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Windows Server 2012

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Windows Server 2012
File:Windows 8 server start screen.png
Windows Server 2012 Start screen
DeveloperMicrosoft
OS familyMicrosoft Windows
Source modelClosed source / Shared source
Released to
manufacturing		RTM: August 1, 2012
Retail: September 4, 2012
Latest release6.2 (Build 9200) / September 4, 2012; 12 years ago (2012-09-04)[1]
LicenseMicrosoft EULA
Preceded byWindows Server 2008 R2
Official websitehttp://www.microsoft.com/en-us/server-cloud/windows-server/default.aspx
Support status
Current, was released on September 4, 2012.

Windows Server 2012,[2] formerly codenamed Windows Server 8, is the current release of Windows Server. It is the server version of Windows 8 and the successor to Windows Server 2008 R2. Windows Server 2012 is the first version of Windows Server to have no support for Itanium-based computers since Windows NT 4.0.[3] A developer preview (an alpha release) was released on 9 September 2011 to MSDN subscribers.[4] On March 1, 2012, Microsoft issued a public beta (build 8250).[5] On April 17, 2012, Microsoft announced the product name would be Windows Server 2012.[6] On May 31, 2012, Microsoft announced the release candidate (RC) for Windows Server 2012.[2]. Windows Server 2012 was released to manufacturing on August 1, 2012. The software was generally available to customers starting on September 4, 2012 [7] and worldwide through multiple channels in September 2012.[8]

Builds

A Milestone 3 build (6.2.7959.0) was reportedly leaked to file-sharing sites.[9] A new window style, but little else, was present. Windows Server 2012's developer preview was released on 9 September 2011 along with that of Windows 8, but unlike Windows 8's developer preview, it was only made available to MSDN subscribers. It was branded as the Windows Server "8" Developer Preview"[4] The Modern UI (formerly Metro) user interface is present, as well as the new Server Manager, along with the other new features. On 16 February 2012, Microsoft announced that the developer preview build, after installing a particular update, will be set to expire on 15 January 2013, instead of the original 8 April 2012.[10]

Screenshots of a build suspected to be the beta of Windows Server 2012, then referred to as Windows Server "8", were reportedly leaked on 3 January 2012 (this build was not the actual beta). A new dashboard UI is present.[11] Build 8180 was leaked on 13 January 2012, and contains some revisions to the Server Manager interface and Storage Spaces.[12]

The beta was released along with the Windows 8 Consumer Preview on 29 February 2012.[13] Unlike the developer preview, it was released to the general public.

The Release Candidate of Windows Server 2012 was released on 31 May 2012, along with the Windows 8 Release Preview.[14]

The final RTM build was released to manufacturing on 1 August 2012 and became generally available on 4 September 2012.[7] Qualifying students have also been able to download Windows Server 2012 via DreamSpark.

Features

See also: Features new to Windows 8

Windows Server 2012 includes a number of new features or feature changes.

User interface

Server Manager has been redesigned with an emphasis on easing management of multiple servers.[15] The operating system, like Windows 8, uses the Metro UI unless installed in Server Core mode.[16] Windows PowerShell in this version has over 2300 commandlets, compared with around 200 in Windows Server 2008 R2.[17] There is also command auto-completion.[17]

Task Manager

Main article: Windows Task Manager in Windows 8

Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 include a new version of Windows Task Manager together with the old version. In the new version the tabs are hidden by default showing applications only. In the new Processes tab, the processes are displayed in varying shades of yellow, with darker shades representing heavier resource use. It lists application names, application status, and overall utilization data for CPU, memory, hard disk, and network resources, moving the process information found in the older version to the new Details tab. The Performance tab is split into CPU, memory (RAM), disk, ethernet, and, if applicable, wireless network sections with graphs for each. The CPU tab no longer displays individual graphs for every logical processor on the system by default; instead, it can display data for each NUMA node. When displaying data for each logical processor for machines with more than 64 logical processors, the CPU tab now displays simple utilization percentages on heat-mapping tiles.[18] The color used for these heat maps is blue, with darker shades again indicating heavier utilization. Hovering the cursor over any logical processor's data now shows the NUMA node of that processor and its ID, if applicable. Additionally, a new Startup tab has been added that lists startup applications.[19] The new task manager recognizes when a WinRT application has the "Suspended" status.

