Version of the Windows NT operating system | |
Screenshot of Windows Server 2008 showing the Server Manager application which is automatically opened when an administrator logs on. |
|
Developer | Microsoft |
---|---|
OS family | Windows Server |
Source model |
|
Released to manufacturing |
February 4, 2008; 15 years ago[1] |
General availability |
February 27, 2008; 15 years ago[1] |
Latest release | Service Pack 2 with March 19, 2019 or later update rollup (6.0.6003)[2] / March 19, 2019; 4 years ago |
Marketing target | Business |
Update method | Windows Update, Windows Server Update Services, SCCM |
Platforms | IA-32, x86-64, Itanium |
Kernel type | Hybrid (Windows NT kernel) |
Default user interface |
Windows shell (Graphical) |
License | Proprietary commercial software |
Preceded by | Windows Server 2003 (2003) |
Succeeded by | Windows Server 2008 R2 (2009) |
Official website | Windows Server 2008 |
Support status | |
Mainstream support ended on January 13, 2015[3] Extended support ended on January 14, 2020[3] Windows Server 2008 is eligible for the paid (Azure) ESU (Extended Security Updates) program.[4] This program allowed volume license customers to purchase, in yearly installments, security updates for the operating system until January 10, 2023,[3] only for Standard, Enterprise and Datacenter volume licensed editions. The updates are included with a Microsoft Azure purchase and Azure customers receive ESU updates until January 9, 2024.[5][4][6] Installing Service Pack 2 was required for users to receive updates and support after July 12, 2011[3] |
Windows Server 2008, codenamed «Longhorn Server», is the fourth release of the Windows Server operating system produced by Microsoft as part of the Windows NT family of the operating systems. It was released to manufacturing on February 4, 2008, and generally to retail on February 27, 2008. Derived from Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 is the successor of Windows Server 2003 and the predecessor to Windows Server 2008 R2.
Windows Server 2008 removed support for processors without ACPI. It is the first version of Windows Server that includes Hyper-V and is also the final version of Windows Server that supports IA-32-based processors (also known as 32-bit processors). Its successor, Windows Server 2008 R2, requires a 64-bit processor in any supported architecture (x86-64 for x86 and Itanium).
As of July 2019, 60% of Windows servers were running Windows Server 2008.[7]
History[edit]
Microsoft had released Windows Vista to mixed reception, and their last Windows Server release was based on Windows XP. The operating system’s working title was Windows Server Codename «Longhorn», but was later changed to Windows Server 2008 when Microsoft chairman Bill Gates announced it during his keynote address at WinHEC on May 16, 2007.[8]
Beta 1 was released on July 27, 2005; Beta 2 was announced and released on May 23, 2006, at WinHEC 2006 and Beta 3 was released publicly on April 25, 2007.[9] Release Candidate 0 was released to the general public on September 24, 2007[10] and Release Candidate 1 was released to the general public on December 5, 2007. Windows Server 2008 was released to manufacturing on February 4, 2008, and officially launched on the 27th of that month.[11]
Features[edit]
Windows Server 2008 is built from the same codebase as Windows Vista and thus it shares much of the same architecture and functionality. Since the codebase is common, Windows Server 2008 inherits most of the technical, security, management and administrative features new to Windows Vista such as the rewritten networking stack (native IPv6, native wireless, speed and security improvements); improved image-based installation, deployment and recovery; improved diagnostics, monitoring, event logging and reporting tools; new security features such as BitLocker and address space layout randomization (ASLR); the improved Windows Firewall with secure default configuration; .NET Framework 3.0 technologies, specifically Windows Communication Foundation, Microsoft Message Queuing and Windows Workflow Foundation; and the core kernel, memory and file system improvements. Processors and memory devices are modeled as Plug and Play devices to allow hot-plugging of these devices. This allows the system resources to be partitioned dynamically using dynamic hardware partitioning — each partition has its own memory, processor and I/O host bridge devices independent of other partitions.[12]
Server Core[edit]
Windows Server 2008 includes a variation of installation called Server Core. Server Core is a significantly scaled-back installation where no Windows Explorer shell is installed. It also lacks Internet Explorer, and many other non-essential features. All configuration and maintenance is done entirely through command-line interface windows, or by connecting to the machine remotely using Microsoft Management Console (MMC). Notepad and some Control Panel applets, such as Regional Settings, are available.
A Server Core installation can be configured for several basic roles, including the domain controller (Active Directory Domain Services), Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (formerly known as Active Directory Application Mode[13]), DNS Server, DHCP server, file server, print server, Windows Media Server, Internet Information Services 7 web server and Hyper-V virtual server roles. Server Core can also be used to create a cluster with high availability using failover clustering or network load balancing.
Andrew Mason, a program manager on the Windows Server team, noted that a primary motivation for producing a Server Core variant of Windows Server 2008 was to reduce the attack surface of the operating system, and that about 70% of the security vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows from the prior five years would not have affected Server Core.[14]
Active Directory[edit]
The Active Directory domain functionality that was retained from Windows Server 2003 was renamed to Active Directory Domain Services (ADDS).[15]
- Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS) enables enterprises to share credentials with trusted partners and customers, allowing a consultant to use their company user name and password to log in on a client’s network.
- Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS), (formerly Active Directory Application Mode, or ADAM)
- Active Directory Certificate Services (ADCS) allow administrators to manage user accounts and the digital certificates that allow them to access certain services and systems. Identity Integration Feature Pack is included as Active Directory Metadirectory Services.
- Active Directory Rights Management Services (ADRMS)
- Read-only domain controllers (RODCs), intended for use in branch office or other scenarios where a domain controller may reside in a low physical security environment. The RODC holds a non-writeable copy of Active Directory, and redirects all write attempts to a full domain controller. It replicates all accounts except sensitive ones.[16] In RODC mode, credentials are not cached by default. Also, local administrators can be designated to log on to the machine to perform maintenance tasks without requiring administrative rights on the entire domain.[17]
- Restartable Active Directory allows ADDS to be stopped and restarted from the Management Console or the command-line without rebooting the domain controller. This reduces downtime for offline operations and reduces overall DC servicing requirements with Server Core. ADDS is implemented as a Domain Controller Service in Windows Server 2008.
- All of the Group Policy improvements from Windows Vista are included. Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) is built-in. The Group Policy objects are indexed for search and can be commented on.[18]
- Policy-based networking with Network Access Protection, improved branch management and enhanced end user collaboration. Policies can be created to ensure greater quality of service for certain applications or services that require prioritization of network bandwidth between client and server.
- Granular password settings within a single domain — ability to implement different password policies for administrative accounts on a «group» and «user» basis, instead of a single set of password settings to the whole domain.
Failover Clustering[edit]
Windows Server 2008 offers high availability to services and applications through Failover Clustering. Most server features and roles can be kept running with little to no downtime.
In Windows Server 2008, the way clusters are qualified changed significantly with the introduction of the cluster validation wizard.[19] The cluster validation wizard is a feature that is integrated into failover clustering in Windows Server 2008. With the cluster validation wizard, an administrator can run a set of focused tests on a collection of servers that are intended to use as nodes in a cluster. This cluster validation process tests the underlying hardware and software directly, and individually, to obtain an accurate assessment of how well failover clustering can be supported on a given configuration.
This feature is only available in Enterprise and Datacenter editions of Windows Server.
Disk management and file storage[edit]
- The ability to resize hard disk partitions without stopping the server, even the system partition. This applies only to simple and spanned volumes, not to striped volumes.
- Shadow Copy based block-level backup which supports optical media, network shares and Windows Recovery Environment.
- DFS enhancements — SYSVOL on DFS-R, Read-only Folder Replication Member. There is also support for domain-based DFS namespaces that exceed the previous size recommendation of 5,000 folders with targets in a namespace.[20]
- Several improvements to Failover Clustering (high-availability clusters).[21]
- Internet Storage Naming Server (iSNS) enables central registration, deregistration and queries for iSCSI hard drives.
