Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Datacenter

Overview of Windows Server 2008 Standard Features

• • Built on the strong foundations of Windows Vista's code, Windows Server 2008 Standard comes with the new security and administrative features of the Vista operating system. This includes:
• Rewritten networking stack with native IPv6 and wireless, as well as improved security and speed.
• Better image-based installation, deployment, and recovery.
• Improved monitoring, diagnostics, event logging, and reporting.
• BitLocker, ASLR, and improved Windows Firewall.
• Enhanced core kernel, memory, and file system.
• • New installation options such as Server Core.
• • Network Access Protection.
• • Enhanced terminal services.
• • Windows PowerShell to make working with command lines more efficient.
• • Active Directory domain functionality.
• • Hyper-V virtualization.

Server Core

You have the ability to install Windows Server 2008 on a much smaller scale through Server Core. When selected, you get no Windows Explorer shell, meaning that all maintenance and configuration is done via a command-line interface. It's also possible to control a Server Core installed machine remotely by using the Microsoft Management Console.

If you're not a fan of large operating systems, or simply want to use minimal resources for your Windows server, the Server Core installation is perfect for you. The fewer applications and services running on your server, the better its performance will become. This also leads to less space, as a server installed with Server Core could potentially take up only 3GB of disk space according to Microsoft.

Role-Based Installation

Role-based installation is the more laid-back alternative to Server Core. Brought forward from the 2003 release, it received many updates to become more comprehensive and useful. It allows you to save time by specifying what role your server will play, and let Windows install what's necessary to fulfill that role. This automates the process of configuring a full server install manually, such as uninstalling unnecessary components or spending large amounts of time finding and installing needed extras.

IP Address Management

The new IP address manager (also known as the Windows IP Address Management Center) allows you to track and store IP address allocations much easier. It combines network discovery, static and dynamic address allocation, as well as DNS/DHCP monitoring. Go beyond record keeping and take advantage of the extensive capabilities to identify IP conflicts, log address usage, cross-reference with a hardware inventory, and audit changes directly from one place.

Virtualization

A huge chunk of businesses started using virtualization technology by the release of Windows Server 2008, however, less than 15% of those servers ran actual virtual machines at the time. If you're looking to test the waters with virtualization in a relatively risk-free and low-cost way, take advantage of the Hyper-V technology supported by Windows Server 2008.

Hyper-V virtualizes servers on the operating system's kernel layer. It has the ability to act as a Xen virtualization hypervisor host, making it possible for Xen-enabled guest operating systems to run virtualized.

Live Storage Migration

With live storage migration, you can migrate virtual hard disks or configuration files without interruption. By removing the requirement of shared storage for migrations, you can migrate without having to worry about causing any disturbances. Additionally, you can migrate virtual machines by using only an Ethernet cable with the only requirement being a host on the same domain.

The cap on the number of simultaneous migrations was removed as well - the only limitation that remains is of your hardware itself. Queue migrations, specify priorities and maximize the efficiency of your migrations with the new improvements.

System Requirements