Installation options

Unlike its predecessor, Windows Server 2012 can switch between "Server Core" and the "Server with a GUI" installation options without a full reinstallation. Server Core is now the recommended configuration. There is also a new third installation option that allows some GUI programs such as MMC and Server Manager to run, but without Internet Explorer, Windows Explorer or the new desktop and shell.[20]

IP address management (IPAM)

Windows Server 2012 has an IP address management role for discovering, monitoring, auditing, and managing the IP address space used on a corporate network. IPAM provides for administration and monitoring of servers running Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) and Domain Name System (DNS). IPAM includes components for:

  • Custom IP address space display, reporting, and management: The display of IP addresses is highly customizable and detailed tracking and utilization data is available. IPv4 and IPv6 address space is organized into IP address blocks, IP address ranges, and individual IP addresses. IP addresses are assigned built-in or user-defined fields that can be used to further organize IP address space into hierarchical, logical groups.
  • Audit of server configuration changes and tracking of IP address usage: Operational events are displayed for the IPAM server and managed DHCP servers. IPAM also enables IP address tracking using DHCP lease events and user logon events collected from Network Policy Server (NPS), domain controllers, and DHCP servers. Tracking is available by IP address, client ID, host name, or user name.
  • Monitoring and management of DHCP and DNS services: IPAM enables automated service availability monitoring for Microsoft DHCP and DNS servers across the forest. DNS zone health is displayed, and detailed DHCP server and scope management is available using the IPAM console.

Both IPv4 and IPv6 are fully supported.[21][22]

Active Directory

Windows Server 2012 has a number of changes to Active Directory from the version shipped with Windows Server 2008 R2. The Active Directory Domain Services installation wizard has been replaced by a new section in Server Manager, and the Active Directory Administrative Center has been enhanced. A GUI has been added to the Active Directory Recycle Bin. Password policies can differ more easily within the same domain. Active Directory in Windows Server 2012 is now aware of any changes resulting from virtualization, and virtualized domain controllers can be safely cloned. Upgrades of the domain functional level to Windows Server 2012 are simplified; it can be performed entirely in Server Manager. Active Directory Federation Services is no longer required to be downloaded when installed as a role, and claims which can be used by the Active Directory Federation Services have been introduced into the Kerberos token. Windows Powershell commands used by Active Directory Administrative Center can be viewed in a "Powershell History Viewer".[23][24]

Hyper-V

Main article: Hyper-V § Windows Server 2012

Windows Server 2012, along with Windows 8, includes a new version of Hyper-V,[25] as presented at the Microsoft Build Event.[26] Many new features have been added to Hyper-V, including network virtualization, multi-tenancy, storage resource pools, cross-premise connectivity, and cloud backup. Additionally, many of the former restrictions on resource consumption have been greatly lifted. Each virtual machine in this version of Hyper-V can access up to 64 virtual processors, up to 1 terabyte of random-access memory, and up to 64 terabytes of virtual disk space per virtual hard disk (using a new .vhdx format).[27] Up to 1024 virtual machines can be active per host, and up to 4000 can be active per failover cluster.[28][29] The version of Hyper-V shipped with the client version of Windows 8 requires a processor that supports SLAT and for SLAT to be turned on, while the version in Windows Server 2012 only requires it if the RemoteFX role is installed.[30]

ReFS

ReFS (Resilient File System, originally codenamed "Protogon") is a new file system in Windows Server 2012 initially intended for file servers that improves on NTFS. Major new features of ReFS include:[31]