- Self-healing NTFS: In Windows versions prior to Windows Vista, if the operating system detected corruption in the file system of an NTFS volume, it marked the volume «dirty»; to correct errors on the volume, it had to be taken offline. With self-healing NTFS, an NTFS worker thread is spawned in the background which performs a localized fix-up of damaged data structures, with only the corrupted files/folders remaining unavailable without locking out the entire volume and needing the server to be taken down. S.M.A.R.T. detection techniques were added to help determine when a hard disk may fail.[22]
Hyper-V[edit]
Hyper-V is hypervisor-based virtualization software, forming a core part of Microsoft’s virtualization strategy. It virtualizes servers on an operating system’s kernel layer. It can be thought of as partitioning a single physical server into multiple small computational partitions. Hyper-V includes the ability to act as a Xen virtualization hypervisor host allowing Xen-enabled guest operating systems to run virtualized.[23] A beta version of Hyper-V shipped with certain x86-64 editions of Windows Server 2008, prior to Microsoft’s release of the final version of Hyper-V on 26 June 2008 as a free download. Also, a standalone variant of Hyper-V exists; this variant supports only x86-64 architecture.[24] While the IA-32 editions of Windows Server 2008 cannot run or install Hyper-V, they can run the MMC snap-in for managing Hyper-V.
Windows System Resource Manager[edit]
Windows System Resource Manager (WSRM) is integrated into Windows Server 2008. It provides resource management and can be used to control the amount of resources a process or a user can use based on business priorities. Process Matching Criteria, which is defined by the name, type or owner of the process, enforces restrictions on the resource usage by a process that matches the criteria. CPU time, bandwidth that it can use, number of processors it can be run on, and allocated to a process can be restricted. Restrictions can be set to be imposed only on certain dates as well.
Server Manager[edit]
Server Manager is a new roles-based management tool for Windows Server 2008.[25] It is a combination of Manage Your Server and Security Configuration Wizard from Windows Server 2003. Server Manager is an improvement of the Configure my server dialog that launches by default on Windows Server 2003 machines. However, rather than serve only as a starting point to configuring new roles, Server Manager gathers together all of the operations users would want to conduct on the server, such as, getting a remote deployment method set up, adding more server roles etc., and provides a consolidated, portal-like view about the status of each role.[26]
Protocol and cryptography[edit]
- Support for 128- and 256-bit AES encryption for the Kerberos authentication protocol.
- New cryptography (CNG) API which supports elliptic-curve cryptography and improved certificate management.
- Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol, a new Microsoft proprietary VPN protocol.
- AuthIP, a Microsoft proprietary extension of the IKE cryptographic protocol used in IPsec VPN networks.
- Server Message Block 2.0 protocol in the new TCP/IP stack provides a number of communication enhancements, including greater performance when connecting to file shares over high-latency links and better security through the use of mutual authentication and message signing.
Miscellaneous[edit]
- Fully componentized operating system.
- Improved hot patching, a feature that allows non-kernel patches to occur without the need for a reboot.
- Support for being booted from Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI)-compliant firmware on x86-64 systems.
- Dynamic Hardware Partitioning supports hot-addition or replacement of processors and memory, on capable hardware.
- Windows Deployment Services (WDS) replacing Automated Deployment Services Windows Server 2008 home entertainment and Remote Installation Services. Windows Deployment Services supports an enhanced multicast feature when deploying operating system images.[27]
- Internet Information Services 7 — Increased security, Robocopy deployment, improved diagnostic tools, delegated administration.
- Windows Internal Database, a variant of SQL Server Express 2005, which serves as a common storage back-end for several other components such as Windows System Resource Manager, Windows SharePoint Services and Windows Server Update Services. It is not intended to be used by third-party applications.
- An optional «desktop experience» component provides the same Windows Aero user interface as Windows Vista, both for local users, as well as remote users connecting through Remote Desktop.
Removed features[edit]
- The Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) routing protocol component in Routing and Remote Access Service was removed.[28]
- Services for Macintosh, which provided file and print sharing via the now deprecated AppleTalk protocol, has been removed. Services for Macintosh were initially removed in Windows XP but were available in Windows Server 2003.[28]
- NTBackup is replaced by Windows Server Backup, and no longer supports backing up to tape drives.[29] As a result of NTBackup removal, Exchange Server 2007 does not have volume snapshot backup functionality; however Exchange Server 2007 SP2 adds back an Exchange backup plug-in for Windows Server Backup which restores partial functionality.[30] Windows Small Business Server and Windows Essential Business Server both include this Exchange backup component.[31]
- The POP3 service has been removed from Internet Information Services 7.0.[32] The SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) service is not available as a server role in IIS 7.0, it is a server feature managed through IIS 6.0.
- NNTP (Network News Transfer Protocol) is no longer part of Internet Information Services 7.0.
- ReadyBoost, which is available in Windows Vista, is not supported in Windows Server 2008.
Editions[edit]
Most editions of Windows Server 2008 are available in x86-64 and IA-32 variants. These editions come in two DVDs: One for installing the IA-32 variant and the other for x64. Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-based Systems supports IA-64 processors. The IA-64 variant is optimized for high-workload scenarios like database servers and Line of Business (LOB) applications. As such, it is not optimized for use as a file server or media server. Windows Server 2008 is the last 32-bit Windows server operating system.[33]
Editions of Windows Server 2008 include:[34]
- Windows Server 2008 Foundation (codenamed «Lima»; x86-64) for OEMs only[35]
- Windows Server 2008 Standard (IA-32 and x86-64)
- Windows Server 2008 Enterprise (IA-32 and x86-64)
- Windows Server 2008 Datacenter (IA-32 and x86-64)
- Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-based Systems (IA-64)
- Windows Web Server 2008 (IA-32 and x86-64)
- Windows HPC Server 2008 (codenamed «Socrates»; replacing Windows Compute Cluster Server)
- Windows Storage Server 2008 (codenamed «Magni»; IA-32 and x86-64)
- Windows Small Business Server 2008 (codenamed «Cougar»; x86-64) for small businesses
- Windows Essential Business Server 2008 (codenamed «Centro»; x86-64) for medium-sized businesses[36] — this edition was discontinued in 2010.[37]
The Microsoft Imagine program, known as DreamSpark at the time, used to provide verified students with the 32-bit variant of Windows Server 2008 Standard Edition, but the version has since then been removed. However, they still provide the R2 release.
The Server Core feature is available in the Web, Standard, Enterprise and Datacenter editions.
Windows Server 2008 Foundation Released on May 21, 2009.[38]
System requirements[edit]
System requirements for Windows Server 2008 are as follows:
Criteria | 2008 | 2008 R2 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Minimum[39] | Recommended[39] | Minimum[40] | Recommended[40] | |
CPU |
|
2 GHz or faster | 1.4 GHz (x86-64 or Itanium) | 2 GHz or faster |
RAM | 512 MB | 2 GB or greater | 512 MB | 2 GB or greater |
HDD[a] |
|
40 GB or greater |
|
|
Devices | DVD drive, 800 × 600 or higher display, keyboard and mouse |
Scalability[edit]
Windows Server 2008 supports the following maximum hardware specifications:[42][43][44]
Specification | Windows Server 2008 SP2 | Windows Server 2008 R2 |
---|---|---|
Physical processors («sockets»)[43] |
|
|
Logical processors when Hyper-V is disabled[43] |
|
256 |
Logical processors when Hyper-V is enabled[43] |
|
64 |
Memory on IA-32[44] |
|
— |
Memory on x64[44] |
|
|
Memory on Itanium[44] |
2 TB |
Updates[edit]
Windows Server 2008 shares most of its updates with Windows Vista, given that the operating systems share a codebase. A workaround using the Microsoft Update Catalog allowed the installation of updates for Windows Server 2008 on Windows Vista,[45] adding nearly 3 years of security updates to that operating system (Support for Windows Vista ended on April 11, 2017,[46] while support for Windows Server 2008 ended on January 14, 2020).
Service Pack 2[edit]
The RTM release of Windows Server 2008 already includes the updates and fixes of Windows Vista Service Pack 1.
Service Pack 2 was initially announced on October 24, 2008[47] and released on May 26, 2009. Service Pack 2 added new features, such as Windows Search 4.0, support for Bluetooth 2.1, the ability to write to Blu-ray discs, and simpler Wi-Fi configuration. Windows Server 2008 specifically received the final release of Hyper-V 1.0, improved backwards compatibility with Terminal Server license keys and an approximate 10% reduction in power usage with this service pack.[48]
Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 share the same service pack update binary.[49]
Platform Update[edit]
On October 27, 2009, Microsoft released the Platform Update for Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista. It backports several APIs and libraries introduced in Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 to Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista, including the Ribbon API, DirectX 11, the XPS library, the Windows Automation API and the Portable Device Platform.[50] A supplemental update was released in 2011 to provide improvements and bug fixes.[51]
Internet Explorer 9[edit]
Windows Server 2008 shipped with Internet Explorer 7, the same version that shipped with Windows Vista. The last supported version of Internet Explorer for Windows Server 2008 is Internet Explorer 9, released in 2011. Internet Explorer 9 was continually updated with cumulative monthly update rollups until support for Internet Explorer 9 on Windows Server 2008 ended on January 14, 2020.[52] Extended Security Updates (ESU) continue until January 9, 2024 for Azure customers.
