In IT Blogwatch , bloggers wonder if that's simply hyperbole, or if there's a grain of truth behind the marketing message. Joab ...
Joab Jackson reports:
The first major upgrade since 2009 features a bevy of new features...for large-scale data-center deployments.
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Microsoft's Hyper-V virtualization can now support up to 64 virtual processors and 1TB of memory [up] from the old limit of four virtual processors and 64GB. ... The Server Message Block (SMB)...protocol has been updated to handle faster data transfers and the OS's Server Manager [now handles] multiple servers at once.
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But perhaps the most significant enhancement is...this will be the first version of Windows Server that can be completely controlled through the command line. ... PowerShell provides the Windows similar capabilities that chief competitor Unix has long offered. ... Of course, the GUI is still available. MORE
Iain Thomson adds:
Microsoft said Server 2012 will support 320 logical processors and 4TB of physical memory per server. ... Virtual disks can scale up to 64TB apiece, 32 times [of] the competition...and virtualize 99 per cent of all SQL databases.
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Microsoft has been stressing...that Server 2012 has had huge chunks of code replaced to address the data center buyers and [it can span] their internal servers and integrating with its Azure platform cloud. ... Redmond said big advances had been made in automating management systems and making sure [they're] "always on." MORE
Paul Thurrott looks at it another way:
[It's] arguably the first version of Microsoft’s flagship Server OS that was informed and influenced by...Azure, Microsoft’s distributed public cloud computing platform. [Now] customers can create their own private clouds, or access partners’ hosted clouds.
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Windows Server 2012 Standard, Datacenter, and Foundation are available with new server[s, or] you can purchase [the first two]. ... TechNet and MSDN subscribers now have access to the bits. ... Windows Server 2012 Essentials, is currently available in Release Candidate form. ... And there’s a...free Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2012, as well as an evaluation version of Windows Server 2012 [on] TechNet. MORE
Sean Gallagher takes a peek and pokes at it: [You're showing your age -Ed.]
It shares a few things with the upcoming Windows 8...including the same Windows NT 6.2 kernel, and the same Metro and Desktop split-personality. ... [But] Server 2012’s biggest changes are in substance rather than style.
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The two editions of Server 2012 being released today—Standard and Datacenter—replace six of the editions of Server 2008. ... The split is fairly simple. If you're running a major application on a dedicated machine...you’ll be using the Standard edition. ... If you're running a stack of VMs, you'll go for the Datacenter edition. ... Windows Server 2012 is generally easier to administer and deploy out of the box than previous versions.
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There are a number of features in Server 2012 that can significantly improve the resilience of an organization’s applications. ... The improvements to Hyper-V over the last version of the hypervisor are legion. ... Resilient File System (ReFS) [is] designed to minimize the potential for disk corruption...by using the same “copy on write” approach used by the ZFS file system. ... Storage Spaces...turns collections of inexpensive SATA and Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) hard drives into a kinder, gentler...software-driven RAID.
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Server 2012 performed up to expectations in our initial testing. ... Even when the system failed, it did so in a way that wasn't traumatic. MORE
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