Improved reliability for on-disk structures
ReFS uses B+ trees for all on-disk structures including metadata and file data. The file size, total volume size, number of files in a directory and number of directories in a volume are limited by 64-bit numbers, which translates to maximum file size of 16 Exabytes, maximum volume size of 1 Yottabyte (with 64 KB clusters), which allows large scalability with no practical limits on file and directory size (hardware restrictions still apply). Metadata and file data are organized into tables similar to relational database. Free space is counted by a hierarchal allocator which includes three separate tables for large, medium, and small chunks. File names and file paths are each limited to a 32 KB Unicode text string.
Built-in resilience
ReFS employs an allocation-on-write update strategy for metadata, which allocates new chunks for every update transaction and uses large IO batches. All ReFS metadata has built-in 64-bit checksums which are stored independently. The file data can have an optional checksum in a separate "integrity stream", in which case the file update strategy also implements allocation-on-write; this is controlled by a new "integrity" attribute applicable to both files and directories. If nevertheless file data or metadata becomes corrupt, the file can be deleted without taking down the whole volume offline for maintenance, then restored from the backup. As a result of built-in resiliency, administrators do not need to periodically run error-checking tools such as CHKDSK when using ReFS.
Compatibility with existing APIs and technologies
ReFS does not require new system APIs and most file system filters continue to work with ReFS volumes. ReFS supports many existing Windows and NTFS features such as BitLocker encryption, Access Control Lists, USN Journal, change notifications,[32] symbolic links, junction points, mount points, reparse points, volume snapshots, file IDs, and oplock. ReFS seamlessly[33] integrates with Storage Spaces, a storage virtualization layer that allows data mirroring and striping, as well as sharing storage pools between machines.[34] ReFS resiliency features enhance the mirroring feature provided by Storage Spaces and can detect whether any mirrored copies of files become corrupt using background data scrubbing process, which periodically reads all mirror copies and verifies their checksums then replaces bad copies with good ones.

Some NTFS features are not supported in ReFS, including named streams, object IDs, short names, file compression, file level encryption (EFS), user data transactions, sparse files, hard links, extended attributes, and disk quotas.[31][35] ReFS does not itself offer data deduplication.[36] Dynamic disks with mirrored or striped volumes are replaced with mirrored or striped storage pools provided by Storage Spaces. However, in Windows Server 2012, automated error-correction is only supported on mirrored spaces, and booting from ReFS is not supported either.

ReFS was first shown in screenshots from leaked build 6.2.7955, where it went by code name "Protogon".[37][38][39][40] Support for ReFS is absent in the developer preview (build 8102). ReFS is not readable by Windows 7 or earlier.[37]

IIS 8.0

Windows Server 2012 includes version 8.0 of Internet Information Services (IIS). The new version contains new features such as CPU usage caps for particular websites.[41]

Hardware

Microsoft has revealed the following maximum supported hardware specifications for Windows Server 2012 at the BUILD conference.[29]

Logical processors 640 (was 256 in Windows Server 2008 R2)
Random-access memory 4 TB (was 2 TB in Windows Server 2008 R2)
Failover cluster nodes 64 (was 16 in Windows Server 2008 R2)

System requirements

Microsoft has indicated that Windows Server 2012 does not support 32-bit (IA-32) or Itanium (IA-64) processors.[42]

Minimum system requirements for Windows Server 2012 [43]
Architecture x64 (64-bit)
Processor 1.4 GHz
Memory (RAM) 512 MB
HDD free space 32 GB (more if there is 16 GB of RAM or more)

Upgrades from Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2 are supported, though upgrades from prior releases are not supported.[43]

Editions

Windows Server 2012, unlike Windows Server 2008 R2, has only four editions - the Enterprise, Small Business Server, Web, and HPC editions do not exist.[44][45][46][47]