.NET Framework[edit]
The latest supported version of the .NET Framework officially is version 4.6, released on October 15, 2015.[53]
TLS 1.1 and 1.2 support[edit]
In July 2017, Microsoft released an update to add TLS 1.1 and 1.2 support to Windows Server 2008, however it is disabled by default after installing the update.[54]
SHA-2 signing support[edit]
Starting in March 2019, Microsoft began transitioning to exclusively signing Windows updates with the SHA-2 algorithm. As a result of this Microsoft released several updates throughout 2019 to add SHA-2 signing support to Windows Server 2008.[55]
Monthly update rollups[edit]
In June 2018, Microsoft announced that they would be moving Windows Server 2008 to a monthly update model beginning with updates released in September 2018[56] — two years after Microsoft switched the rest of their supported operating systems to that model.[57]
With the new update model, instead of updates being released as they became available, only two update packages were released on the second Tuesday of every month until Windows Server 2008 reached its end of life — one package containing security and quality updates, and a smaller package that contained only the security updates. Users could choose which package they wanted to install each month. Later in the month, another package would be released which was a preview of the next month’s security and quality update rollup.
Installing the preview rollup package released for Windows Server 2008 on March 19, 2019, or any later released rollup package, will update the operating system kernel’s build number from version 6.0.6002 to 6.0.6003. This change was made so Microsoft could continue to service the operating system while avoiding “version-related issues”.[58]
The last free security update rollup packages were released on January 14, 2020.[59]
Windows Server 2008 R2[edit]
A second release of Windows Server 2008 based on Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009[60] and became generally available on October 22, 2009.[61] New features added in Windows Server 2008 R2 include new virtualization features, new Active Directory features, Internet Information Services 7.5 and support for up to 256 logical processors. It is the first server operating system by Microsoft to exclusively support 64-bit processors, while consumer-oriented versions of Windows maintained 32-bit support until Windows 11 in 2021. It is also the final version of Windows Server that supports IA-64-based processors.
A service pack for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, formally designed Service Pack 1, was released in February 2011.[62]
Support lifecycle[edit]
Support for the RTM version of Windows Server 2008 ended on July 12, 2011,[3] and users can no longer receive further security updates for the operating system. As a component of Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 with Service Pack 2 continued to be supported with security updates, lasting until January 14, 2020, the same respective end-of-life dates of its successor, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7.
Microsoft planned to end support for Windows Server 2008 on January 12, 2016. However, in order to give customers more time to migrate to newer Windows versions, particularly in developing or emerging markets, Microsoft decided to extend support to January 14, 2020.[5][4][6]
Windows Server 2008 is eligible for the paid Extended Security Updates (ESU) program. The program allowed volume license customers to purchase, in yearly installments, security updates for the operating system for three additional years, until January 10, 2023. The program is also included with Microsoft Azure purchases, and Azure customers receive an extra year of support, until January 9, 2024. Extended Security Updates are not available for Itanium customers. The licenses are paid for on a per-machine basis. If a user purchases an Extended Security Updates license in a later year of the program, they must pay for any previous years of Extended Security Updates as well.[5][63]
See also[edit]
- BlueKeep (security vulnerability)
- Comparison of Microsoft Windows versions
- Comparison of operating systems
- Microsoft Windows version history
- List of operating systems
- Microsoft Servers
Notes[edit]
- ^ Computers with more than 16 GB of RAM require more disk space for paging, hibernation, and dump files[40]
References[edit]
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- ^ «Build number changing to 6003 in Windows Server 2008». support.microsoft.com. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
- ^ a b c d e «Microsoft Product Lifecycle». Support. Microsoft. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
- ^ a b c «Extended Security Updates for SQL Server and Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2 | Microsoft». www.microsoft.com. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
- ^ a b c tfosmark. «Product Lifecycle FAQ — Extended Security Updates — Microsoft Lifecycle». docs.microsoft.com. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
- ^ a b «Announcing new options for SQL Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 End of Support». azure.microsoft.com. 12 July 2018. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
- ^ «Not dead yet: Windows Server 2008 users have options». January 21, 2020.
- ^ Miller, Michael J. (2007-05-15). «Gates at WinHec 2007: Windows Server 2008, Rally, Home Server and More». Forward Thinking. Archived from the original on 2007-06-26. Retrieved 2007-07-09.
- ^ Lowe, David (2007-04-25). «Beta 3 is Go!». Windows Server Division WebLog. Microsoft. Archived from the original on 2007-04-28. Retrieved 2007-04-25.
- ^ Ralston, Ward (2007-09-24). «Windows Server 2008 Rc0 Released!». Windows Server Division WebLog. Microsoft. Archived from the original on 2007-10-11. Retrieved 2007-09-24.
- ^ Nate Mook (10 July 2007). «New Windows Server, Visual Studio, SQL Server to Launch in February». BetaNews. Retrieved 2007-07-11.
- ^ «Dynamic Hardware Partitioning Architecture». MSDN. Retrieved 2007-07-23.
- ^ Archiveddocs. «Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services Overview». docs.microsoft.com. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
- ^ «Iain McDonald and Andrew Mason show off the new Windows Server OS». Channel 9. Microsoft. May 24, 2006. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
18:55
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- ^ «Deploying Windows Server 2008 Read Only Domain Controllers». docs.microsoft.com. 16 May 2008. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
- ^ «Q. What is a read-only domain controller (RODC)?». IT Pro. 2008-03-24. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
- ^ Ward, Keith (2007-10-08). «Top 10 Overlooked Windows Server 2008 Features, Part 2». Redmond Developer News. Archived from the original on 2009-08-04. Retrieved 2014-10-10.
- ^ «Failover Cluster Validation Error 80070005 on Windows Server 2008 R2 x64». Capitalhead. 2009-11-04. Archived from the original on 2013-05-08. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
- ^ Zoeller, Jill (26 July 2007). «New in Windows Server 2008: Breaking the 5K Folder «Barrier» in Domain-Based Namespaces». The Storage Team at Microsoft — File Cabinet Blog. Microsoft. Archived from the original on 4 April 2009. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
- ^ «Failover Clustering with Windows Server 2008 including Cluster shared volumes». Microsoft. 2007-01-17. Retrieved 2007-07-09.
- ^ Loveall, John (2006). «Storage improvements in Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008» (PowerPoint). Microsoft Corporation. Retrieved 2007-07-09.
- ^ «Benchmarking Hyper-V on Windows Server 2008 R2 x64». 2010-01-20. Archived from the original on 2010-02-18. Retrieved 2010-01-28.
- ^ «Microsoft Extends Virtualization Strategy, Outlines Product Road Map». Microsoft. 2006-05-22. Retrieved 2007-07-09.
- ^ «Server Manager». Windows Server 2008 Technical Library. Microsoft TechNet. 2007-06-25. Archived from the original on 2007-10-24. Retrieved 2007-05-02.
- ^ «Unexpected error refreshing Server Manager-0x800706BE and 1601 on Window Server 2008 R2». Archived from the original on 2010-11-13. Retrieved 2010-11-05.
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- ^ a b «Removed technologies in Routing and Remote Access in Windows Server 2008». TechNet. Microsoft. 29 August 2011. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
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- ^ «Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 2 available in Q3 2009». The Exchange Team Blog. 11 May 2009. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
- ^ Bilic, Nino (18 June 2008). «To Backup or Not to Backup? Yes! To backup!!». The Exchange Team Blog. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
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- ^
«Windows Server 2008 Product Editions». Microsoft. 2007-04-25. Retrieved 2007-07-09. - ^ «Windows Server 2008 Foundation: An Entry-Level Server Platform». Petri IT Knowledgebase. 2009-04-17. Retrieved 2014-01-08.
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- ^ «Microsoft Windows Server 2008 System Requirements». Microsoft. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
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- ^ a b c d Seldam, Matthijs ten (October 13, 2012). «Windows Server — Sockets, Logical Processors, Symmetric Multi Threading». Matthijs’s blog. Microsoft. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
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- ^ «Extend Windows Vista support by installing Windows Server 2008 updates — gHacks Tech News». gHacks Technology News. 2017-06-24. Retrieved 2021-06-30.
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- ^ Justin Graham (October 24, 2008). «Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 beta». Microsoft. Archived from the original on 2008-10-28. Retrieved 2008-10-29.
