Microsoft is expanding use rights for Windows Server 2008 Standard. With Windows Server 2008 Standard, you may now run one instance of the server software in the physical operating system environment and one instance of the server software in a virtual operating system environment.

New Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-Based Systems
Windows Server 2008 offers a separate product for Itanium based platform customers. Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-Based Systems is designed to be the leading alternative platform for RISC-based UNIX servers. It is intended for scale-up database workloads and custom and line-of-business applications. This workload focus is consistent with the majority of current deployments of Windows Server on Itanium. This product maintains the same licensing model as Windows Server 2008 Datacenter; per processor plus CALs. Pricing is also the same as Windows Server 2008 Datacenter.

Windows Web Server 2008
Windows Web Server 2008 is specifically designed to be used as a single-purpose Web server. Licensing terms for Windows Web Server 2008 clarify that the server software may only be used for Internet-accessible front-end web serving of Web pages, Web sites, Web applications, Web services, and POP3 mail serving. Additionally, Windows Web Server 2008 licensing is enhanced to allow any type of database software on the server software with no limit on the number of users.

Client Access Licenses and External Connectors for Windows Server 2008 Editions
With the launch of Windows Server 2008, we require that your Client Access Licenses (CALs) and External Connectors for Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 Terminal Services, and Windows Server 2003 Rights Management Services be upgraded to access Windows Server 2008 Editions. We have created new CALs specific to Windows Server 2008. In other words, Windows Server 2003 CALs and External Connectors may not access Windows Server 2008 server software.

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