Feature Foundation Essentials Standard Datacenter
Distribution OEM only Retail, Volume Licensing, OEM Volume Licensing and OEM
Licensing model Per server Per every pair of processor chips (although minimum on each server is 1 chip)[note 1] Per every pair of processor chips (minimum chip count on each server is 2)[note 1]
User limit 15 25 Unlimited, 1 CAL per user
Virtualization rights N/A Either in 1 VM or 1 physical server, but not both at once (per license) 2 VMs per license[note 1] Unlimited (on each licensed physical server)
Processor chip limit 1 2 unknown
DHCP role Yes
DNS server role Yes Yes (Automatically Installed/Configured) Yes
Fax server role Yes
File Services Limited to 1 standalone DFS root Limited to 1 standalone DFS root, automatically installed Yes
Hyper-V No Yes
Network Policy and Access Services Limited to 50 RRAS connections and 10 IAS connections Limited to 250 RRAS connections, 50 IAS connections, and 2 IAS Server Groups Yes (no limits)
Print and Document Services Yes
Remote Desktop Services Limited to 20 Remote Desktop Services connections Limited to 250 Remote Desktop Services connections Unlimited, but Client Access Licenses required
UDDI Services Yes
Web Services (Internet Information Services) Yes Yes (automatically installed) Yes
Windows Deployment Services Yes
Windows Server Update Services Yes
Active Directory Certificate Services Certificate Authorities only Certificate Authorities only (automatically installed) Yes
Active Directory Domain Services Must be root of forest and domain Yes
Active Directory Federation Services No Yes
Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services Yes
Active Directory Rights Management Services Yes
Application server role Yes Yes (installed automatically) Yes
Server Core mode No Yes
Server Manager Yes
Windows Powershell Yes
  1. ^ a b c Each license of Windows Server 2012 Standard or Datacenter allows up to two processor chips. Each license of Windows Server 2012 Standard allows up to two virtual instances of Windows Server 2012 Standard on that physical server. If more virtual instances of Windows Server 2012 Standard are needed, each additional license of Windows Server 2012 allows up to two more virtual instances of Windows Server 2012 Standard, even though the physical server itself may have sufficient licenses for its processor chip count. Because Windows Server 2012 Datacenter has no limit on the number of virtual instances per licensed server, only enough licenses for the physical server are needed for any number of virtual instances of Windows Server 2012 Datacenter. If the number of processor chips or virtual instances is an odd number, the number of licenses required is the same as the next even number. For example, a single-processor-chip server would still require 1 license, the same as if the server were two-processor-chip and a five-processor-chip server would require 3 licenses, the same as if the server were six-processor-chip, and if 15 virtual instances of Windows Server 2012 Standard are needed on one server, 8 licenses of Windows Server 2012, which can cover up to 16 virtual instances, are needed (assuming, in this example, that the processor chip count does not exceed 16).