- ^ «Tech ARP — ED#107 : Latest Details on Windows Vista Service Pack 2 Rev. 2.2». Archived from the original on 2009-02-12.
- ^ «Windows Vista Service Pack 2 Beta». blogs.windows.com. Archived from the original on 9 May 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ «Announcing Final Releases of Platform Update for Windows Vista Technologies». 27 October 2009.
- ^ «Platform Update Supplement for Windows Vista and for Windows Server 2008».
- ^ «Cumulative security update for Internet Explorer: January 14, 2020». support.microsoft.com. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
- ^ «Microsoft .NET Framework 4.6 (Web Installer)». Microsoft.
- ^ «TLS 1.2 Support added to Windows Server 2008». Microsoft Security. 2017-07-20. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
- ^ «2019 SHA-2 Code Signing Support requirement for Windows and WSUS».
- ^ Mackie, Kurt (June 13, 2018). «Microsoft Switching Windows Server 2008 SP2 to Monthly Update Rollup Model». Redmondmag. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
- ^ «Community». forums.ivanti.com. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
- ^ «Build number changing to 6003 in Windows Server 2008».
- ^ «January 14, 2020—KB4534303 (Monthly Rollup)». support.microsoft.com. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
- ^ «Windows Server 2008 R2 Reaches the RTM Milestone! — Windows Server Blog — Site Home — TechNet Blogs». Blogs.technet.com. 2009-07-22. Archived from the original on 2010-04-08. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
- ^ «When to expect Windows Server 2008 R2 RTM — Windows Server Blog — Site Home — TechNet Blogs». Blogs.technet.com. 2009-07-22. Archived from the original on 2009-07-25. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
- ^ LeBlanc, Brandon (February 9, 2011). «Announcing Availability of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1». Windows Experience Blog. Microsoft.
- ^ «Windows Server 2008 Product Lifecycle». Microsoft. January 14, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
18:55
Further reading[edit]
- «What’s New in Networking». TechNet. Microsoft. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
- «Changes in Functionality from Windows Server 2003 with SP1 to Windows Server 2008». TechNet. Microsoft. 21 January 2008. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
- «Description of the Microsoft server applications that are supported on Windows Server 2008». Support. Microsoft. 23 April 2012. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
- «Windows Server 2008 System Requirements». TechNet. Microsoft. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
- Henderson, Tom; Dvorak, Rand (21 February 2008). «Windows Server 2008: Faster, more manageable and secure, but still missing the virtual link». Network World. IDG. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
- Radzikowski, Przemek (21 February 2010). «How to Find Build and Revision Number of Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 Installed». Capitalhead. Capitalhead Pty. Ltd. Archived from the original on 8 May 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
- Stanek, William (2008). Windows Server 2008 Inside Out. Microsoft Press. ISBN 978-0-7356-2438-2.
External links[edit]
- Windows Server Performance Team Blog
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Уже в январе 2020 года заканчивается поддержка Windows 2008 R2. Сегодня я хочу поделиться подборкой субъективных причин, по которым многие (и я тоже) до сих пор проводят новые инсталляции этой старушки.
Ценителей, ностальгирующих и ненавистников — прошу под кат.
Легковесность
Если сравнивать минимальные системные требования Windows 2008R2 и Windows 2016, то они будут идентичны за исключением маленького нюанса — графическая оболочка Windows 2016 требует 2 Гб оперативной памяти. А вот по субъективным ощущениям Windows 2008R2 работает куда отзывчивее на не очень свежих серверах и слабых виртуалках, особенно по части I\O нагрузки на диск.
Судя по всему, дело в меньшем количестве различных служб и в их большей простоте.
Свежеустановленная старая и новая система с идентичными ролями.
Кнопка Пуск
Даже многие системные администраторы ставят на сервера под управлением Windows 2012 и старше ПО вроде Classic Shell, чтобы вернуть старый добрый «Пуск». Что уж говорить о пользователях. Конечно, возврат к чему-то «пускоподобному» в Windows 10\2016 сделал жизнь чуть легче, но лишь только чуть. Искать нужное приложение приходится или мучительно вглядываясь в строки, или набирая его имя — одной мышкой не обойтись.
Да и к тому же попробуйте объяснить пользователю, как правильно выходить с терминального сервера не «крестиком», если вместо кнопки «Пуск» — плитки и недо-плитки. Сравните, насколько просто было в Windows 2008: Пуск — завершение сеанса.
Краткость — сестра таланта.
И в Windows 2016: «Нажмите туда, где раньше был пуск. Да-да, с квадратиками. Найдите там человечка. Да, такой маленький… Нет, слева! Нажмите на него и там нажмите на «выход».
Больше, больше кликов мыши!
Далее в старом меню есть прекрасный пункт — «Безопасность Windows». Пользователь может совершенно спокойно и ненапряжно сменить свой пароль. Без вот этого вот «нажмите Ctrl+Alt+End. Нет, не Delete. End. Это кнопка рядом с Delete». А если пользователь сидит на терминальном сервере с другого терминального сервера — без лайфхаков типа ярлыка на команду explorer shell:::{2559a1f2-21d7-11d4-bdaf-00c04f60b9f0} уже не обойтись.
Нет, лично я радуюсь, когда захожу на сервер с Windows 2008 и вижу кнопку «Пуск». А люди на форумах острят на тему плиточных интерфейсов, что они для того чтобы получать ачивки в аккаунте Xbox — типа «Починил Active Directory», «Не сломал DFS при обновлении домена». А что? Было бы прикольно.
Полноценный терминальный сервер без домена
Допустим, захотелось вам решить простую задачу — развернуть на далеком сервере (реальном или виртуальном) сервер терминалов для работы с 1С в небольшой компании.
В Windows 2008 все просто: все настройки проводятся через оснастку, контроллер домена не нужен. Начиная с Windows 2012, коллекцию без контроллера домена не создать. И если хочется отдельный сервер — извольте настраивать через локальные политики.
Но такая возможность, как RemoteApp без домена — увы, не работает. Нужно или использовать какие-то сторонние решения, или разворачивать домен.
Также если хочется подключаться к пользовательской сессии (т.н shadowing), то без контроллера домена штатными средствами ничего не получится. Потому что.
Старый добрый tsadmin.msc.
Даже банальная отправка сообщений пользователям (например, о скорой перезагрузке сервера) начинает превращаться в квест. Если раньше можно было выбрать нужных пользователей в оснастке tsadmin.msc, используя такие средства выделения как Ctrl и Shift, то теперь или отправляй сообщения по одному, или используй командную строку и утилиту msg.exe.
Отправка сообщений в Windows 2016.
Если вдруг вы все-таки захотите сделать полноценный сервер терминалов с коллекциями и поставите роль контроллера домена на сервер терминалов — или наоборот, — то и тут вас ждут приключения из-за работы встроенной БД Windows и правил доступа к ней. Придется ставить еще и SQl Management Studio.
Microsoft рекомендует использовать возможность установки двух виртуальных машин по одной лицензии. То есть теперь, если я хочу пользоваться всеми возможностями сервера терминалов, мне предлагается ставить Windows на железо и делать две виртуалки — для сервера терминалов и для контроллера домена. Падение производительности 1С в таком случае составляет от 10% до 20%, появляется необходимость покупать у хостера второй IP — из-за того, что на гипервизоре может быть роль только гипервизора… Спасибо, Microsoft!
Стабильность работы
Когда на одном предприятии смигрировали терминальный сервер на Windows 2016, то столкнулись с удивительными вещами при работе стареньких несетевых принтеров и 1С. Если принтеры пробрасывались в RDP или подключались к терминальной сессии как \computer\printer, то они или пропадали вообще, или пропадали из 1С. И приходилось удалять настройки пользователя.
Безумие продолжалось до тех пор, пока не приняли отвратительное решение — установить принтеры на сервер как локальные с портом \computer\printer и навесить на них нужный ACL.
Установленный принтер.
Подобные интересные нюансы всплывали неоднократно в разных организациях. То проблема с принтерами, то с не самым свежим ПО вплоть до BSOD-а. В одной истории пришлось воспользоваться правом лицензии VL на downgrade, так как проприетарное ПО категорически не хотело работать на Windows 2016 и на виртуальной машине.
Поэтому, если позволяет лицензия и аппаратная составляющая — Windows 2008R2 Standart поддерживает не более 32 Гб оперативной памяти, — а также нет необходимости в новых функциях свежих серверных OS, мы по-прежнему ставим Windows 2008R2 и с ужасом ждем окончания поддержки.
