What’s new in Windows Server 2008 R2 RTM

As you all know Microsoft released Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. These new operating systems have provided lot of improvements over Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. Where we often talk about only Windows 7 when it  comes to public awareness. There is lot more to know about Windows Server 2008 R2. Generally end users prefer Windows Client and that is the only reason you will lot many activities related to Windows 7. So, what’s with Windows Server 2008 R2, well Windows Server 2008 R2 delivered new performance and management improvements to the core Windows Server over Windows Server 2008. The ability to manage the resources with increase control and high availability enhancements keeps Windows Server 2008 R2 helps administrators do much much more with less.

We will talk about the new Virtualization enhancements, Improved Web Tools, Scalability additions and management utilities will help saving time and reduce cost delivering solid foundation to your IT Infrastructure. Windows Server 2008 R2 has the five key pillars based upon which we have built Windows Server 2008 R2 over existing Windows Server 2008 environment.

Fig. Foundational Architecture that talks about Technology Investment Areas in Windows Server 2008 R2.

Virtualization

Virtualization plays major role in every IT organization. Today’s datacenters are running virtualized servers by consolidating multiple servers. With the Virtualization we are seeing the next generation dynamic data centers, which will operate efficiently by saving cost reducing power consumption. Windows Server 2008 R2 features new virtualization features including Native VHD Support, Hyper-V 2.0 with Live Migration. Also, introduced Virtual Desktop Infrastructure with RDP Protocol 7.0 that enhances the overall remote desktop experience.

Management

The new management features for Server R2 saves lot of time for IT Professionals with the easier tools available. You can manage your Physical and Virtual Infrastructure efficiently with the improved Server Manager and PowerShell 2.0 with PowerShell ISE (Integrated Scripting Environment). These new features reduces the overall administrative efforts by efficiently handling day-to-day operational tasks. Along with these new features we have introduced Active Directory Administrative Center for managing the Active Directory infrastructure. The built-in Power Management features help deploy your Power Management strategy with Group Policy. With the introduction of Best Practices Analyzer you can cross check the server roles for optical configuration for your IT Environment.

Web Application Platform

Windows Server 2008 R2 now features IIS 7.5 with additional management tools and features making it the best Windows Server Web Application Platform. The new Web Server roles on Server Core also features support for ASP.NET so that Web Admins can deploy APS.NET based websites on the Server Core based server. The management becomes very easy on Server Core with the help of PowerShell based scripting.

Scalability & 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. Server Core is one of the examples of componentization.

Better Together with Windows 7

Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 are based upon same platform so there are many features designed specifically keeping Windows 7 in mind. Some of these features included DirectAccess and BranchCache. DirectAccess is designed to replace the VPN by providing the next generation Corp connectivity. BranchCache features the new way of managing WAN utilization by using Caching mechanism.

Apart from these key features there are lot more features available in Windows Server 2008 R2. Over the time we will try to cover more and more features. This is going to be one of the best Server Platform with lot of improvements over the existing award winning Windows Server platform. Expect more in the coming time.

With this I have finished 100th Blog Post. Thank you all for constantly following my blog and making me write such interesting articles. :)