Windows Server 2008 R2

Windows Server 2008 Product Overview

Windows Server 2008

Windows Server 2008 is the most advanced Windows Server operating system yet, designed to power the next-generation of networks, applications, and Web services. With Windows Server 2008 you can develop, deliver, and manage rich user experiences and applications, provide a highly secure network infrastructure, and increase technological efficiency and value within your organization.

Windows Server 2008 builds on the success and strengths of its Windows Server predecessors while delivering valuable new functionality and powerful improvements to the base operating system. New Web tools, virtualization technologies, security enhancements, and management utilities help save time, reduce costs, and provide a solid foundation for your information technology (IT) infrastructure.

A Solid Foundation for Your Business

Windows Server 2008 provides a solid foundation for all of your server workload and application requirements while also being easy to deploy and manage. The all new Server Manager provides a unified management console that simplifies and streamlines server setup, configuration, and ongoing management. Windows PowerShell, a new command-line shell, helps enable administrators to automate routine system administration tasks across multiple servers. Windows Deployment Services provides a simplified, highly secure means of rapidly deploying the operating system via network-based installations. And Windows Server 2008 Failover Clustering wizards, and full Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) support plus consolidated management of Network Load Balancing, make high availability easy to implement even by IT generalists.

The new Server Core installation option of Windows Server 2008 allows for installation of server roles with only the necessary components and subsystems without a graphical user interface. Fewer roles and features means minimizing disk and service footprints while reducing attack surfaces. It also enables your IT staff to specialize according to the server roles they need to support.

Virtualization Built-in

Windows Server Hyper-V, the next-generation hypervisor-based server virtualization technology, allows you to make the best use of your server hardware investments by consolidating multiple server roles as separate virtual machines running on a single physical machine. You can also efficiently run multiple operating systems - Windows, Linux, and others – in parallel on a single server. With Hyper-V and simple licensing policies, it's now easier than ever to take advantage of the cost savings of virtualization.

Applications can also be efficiently virtualized using Windows Server 2008 centralized application access technologies. Terminal Services Gateway and Terminal Services RemoteApp allow easy remote access to standard Windows-based programs from anywhere by running them on a terminal server instead of directly on a client computer - without the need for a complicated virtual private network (VPN).

Built for the Web

Windows Server 2008 comes with Internet Information Services 7.0 (IIS 7.0), a Web server and security-enhanced, easy-to-manage platform for developing and reliably hosting Web applications and services. A major enhancement to the Windows Web platform, IIS 7.0 includes a componentized architecture for greater flexibility and control. IIS 7.0 also provides simplified management, powerful diagnostic and troubleshooting capabilities that save time, and comprehensive extensibility.

Internet Information Server IIS 7.0 together with the .NET Framework 3.0 provides a comprehensive platform for building applications that connect users and data, enabling them to visualize, share, and act on information. Additionally, IIS 7.0 plays a central role in unifying Microsoft's Web platform technologies—ASP.NET, Windows Communication Foundation Web services, and Windows SharePoint Services.

High Security

Windows Server 2008 is the most secure Windows Server yet. The operating system has been hardened to help protect against failure and several new technologies help prevent unauthorized connections to your networks, servers, data, and user accounts. Network Access Protection (NAP) helps ensure that computers that try to connect to your network comply with your organization's security policy. Technology integration and several enhancements make Active Directory services a potent unified and integrated Identity and Access (IDA) solution. And Read-Only Domain Controller (RODC) and BitLocker Drive Encryption allow you to more securely deploy your AD database at branch office locations.

High Performance Computing

The benefits and cost savings of Windows Server 2008 extend to Windows HPC Server 2008 for your high performance computing (HPC) environment. Windows HPC Server 2008 is built on Windows Server 2008, x64-bit technology and can efficiently scale to thousands of processing cores with out-of-the-box functionality to improve the productivity, and reduce the complexity of your HPC environment. Windows HPC Server 2008 enables broader adoption by providing a rich and integrated end-user experience that scales from the desktop application to the clusters, and includes a comprehensive set of deployment, administration, and monitoring tools that are easy to deploy, manage, and integrate with your existing infrastructure.

What’s new in R2?

Windows Server 2008 R2 builds on the award-winning foundation of Windows Server 2008, expanding existing technology and adding new features to enable IT professionals to increase the reliability and flexibility of their server infrastructures. New virtualization tools, Web resources, management enhancements, and exciting Windows 7 integration help save time, reduce costs, and provide a platform for a dynamic and efficiently managed data center. Powerful tools such as Internet Information Services (IIS) version 7.5, updated Server Manager and Hyper-V platforms and Windows PowerShell version 2.0 combine to give customers greater control, increased efficiency and the ability to react to front-line business needs faster than ever before.

Improving the 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. Design goals for IIS 7.5 concentrated on improvements that enable Web administrators to more easily deploy and manage Web applications, that increase both reliability and scalability. Additionally, IIS 7.5 has streamlined management capabilities and provides more ways to customize your Web serving environment.

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 and Presentation virtualization with Remote Desktop Services. Hyper-V virtualizes the system resources of a physical computer allowing you to provide a virtualized environment for operating systems and applications. Remote Desktop Services (formally known as Terminal Services) virtualizes a processing environment and isolates the processing from the graphics and I/O, making it possible to run an application in one location but have it be controlled in another. Presentation virtualization allows users to run a single application, or a complete desktop offering multiple applications.

Improving Power Management and Streamlining Management
The ongoing management of servers in the data center is one of the most time-consuming tasks facing IT professionals today. Any management strategy you deploy must support the management of both your physical and virtual environments. To help with this problem, Windows Server 2008 R2 has new features to reduce the ongoing management of Windows Server 2008 R2 and to reduce the administrative effort for common day-to-day operational tasks. And these administrative tasks can be performed on the server or remotely.

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 will be available, including leveraging sophisticated CPU architectures, increased operating system componentization, and improved performance and scalability for applications and services.

Making the Experience Better Together with Windows 7
Windows Server 2008 R2 has many features that are designed to specifically work with client computers running Windows 7, including simplifying remote connectivity for corporate computers by using the DirectAccess feature, Secured remote connectivity for private and public computers by using a combination of the Remote Workspace, Presentation Virtualization, and Remote Desktop Services Gateway features, and Improved performance for branch offices by using the BranchCache feature.

Product Information

Microsoft Windows Server 2008 is the most advanced Windows Server operating system yet, designed to power the next generation of networks, applications, and Web services. With Windows Server 2008 you can develop, deliver, and manage rich user experiences and applications, provide a highly secure network infrastructure, and increase technological efficiency and value within your organization.

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Welcome! Windows Server 2008 builds on the successes and strengths of its Windows Server predecessors while delivering valuable new functionality and powerful improvements to the base operating system. New Web tools, virtualization technologies, security enhancements, and management utilities help save time, reduce costs, and provide a solid foundation for your information technology (IT) infrastructure. Here is a suggested learning path for you to quickly get up to speed.

Windows Server 2008 R2 builds on the award-winning foundation of Windows Server 2008, expanding existing technology and adding new features to enable IT professionals to increase the reliability and flexibility of their server infrastructures. New virtualization tools, Web resources, management enhancements, and exciting Windows 7 integration help save time, reduce costs, and provide a platform for a dynamic and efficiently managed data center. Powerful tools such as Internet Information Services (IIS) version 7.5, updated Server Manager and Hyper-V platforms and Windows PowerShell version 2.0 combine to give customers greater control, increased efficiency and the ability to react to front-line business needs faster than ever before.

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