Надо отметить, что Windows 2008R2 уже фактически стала эталоном для «облачного» хостинга 1С — когда клиенту недостаточно тонкого клиента, а нужен полноценный доступ в 1С. Благо RemoteApp работают с 1С в 2008R2 так же плохо, как и в 2016.
Телеметрия
Кто бы что ни говорил о плюсах телеметрии, мне неприятно, когда система что-то кому-то отсылает. Особенно, если эта система в продакшене. Конечно, Microsoft заявляет, что опасаться нечего, но тем не менее. Напрашивается очевидный выход — отключить интернет на сервере. Это хорошо, если интернет не нужен для функционирования сервера. В противном случае будет разумно закрыть адреса Microsoft на фаерволе или что-то подобное.
Ведь даже в настройках телеметрии в групповых политиках в параметре Конфигурация компьютера — Административные шаблоны — Компоненты Windows — Сборки для сбора данных и предварительные сборки можно лишь поставить ограничение, но не отключить механизм полностью.
Настройка телеметрии.
Еще можно вовсе отключить телеметрию и настроить мониторинг, который уведомит о включении службы после обновления. Также сообщество создало некоторое количество скриптов и утилит, призванных отключать телеметрию совсем на Windows 10 и Windows 2016.
Например, известен батник, который правит реестр и блокирует домены MS при помощи файла host. Еще существует решение на PowerShell: оно тоже правит реестр и заодно отключает службы с назначенными заданиями, которые могут что-то передавать на сторонние сервера.
Кумулятивные обновления
Стандартная поставка обновлений безопасности на свежих версиях Windows происходит через кумулятивные обновления. Это очень удобно — не нужно выбирать 100500 обновлений для загрузки на свежеустановленную систему. Правда, удобно это разве что установщикам систем.
В реальности если какой-то патч что-то ломает — а это бывает регулярно, — то на его отлов и отключение придется потратить немало человеко-часов. Поэтому возникает необходимость держать как минимум тестовую группу серверов, где можно проверять обновления. Ну и WSUS начинает нравиться как инструмент.
Старая добрая масса обновлений.
Нет уж. Старый механизм, где можно опционально выбрать или заблокировать нужные системы безопасности, мне больше по душе.
Как продлить поддержку
Сейчас Microsoft предлагает лишь один вариант, как не остаться без поддержки с 2020 года — это перенести серверы в Azure. Тогда, по словам Microsoft, можно продлить агонию одной из самых удачных операционных систем еще на 3 года.
Стоит отметить, что это касается также Windows 2008 (единственной актуальной 32-битной серверной ОС) и SQL Server 2008.
Расскажите, планируете ли вы полностью избавиться от Windows 2008R2 за следующие пару лет?
Version of the Windows NT operating system | |
Screenshot of Windows Server 2008 showing the Server Manager application which is automatically opened when an administrator logs on. |
|
Developer | Microsoft |
---|---|
OS family | Windows Server |
Source model |
|
Released to manufacturing |
February 4, 2008; 15 years ago[1] |
General availability |
February 27, 2008; 15 years ago[1] |
Latest release | Service Pack 2 with March 19, 2019 or later update rollup (6.0.6003)[2] / March 19, 2019; 4 years ago |
Marketing target | Business |
Update method | Windows Update, Windows Server Update Services, SCCM |
Platforms | IA-32, x86-64, Itanium |
Kernel type | Hybrid (Windows NT kernel) |
Default user interface |
Windows shell (Graphical) |
License | Proprietary commercial software |
Preceded by | Windows Server 2003 (2003) |
Succeeded by | Windows Server 2008 R2 (2009) |
Official website | Windows Server 2008 |
Support status | |
Mainstream support ended on January 13, 2015[3] Extended support ended on January 14, 2020[3] Windows Server 2008 is eligible for the paid (Azure) ESU (Extended Security Updates) program.[4] This program allowed volume license customers to purchase, in yearly installments, security updates for the operating system until January 10, 2023,[3] only for Standard, Enterprise and Datacenter volume licensed editions. The updates are included with a Microsoft Azure purchase and Azure customers receive ESU updates until January 9, 2024.[5][4][6] Installing Service Pack 2 was required for users to receive updates and support after July 12, 2011[3] |
Windows Server 2008, codenamed «Longhorn Server», is the fourth release of the Windows Server operating system produced by Microsoft as part of the Windows NT family of the operating systems. It was released to manufacturing on February 4, 2008, and generally to retail on February 27, 2008. Derived from Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 is the successor of Windows Server 2003 and the predecessor to Windows Server 2008 R2.
Windows Server 2008 removed support for processors without ACPI. It is the first version of Windows Server that includes Hyper-V and is also the final version of Windows Server that supports IA-32-based processors (also known as 32-bit processors). Its successor, Windows Server 2008 R2, requires a 64-bit processor in any supported architecture (x86-64 for x86 and Itanium).
As of July 2019, 60% of Windows servers were running Windows Server 2008.[7]
History[edit]
Microsoft had released Windows Vista to mixed reception, and their last Windows Server release was based on Windows XP. The operating system’s working title was Windows Server Codename «Longhorn», but was later changed to Windows Server 2008 when Microsoft chairman Bill Gates announced it during his keynote address at WinHEC on May 16, 2007.[8]
Beta 1 was released on July 27, 2005; Beta 2 was announced and released on May 23, 2006, at WinHEC 2006 and Beta 3 was released publicly on April 25, 2007.[9] Release Candidate 0 was released to the general public on September 24, 2007[10] and Release Candidate 1 was released to the general public on December 5, 2007. Windows Server 2008 was released to manufacturing on February 4, 2008, and officially launched on the 27th of that month.[11]
Features[edit]
Windows Server 2008 is built from the same codebase as Windows Vista and thus it shares much of the same architecture and functionality. Since the codebase is common, Windows Server 2008 inherits most of the technical, security, management and administrative features new to Windows Vista such as the rewritten networking stack (native IPv6, native wireless, speed and security improvements); improved image-based installation, deployment and recovery; improved diagnostics, monitoring, event logging and reporting tools; new security features such as BitLocker and address space layout randomization (ASLR); the improved Windows Firewall with secure default configuration; .NET Framework 3.0 technologies, specifically Windows Communication Foundation, Microsoft Message Queuing and Windows Workflow Foundation; and the core kernel, memory and file system improvements. Processors and memory devices are modeled as Plug and Play devices to allow hot-plugging of these devices. This allows the system resources to be partitioned dynamically using dynamic hardware partitioning — each partition has its own memory, processor and I/O host bridge devices independent of other partitions.[12]
Server Core[edit]
Windows Server 2008 includes a variation of installation called Server Core. Server Core is a significantly scaled-back installation where no Windows Explorer shell is installed. It also lacks Internet Explorer, and many other non-essential features. All configuration and maintenance is done entirely through command-line interface windows, or by connecting to the machine remotely using Microsoft Management Console (MMC). Notepad and some Control Panel applets, such as Regional Settings, are available.
A Server Core installation can be configured for several basic roles, including the domain controller (Active Directory Domain Services), Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (formerly known as Active Directory Application Mode[13]), DNS Server, DHCP server, file server, print server, Windows Media Server, Internet Information Services 7 web server and Hyper-V virtual server roles. Server Core can also be used to create a cluster with high availability using failover clustering or network load balancing.
Andrew Mason, a program manager on the Windows Server team, noted that a primary motivation for producing a Server Core variant of Windows Server 2008 was to reduce the attack surface of the operating system, and that about 70% of the security vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows from the prior five years would not have affected Server Core.[14]
Active Directory[edit]
The Active Directory domain functionality that was retained from Windows Server 2003 was renamed to Active Directory Domain Services (ADDS).[15]
- Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS) enables enterprises to share credentials with trusted partners and customers, allowing a consultant to use their company user name and password to log in on a client’s network.
- Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS), (formerly Active Directory Application Mode, or ADAM)
- Active Directory Certificate Services (ADCS) allow administrators to manage user accounts and the digital certificates that allow them to access certain services and systems. Identity Integration Feature Pack is included as Active Directory Metadirectory Services.
- Active Directory Rights Management Services (ADRMS)
- Read-only domain controllers (RODCs), intended for use in branch office or other scenarios where a domain controller may reside in a low physical security environment. The RODC holds a non-writeable copy of Active Directory, and redirects all write attempts to a full domain controller. It replicates all accounts except sensitive ones.[16] In RODC mode, credentials are not cached by default. Also, local administrators can be designated to log on to the machine to perform maintenance tasks without requiring administrative rights on the entire domain.[17]
- Restartable Active Directory allows ADDS to be stopped and restarted from the Management Console or the command-line without rebooting the domain controller. This reduces downtime for offline operations and reduces overall DC servicing requirements with Server Core. ADDS is implemented as a Domain Controller Service in Windows Server 2008.
