11 Factors to Take into consideration Upgrading to Windows Server 2012

So Microsoft bounces in with yet another brand new server item. Typically, we obtain new versions of Microsoft server goods are better than their predecessors and definitely significantly improved than their desktop operating program counterparts which have triggered a few ripples of excitement but additional of nervousness and folks appear to be awaiting the inevitable service pack 1 release.

Obtaining had a play with the release preview of Windows Server 2012, we have discovered some fascinating issues about the new server to share with you. Some people today are sceptical about the new interface formerly recognized as Metro, but with more emphasis on Server Core and the Minimal Server Interface, the UI is unlikely to be the deciding issue when deciding upon to upgrade. full admin RDP are the large alterations and new capabilities that make Server 2012 improved capable to manage your network’s workloads and needs.

Here are 11 motives to give critical consideration to upgrading to Server 2012 sooner rather than later.

1: Freedom of interface selection

A Server Core installation delivers safety and functionality positive aspects, but in the previous, you had to make a option: If you installed Server Core, you have been stuck with it with only the command line as your interface. On the other hand, this adjustments with Windows Server 2012.

Microsoft realised that the command line is good for some tasks and the graphical interface is preferable for other individuals. Server 2012 makes the GUI a “feature” – one particular that can be turned on and off at will, hence saving resources when the server is basically getting a server. You do it by way of the Eliminate Roles or Features choice in Server Manager.

two: Server Manager

With regards to the Server Manager, even many of those who dislike the new (metro) tile-based interface overall have admitted that the design’s implementation in the new Server Manager is brilliant.

A single of the finest things about the new Server Manager is the multi-server capabilities, which makes it quick to deploy roles and options remotely to physical and virtual servers. It really is effortless to produce a server group – a collection of servers that can be managed together. The remote administration improvements let you provision servers without having possessing to make an RDP connection.

three: Server Message Block 3.

The SMB protocol has been substantially enhanced in Windows Server 2012 as properly as Windows eight. The new version supports new file server functions, like SMB transparent failover, SMB Scale Out, SMB Multichannel, SMB Direct, SMB encryption, VSS for SMB file sharing, SMB directory leasing, and SMB PowerShell. It also performs beautifully with Hyper-V, so that VHD files and virtual machine configuration files can be hosted on SMB three. shares. A SQL system database can be stored on an SMB share, as properly, with improvements to overall performance.

4: Dynamic Access Control (DAC)

Microsoft has shifted the focus from separate safety products to a extra “baked in” approach of integrating safety into every single part of the operating technique.

Dynamic Access Handle is one particular such instance, assisting IT Pros make far more centralized safety models for access to network resources by tagging sensitive data each manually and automatically, primarily based on factors such as the file content or the creator. Just after that, claims primarily based access controls can be applied.

five: Storage Spaces

Storage is an intriguing topic in the IT industry these days. We are nonetheless a extended way off storing every little thing in the cloud many organizations are nonetheless concerned about security and reliability. There are a myriad of options for storing information on your network in a way that delivers far better utilisation of storage resources, centralized management, superior scalability along with security and reliability, SANs and NAS do that, but they can be high priced.

Storage Spaces is a amazing new feature in Server 2012 that lets you use affordable tough drives to develop a storage pool, which can then be divided into spaces that are made use of like physical disks. They can include hot standby drives and use redundancy solutions such as 2- or 3-way mirroring or parity. What is great is that you can add new disks any time, and a space can be bigger than the physical capacity of the pool. When you add new drives, the space automatically utilizes the additional capacity.

six: Virtualisation

Virtualisation was the largest thing before the cloud hit the IT sector and it is still the thing to do when it comes to servers. Hyper-V is Microsoft’s answer to VMware / XenServer. Microsoft’s virtualisation platform is liked by a lot of IT Pro’s and with every new version Windows hypervisor gets a tiny greater, and Hyper-V in Windows Server 2012 brings a quantity of new attributes to the table. One particular of the most intriguing is Hyper-V Replica.

This is a replication mechanism that will be a disaster recovery Godsend to SMBs that might not be in a position to deploy complex and pricey replication options. It logs adjustments to the disks in a VM and makes use of compression to save on bandwidth, replicating from a key server to a replica server.

You are able to store several snapshots of a VM on the replica server and then select the 1 you want to use. It functions with both standalone hosts and clusters in any combination.