See also

References

  1. ^ http://blogs.technet.com/b/windowsserver/archive/2012/08/01/windows-server-2012-released-to-manufacturing.aspx
  2. ^ a b "Windows Server "8" officially dubbed Windows Server 2012". ZDNet. Retrieved 17 April 2012. Cite error: The named reference "ZDNet" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  3. ^ Foley, Mary Jo. "Microsoft pulls the plug on future Itanium support". ZDNet. p. 2. Retrieved January 1, 2012.
  4. ^ a b "Windows Server 8: An Introduction". Microsoft. September 9, 2011. p. 1. Retrieved January 1, 2012.
  5. ^ Laing, Bill (March 1, 2012). "Windows Server "8" beta available now!". Windows Server Blog. TechNet. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
  6. ^ "Windows Server 8 officially dubbed Windows Server 2012". ZDNet. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  7. ^ a b Microsoft Corp. (8 August 2012). "Windows Server 2012 "Save the Date" Announcement".
  8. ^ Snover, Jeffrey (9 July 2012). "Windows Server 2012 final release timing".
  9. ^ Warren, Tom (1 May 2011). "Windows Server 8 Milestone 3 build 7959 leaked". WinRumors. Retrieved January 1, 2012.
  10. ^ "An update that postpones the expiration date of Windows 8 Developer Preview and Windows 8 Server Developer Preview is available". Microsoft. February 16, 2012. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
  11. ^ Canouna (January 4, 2012). "WinUnleaked.tk>>Happy New Year 2012". WinUnleaked. p. 1. Retrieved January 4, 2012.
  12. ^ Schiesser, Tim (January 13, 2012). "Windows Server 8 hits build 8180, new screenshots emerge". Neowin. Retrieved January 13, 2012.
  13. ^ Thurott, Paul (February 29, 2012). "Q: Where can I download and get more information on Windows Server "8" Beta and Windows 8 Consumer Preview?". Penton. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
  14. ^ Windows Server 2012 Release Candidate Timing - Windows Server Blog - Site Home - TechNet Blogs
  15. ^ WIndows Server 8 Screenshot Leak Shows New UI
  16. ^ Wilhelm, Alex (September 9, 2011). "Windows Server 8 Screenshot leaks". Leaked Windows Server 8 screenshot shows off Metro-infused UI. The Next Web. p. 1. Retrieved January 1, 2012.
  17. ^ a b Thurott, Paul (November 2, 2011). "Windows Server "8" Preview (Unedited, Complete Version)". Paul Thurott's Supersite for Windows. p. 1. Retrieved January 1, 2012.
  18. ^ "Using Task Manager with 64+ logical processors". Retrieved October 29, 2011.
  19. ^ "How to Get the Most out of New Windows 8 Task Manager?". Retrieved October 29, 2011.
  20. ^ Bisson, Simon (September 14, 2011). "Windows 8 Server Developer Preview". ZDNet. p. 2. Retrieved January 1, 2012.
  21. ^ IP Address Management (IPAM) Overview
  22. ^ IP Address Management Technical Preview
  23. ^ Bruzzese, J. Peter (October 26, 2011). "Windows Server 8: The 4 best new Active Directory features". Infoworld. p. 2. Retrieved January 1, 2012.
  24. ^ Deuby, Sean (September 14, 2011). "What's New in Windows Server 8 Active Directory". Windows IT Pro. p. 2. Retrieved January 1, 2012.
  25. ^ "Windows Server 8 (Video and Slides)".
  26. ^ "Microsoft Build Windows Server 8 and Hyper-V 3.0 sessions (Video and Slides)".
  27. ^ "Server Virtualization Features". Microsoft. Retrieved October 05, 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  28. ^ "A deep dive into Hyper-V Networking (Video and Slides)".
  29. ^ a b "Q: What are Windows Server 8's Scalability Numbers?". Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  30. ^ Thurott, Paul. "Q: Will Windows Server 8 require the processor to support SLAT?". Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  31. ^ a b Verma, Surendra (January 16, 2012). "Building the next generation file system for Windows: ReFS". Building Windows 8 Blog.
  32. ^ ReadDirectoryChangesW function
  33. ^ "Building the next generation file system for Windows: ReFS".
  34. ^ "Virtualizing storage for scale, resiliency, and efficiency". Building Windows 8 blog. 2012-01-05.
  35. ^ Microsoft goes public with plans for its new Windows 8 file system | ZDNet
  36. ^ Sinofsky, Steven (January 16, 2012). "Building the next generation file system for Windows: ReFS". Microsoft. Retrieved October 03, 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  37. ^ a b admin (June 1, 2011). "Protogon: New Windows Filesystem?". OverhackIT.com. OverhackIT. Retrieved October 2, 2011.[dead link‍]
  38. ^ "Windows 8: New "Protogon" filesystem could be the next big thing". Neowin.net. Retrieved 2011-09-16.
  39. ^ Warren, Tom (December 1, 2011). "New Protogon file system in Windows 8 renamed to ReFS". WinRumors. Retrieved January 1, 2012.
  40. ^ "Microsoft's new Windows 8 Resilient File System (ReFS) will be server only".
  41. ^ Mackie, Kurt. "Microsoft Touts IIS 8 Improvements". RedmondMag. p. 2. Retrieved August 17, 2012.
  42. ^ Foley, Mary Jo (April 5, 2010). "Microsoft pulls the plug on future Itanium support". ZDNet. p. 1. Retrieved January 1, 2012.
  43. ^ a b "Installing Windows Server 2012". Microsoft. Retrieved 10 June2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  44. ^ Jo Foley, Mary (July 05, 2012). "Microsoft goes public with Windows Server 2012 versions, licensing". ZDNet. Retrieved July 05, 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  45. ^ "Windows Server 2012 Editions". Microsoft. Retrieved July 08, 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  46. ^ "Windows Server 2012 Licensing and Pricing FAQ" (PDF). Microsoft. p. 14. Retrieved July 05, 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  47. ^ "Windows Server 2012 Licensing Data Sheet" (PDF). Microsoft. p. 5. Retrieved July 05, 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)

Further reading

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