- All of the Group Policy improvements from Windows Vista are included. Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) is built-in. The Group Policy objects are indexed for search and can be commented on.[18]
- Policy-based networking with Network Access Protection, improved branch management and enhanced end user collaboration. Policies can be created to ensure greater quality of service for certain applications or services that require prioritization of network bandwidth between client and server.
- Granular password settings within a single domain — ability to implement different password policies for administrative accounts on a «group» and «user» basis, instead of a single set of password settings to the whole domain.
Failover Clustering[edit]
Windows Server 2008 offers high availability to services and applications through Failover Clustering. Most server features and roles can be kept running with little to no downtime.
In Windows Server 2008, the way clusters are qualified changed significantly with the introduction of the cluster validation wizard.[19] The cluster validation wizard is a feature that is integrated into failover clustering in Windows Server 2008. With the cluster validation wizard, an administrator can run a set of focused tests on a collection of servers that are intended to use as nodes in a cluster. This cluster validation process tests the underlying hardware and software directly, and individually, to obtain an accurate assessment of how well failover clustering can be supported on a given configuration.
This feature is only available in Enterprise and Datacenter editions of Windows Server.
Disk management and file storage[edit]
- The ability to resize hard disk partitions without stopping the server, even the system partition. This applies only to simple and spanned volumes, not to striped volumes.
- Shadow Copy based block-level backup which supports optical media, network shares and Windows Recovery Environment.
- DFS enhancements — SYSVOL on DFS-R, Read-only Folder Replication Member. There is also support for domain-based DFS namespaces that exceed the previous size recommendation of 5,000 folders with targets in a namespace.[20]
- Several improvements to Failover Clustering (high-availability clusters).[21]
- Internet Storage Naming Server (iSNS) enables central registration, deregistration and queries for iSCSI hard drives.
- Self-healing NTFS: In Windows versions prior to Windows Vista, if the operating system detected corruption in the file system of an NTFS volume, it marked the volume «dirty»; to correct errors on the volume, it had to be taken offline. With self-healing NTFS, an NTFS worker thread is spawned in the background which performs a localized fix-up of damaged data structures, with only the corrupted files/folders remaining unavailable without locking out the entire volume and needing the server to be taken down. S.M.A.R.T. detection techniques were added to help determine when a hard disk may fail.[22]
Hyper-V[edit]
Hyper-V is hypervisor-based virtualization software, forming a core part of Microsoft’s virtualization strategy. It virtualizes servers on an operating system’s kernel layer. It can be thought of as partitioning a single physical server into multiple small computational partitions. Hyper-V includes the ability to act as a Xen virtualization hypervisor host allowing Xen-enabled guest operating systems to run virtualized.[23] A beta version of Hyper-V shipped with certain x86-64 editions of Windows Server 2008, prior to Microsoft’s release of the final version of Hyper-V on 26 June 2008 as a free download. Also, a standalone variant of Hyper-V exists; this variant supports only x86-64 architecture.[24] While the IA-32 editions of Windows Server 2008 cannot run or install Hyper-V, they can run the MMC snap-in for managing Hyper-V.
Windows System Resource Manager[edit]
Windows System Resource Manager (WSRM) is integrated into Windows Server 2008. It provides resource management and can be used to control the amount of resources a process or a user can use based on business priorities. Process Matching Criteria, which is defined by the name, type or owner of the process, enforces restrictions on the resource usage by a process that matches the criteria. CPU time, bandwidth that it can use, number of processors it can be run on, and allocated to a process can be restricted. Restrictions can be set to be imposed only on certain dates as well.
Server Manager[edit]
Server Manager is a new roles-based management tool for Windows Server 2008.[25] It is a combination of Manage Your Server and Security Configuration Wizard from Windows Server 2003. Server Manager is an improvement of the Configure my server dialog that launches by default on Windows Server 2003 machines. However, rather than serve only as a starting point to configuring new roles, Server Manager gathers together all of the operations users would want to conduct on the server, such as, getting a remote deployment method set up, adding more server roles etc., and provides a consolidated, portal-like view about the status of each role.[26]
Protocol and cryptography[edit]
- Support for 128- and 256-bit AES encryption for the Kerberos authentication protocol.
- New cryptography (CNG) API which supports elliptic-curve cryptography and improved certificate management.
- Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol, a new Microsoft proprietary VPN protocol.
- AuthIP, a Microsoft proprietary extension of the IKE cryptographic protocol used in IPsec VPN networks.
- Server Message Block 2.0 protocol in the new TCP/IP stack provides a number of communication enhancements, including greater performance when connecting to file shares over high-latency links and better security through the use of mutual authentication and message signing.
Miscellaneous[edit]
- Fully componentized operating system.
- Improved hot patching, a feature that allows non-kernel patches to occur without the need for a reboot.
- Support for being booted from Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI)-compliant firmware on x86-64 systems.
- Dynamic Hardware Partitioning supports hot-addition or replacement of processors and memory, on capable hardware.
- Windows Deployment Services (WDS) replacing Automated Deployment Services Windows Server 2008 home entertainment and Remote Installation Services. Windows Deployment Services supports an enhanced multicast feature when deploying operating system images.[27]
- Internet Information Services 7 — Increased security, Robocopy deployment, improved diagnostic tools, delegated administration.
- Windows Internal Database, a variant of SQL Server Express 2005, which serves as a common storage back-end for several other components such as Windows System Resource Manager, Windows SharePoint Services and Windows Server Update Services. It is not intended to be used by third-party applications.
- An optional «desktop experience» component provides the same Windows Aero user interface as Windows Vista, both for local users, as well as remote users connecting through Remote Desktop.
Removed features[edit]
- The Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) routing protocol component in Routing and Remote Access Service was removed.[28]
- Services for Macintosh, which provided file and print sharing via the now deprecated AppleTalk protocol, has been removed. Services for Macintosh were initially removed in Windows XP but were available in Windows Server 2003.[28]
- NTBackup is replaced by Windows Server Backup, and no longer supports backing up to tape drives.[29] As a result of NTBackup removal, Exchange Server 2007 does not have volume snapshot backup functionality; however Exchange Server 2007 SP2 adds back an Exchange backup plug-in for Windows Server Backup which restores partial functionality.[30] Windows Small Business Server and Windows Essential Business Server both include this Exchange backup component.[31]
- The POP3 service has been removed from Internet Information Services 7.0.[32] The SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) service is not available as a server role in IIS 7.0, it is a server feature managed through IIS 6.0.
- NNTP (Network News Transfer Protocol) is no longer part of Internet Information Services 7.0.
- ReadyBoost, which is available in Windows Vista, is not supported in Windows Server 2008.
Editions[edit]
Most editions of Windows Server 2008 are available in x86-64 and IA-32 variants. These editions come in two DVDs: One for installing the IA-32 variant and the other for x64. Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-based Systems supports IA-64 processors. The IA-64 variant is optimized for high-workload scenarios like database servers and Line of Business (LOB) applications. As such, it is not optimized for use as a file server or media server. Windows Server 2008 is the last 32-bit Windows server operating system.[33]
Editions of Windows Server 2008 include:[34]
- Windows Server 2008 Foundation (codenamed «Lima»; x86-64) for OEMs only[35]
- Windows Server 2008 Standard (IA-32 and x86-64)
- Windows Server 2008 Enterprise (IA-32 and x86-64)
- Windows Server 2008 Datacenter (IA-32 and x86-64)
- Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-based Systems (IA-64)
- Windows Web Server 2008 (IA-32 and x86-64)
- Windows HPC Server 2008 (codenamed «Socrates»; replacing Windows Compute Cluster Server)
- Windows Storage Server 2008 (codenamed «Magni»; IA-32 and x86-64)
- Windows Small Business Server 2008 (codenamed «Cougar»; x86-64) for small businesses
- Windows Essential Business Server 2008 (codenamed «Centro»; x86-64) for medium-sized businesses[36] — this edition was discontinued in 2010.[37]
The Microsoft Imagine program, known as DreamSpark at the time, used to provide verified students with the 32-bit variant of Windows Server 2008 Standard Edition, but the version has since then been removed. However, they still provide the R2 release.
The Server Core feature is available in the Web, Standard, Enterprise and Datacenter editions.
Windows Server 2008 Foundation Released on May 21, 2009.[38]
System requirements[edit]
System requirements for Windows Server 2008 are as follows:
Criteria | 2008 | 2008 R2 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Minimum[39] | Recommended[39] | Minimum[40] | Recommended[40] | |
CPU |
|
2 GHz or faster | 1.4 GHz (x86-64 or Itanium) | 2 GHz or faster |
RAM | 512 MB | 2 GB or greater | 512 MB | 2 GB or greater |
HDD[a] |
|
40 GB or greater |
|
|
Devices | DVD drive, 800 × 600 or higher display, keyboard and mouse |
Scalability[edit]
Windows Server 2008 supports the following maximum hardware specifications:[42][43][44]
Specification | Windows Server 2008 SP2 | Windows Server 2008 R2 |
---|---|---|
Physical processors («sockets»)[43] |
|
|
Logical processors when Hyper-V is disabled[43] |
|
256 |
Logical processors when Hyper-V is enabled[43] |
|
64 |
Memory on IA-32[44] |
|
— |
Memory on x64[44] |
|
|
Memory on Itanium[44] |
2 TB |
Updates[edit]
Windows Server 2008 shares most of its updates with Windows Vista, given that the operating systems share a codebase. A workaround using the Microsoft Update Catalog allowed the installation of updates for Windows Server 2008 on Windows Vista,[45] adding nearly 3 years of security updates to that operating system (Support for Windows Vista ended on April 11, 2017,[46] while support for Windows Server 2008 ended on January 14, 2020).
Service Pack 2[edit]
The RTM release of Windows Server 2008 already includes the updates and fixes of Windows Vista Service Pack 1.
Service Pack 2 was initially announced on October 24, 2008[47] and released on May 26, 2009. Service Pack 2 added new features, such as Windows Search 4.0, support for Bluetooth 2.1, the ability to write to Blu-ray discs, and simpler Wi-Fi configuration. Windows Server 2008 specifically received the final release of Hyper-V 1.0, improved backwards compatibility with Terminal Server license keys and an approximate 10% reduction in power usage with this service pack.[48]
Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 share the same service pack update binary.[49]
Platform Update[edit]
On October 27, 2009, Microsoft released the Platform Update for Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista. It backports several APIs and libraries introduced in Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 to Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista, including the Ribbon API, DirectX 11, the XPS library, the Windows Automation API and the Portable Device Platform.[50] A supplemental update was released in 2011 to provide improvements and bug fixes.[51]
Internet Explorer 9[edit]
Windows Server 2008 shipped with Internet Explorer 7, the same version that shipped with Windows Vista. The last supported version of Internet Explorer for Windows Server 2008 is Internet Explorer 9, released in 2011. Internet Explorer 9 was continually updated with cumulative monthly update rollups until support for Internet Explorer 9 on Windows Server 2008 ended on January 14, 2020.[52] Extended Security Updates (ESU) continue until January 9, 2024 for Azure customers.
.NET Framework[edit]
The latest supported version of the .NET Framework officially is version 4.6, released on October 15, 2015.[53]
TLS 1.1 and 1.2 support[edit]
In July 2017, Microsoft released an update to add TLS 1.1 and 1.2 support to Windows Server 2008, however it is disabled by default after installing the update.[54]
SHA-2 signing support[edit]
Starting in March 2019, Microsoft began transitioning to exclusively signing Windows updates with the SHA-2 algorithm. As a result of this Microsoft released several updates throughout 2019 to add SHA-2 signing support to Windows Server 2008.[55]
Monthly update rollups[edit]
In June 2018, Microsoft announced that they would be moving Windows Server 2008 to a monthly update model beginning with updates released in September 2018[56] — two years after Microsoft switched the rest of their supported operating systems to that model.[57]
With the new update model, instead of updates being released as they became available, only two update packages were released on the second Tuesday of every month until Windows Server 2008 reached its end of life — one package containing security and quality updates, and a smaller package that contained only the security updates. Users could choose which package they wanted to install each month. Later in the month, another package would be released which was a preview of the next month’s security and quality update rollup.
Installing the preview rollup package released for Windows Server 2008 on March 19, 2019, or any later released rollup package, will update the operating system kernel’s build number from version 6.0.6002 to 6.0.6003. This change was made so Microsoft could continue to service the operating system while avoiding “version-related issues”.[58]
The last free security update rollup packages were released on January 14, 2020.[59]
Windows Server 2008 R2[edit]
A second release of Windows Server 2008 based on Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009[60] and became generally available on October 22, 2009.[61] New features added in Windows Server 2008 R2 include new virtualization features, new Active Directory features, Internet Information Services 7.5 and support for up to 256 logical processors. It is the first server operating system by Microsoft to exclusively support 64-bit processors, while consumer-oriented versions of Windows maintained 32-bit support until Windows 11 in 2021. It is also the final version of Windows Server that supports IA-64-based processors.
A service pack for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, formally designed Service Pack 1, was released in February 2011.[62]
Support lifecycle[edit]
Support for the RTM version of Windows Server 2008 ended on July 12, 2011,[3] and users can no longer receive further security updates for the operating system. As a component of Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 with Service Pack 2 continued to be supported with security updates, lasting until January 14, 2020, the same respective end-of-life dates of its successor, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7.
Microsoft planned to end support for Windows Server 2008 on January 12, 2016. However, in order to give customers more time to migrate to newer Windows versions, particularly in developing or emerging markets, Microsoft decided to extend support to January 14, 2020.[5][4][6]
Windows Server 2008 is eligible for the paid Extended Security Updates (ESU) program. The program allowed volume license customers to purchase, in yearly installments, security updates for the operating system for three additional years, until January 10, 2023. The program is also included with Microsoft Azure purchases, and Azure customers receive an extra year of support, until January 9, 2024. Extended Security Updates are not available for Itanium customers. The licenses are paid for on a per-machine basis. If a user purchases an Extended Security Updates license in a later year of the program, they must pay for any previous years of Extended Security Updates as well.[5][63]
See also[edit]
- BlueKeep (security vulnerability)
- Comparison of Microsoft Windows versions
- Comparison of operating systems
- Microsoft Windows version history
- List of operating systems
- Microsoft Servers
Notes[edit]
- ^ Computers with more than 16 GB of RAM require more disk space for paging, hibernation, and dump files[40]
References[edit]
- ^ a b «As Windows Server 2008 RTMs, Customers and Partners Adopting with Help of New Tools, Training». News Center. Redmond, WA: Microsoft. 4 February 2008.
- ^ «Build number changing to 6003 in Windows Server 2008». support.microsoft.com. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
- ^ a b c d e «Microsoft Product Lifecycle». Support. Microsoft. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
- ^ a b c «Extended Security Updates for SQL Server and Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2 | Microsoft». www.microsoft.com. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
- ^ a b c tfosmark. «Product Lifecycle FAQ — Extended Security Updates — Microsoft Lifecycle». docs.microsoft.com. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
- ^ a b «Announcing new options for SQL Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 End of Support». azure.microsoft.com. 12 July 2018. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
- ^ «Not dead yet: Windows Server 2008 users have options». January 21, 2020.
- ^ Miller, Michael J. (2007-05-15). «Gates at WinHec 2007: Windows Server 2008, Rally, Home Server and More». Forward Thinking. Archived from the original on 2007-06-26. Retrieved 2007-07-09.
- ^ Lowe, David (2007-04-25). «Beta 3 is Go!». Windows Server Division WebLog. Microsoft. Archived from the original on 2007-04-28. Retrieved 2007-04-25.
- ^ Ralston, Ward (2007-09-24). «Windows Server 2008 Rc0 Released!». Windows Server Division WebLog. Microsoft. Archived from the original on 2007-10-11. Retrieved 2007-09-24.
- ^ Nate Mook (10 July 2007). «New Windows Server, Visual Studio, SQL Server to Launch in February». BetaNews. Retrieved 2007-07-11.
- ^ «Dynamic Hardware Partitioning Architecture». MSDN. Retrieved 2007-07-23.
- ^ Archiveddocs. «Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services Overview». docs.microsoft.com. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
- ^ «Iain McDonald and Andrew Mason show off the new Windows Server OS». Channel 9. Microsoft. May 24, 2006. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
18:55
- ^ Hynes, Byron (November 2006). «The Future of Windows: Directory Services in Windows Server 2008». TechNet Magazine. Retrieved 2007-05-02.
- ^ «Deploying Windows Server 2008 Read Only Domain Controllers». docs.microsoft.com. 16 May 2008. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
- ^ «Q. What is a read-only domain controller (RODC)?». IT Pro. 2008-03-24. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
- ^ Ward, Keith (2007-10-08). «Top 10 Overlooked Windows Server 2008 Features, Part 2». Redmond Developer News. Archived from the original on 2009-08-04. Retrieved 2014-10-10.
- ^ «Failover Cluster Validation Error 80070005 on Windows Server 2008 R2 x64». Capitalhead. 2009-11-04. Archived from the original on 2013-05-08. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
- ^ Zoeller, Jill (26 July 2007). «New in Windows Server 2008: Breaking the 5K Folder «Barrier» in Domain-Based Namespaces». The Storage Team at Microsoft — File Cabinet Blog. Microsoft. Archived from the original on 4 April 2009. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
- ^ «Failover Clustering with Windows Server 2008 including Cluster shared volumes». Microsoft. 2007-01-17. Retrieved 2007-07-09.
- ^ Loveall, John (2006). «Storage improvements in Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008» (PowerPoint). Microsoft Corporation. Retrieved 2007-07-09.
- ^ «Benchmarking Hyper-V on Windows Server 2008 R2 x64». 2010-01-20. Archived from the original on 2010-02-18. Retrieved 2010-01-28.
- ^ «Microsoft Extends Virtualization Strategy, Outlines Product Road Map». Microsoft. 2006-05-22. Retrieved 2007-07-09.
- ^ «Server Manager». Windows Server 2008 Technical Library. Microsoft TechNet. 2007-06-25. Archived from the original on 2007-10-24. Retrieved 2007-05-02.
- ^ «Unexpected error refreshing Server Manager-0x800706BE and 1601 on Window Server 2008 R2». Archived from the original on 2010-11-13. Retrieved 2010-11-05.
- ^ «Multicasting OS deployments with Windows Server 2008». Kevinsul’s Management Blog. Microsoft. 29 August 2007. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
- ^ a b «Removed technologies in Routing and Remote Access in Windows Server 2008». TechNet. Microsoft. 29 August 2011. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
- ^ «Windows Server Backup Step-by-Step Guide for Windows Server 2008». TechNet. Microsoft. 17 January 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
- ^ «Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 2 available in Q3 2009». The Exchange Team Blog. 11 May 2009. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
- ^ Bilic, Nino (18 June 2008). «To Backup or Not to Backup? Yes! To backup!!». The Exchange Team Blog. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
- ^ «IIS 7.0 Protocols». TechNet. Microsoft. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
- ^ Heaton, Alex (2007-05-18). «On 64-bit and Windows Client». Windows Vista Team Blog. Retrieved 2007-07-09.
- ^
«Windows Server 2008 Product Editions». Microsoft. 2007-04-25. Retrieved 2007-07-09. - ^ «Windows Server 2008 Foundation: An Entry-Level Server Platform». Petri IT Knowledgebase. 2009-04-17. Retrieved 2014-01-08.
- ^ Ligman, Eric (7 November 2007). «Announcing Windows Essential Business Server». Microsoft Small Business Blog. Microsoft. Retrieved 2013-08-16.
- ^ «Windows Essential Business Server 2008». Technet.microsoft.com. 2010-12-31. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
- ^ «Windows Server 2008, Microsoft Lifecycle (Look at the Note below links)». docs.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/products/.
- ^ a b «Windows Server 2008 System Requirements». 31 March 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
- ^ a b c «Microsoft Windows Server 2008 System Requirements». Microsoft.com. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
- ^ «Microsoft Windows Server 2008 System Requirements». Microsoft. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
- ^ Savill, John (October 28, 2011). «Q: What are Windows Server 8’s Scalability Numbers?». Windows IT Pro. Penton Media. Archived from the original on February 17, 2013. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
- ^ a b c d Seldam, Matthijs ten (October 13, 2012). «Windows Server — Sockets, Logical Processors, Symmetric Multi Threading». Matthijs’s blog. Microsoft. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
- ^ a b c d «Memory Limits for Windows and Windows Server Releases». MSDN. Microsoft. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
- ^ «Extend Windows Vista support by installing Windows Server 2008 updates — gHacks Tech News». gHacks Technology News. 2017-06-24. Retrieved 2021-06-30.
- ^ «Windows Vista Lifecycle Policy». Microsoft. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
- ^ Justin Graham (October 24, 2008). «Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 beta». Microsoft. Archived from the original on 2008-10-28. Retrieved 2008-10-29.
- ^ «Tech ARP — ED#107 : Latest Details on Windows Vista Service Pack 2 Rev. 2.2». Archived from the original on 2009-02-12.
- ^ «Windows Vista Service Pack 2 Beta». blogs.windows.com. Archived from the original on 9 May 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ «Announcing Final Releases of Platform Update for Windows Vista Technologies». 27 October 2009.
- ^ «Platform Update Supplement for Windows Vista and for Windows Server 2008».
- ^ «Cumulative security update for Internet Explorer: January 14, 2020». support.microsoft.com. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
- ^ «Microsoft .NET Framework 4.6 (Web Installer)». Microsoft.
- ^ «TLS 1.2 Support added to Windows Server 2008». Microsoft Security. 2017-07-20. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
- ^ «2019 SHA-2 Code Signing Support requirement for Windows and WSUS».
- ^ Mackie, Kurt (June 13, 2018). «Microsoft Switching Windows Server 2008 SP2 to Monthly Update Rollup Model». Redmondmag. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
- ^ «Community». forums.ivanti.com. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
- ^ «Build number changing to 6003 in Windows Server 2008».
- ^ «January 14, 2020—KB4534303 (Monthly Rollup)». support.microsoft.com. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
- ^ «Windows Server 2008 R2 Reaches the RTM Milestone! — Windows Server Blog — Site Home — TechNet Blogs». Blogs.technet.com. 2009-07-22. Archived from the original on 2010-04-08. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
- ^ «When to expect Windows Server 2008 R2 RTM — Windows Server Blog — Site Home — TechNet Blogs». Blogs.technet.com. 2009-07-22. Archived from the original on 2009-07-25. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
- ^ LeBlanc, Brandon (February 9, 2011). «Announcing Availability of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1». Windows Experience Blog. Microsoft.
- ^ «Windows Server 2008 Product Lifecycle». Microsoft. January 14, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
18:55
Further reading[edit]
- «What’s New in Networking». TechNet. Microsoft. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
- «Changes in Functionality from Windows Server 2003 with SP1 to Windows Server 2008». TechNet. Microsoft. 21 January 2008. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
- «Description of the Microsoft server applications that are supported on Windows Server 2008». Support. Microsoft. 23 April 2012. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
- «Windows Server 2008 System Requirements». TechNet. Microsoft. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
- Henderson, Tom; Dvorak, Rand (21 February 2008). «Windows Server 2008: Faster, more manageable and secure, but still missing the virtual link». Network World. IDG. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
- Radzikowski, Przemek (21 February 2010). «How to Find Build and Revision Number of Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 Installed». Capitalhead. Capitalhead Pty. Ltd. Archived from the original on 8 May 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
- Stanek, William (2008). Windows Server 2008 Inside Out. Microsoft Press. ISBN 978-0-7356-2438-2.
External links[edit]
- Windows Server Performance Team Blog
В прошлом году состоялся релиз Windows Server 2022 о новых возможностях которого я начал публиковать статьи, а также записал несколько веб-кастов на тему развертывания. Многие клиенты Microsoft уже используют новейшую версию серверной операционной системы и смогли оценить ее возможности для приложений, данных и инфраструктуры. С другой стороны, зачастую клиентам требуется больше времени для модернизации поддерживаемых приложений на старых версиях Windows Server. Сегодня мы пройдемся по ключевым датам и опциям для Windows Server 2008/2008 R2 и 2012/2012 R2.
Существует несколько вариантов для продолжения поддержки рабочих нагрузок на старых версиях Windows Server без потери защиты. Клиенты могут мигрировать в Azure с получением бесплатных обновлений безопасности (Extended Security Update, ESU), для защиты на время планирования и миграции на новейшие версии Windows Server. Также можно объединить обновления безопасности (ESU) с Azure Hybrid Benefit для увеличения выгоды от размещения в Azure. Если клиенту необходимо остаться в локальном окружении для соответствия требованиям регуляторов или по иным причинам, то можно приобрести расширенные обновления безопасности (ESU) для локальных серверов. Дополнительно, можно использовать Azure Arc, чтобы получить преимущества от автоматизированной/запланированной установки обновлений (ESU) на локальные серверы, а также получить преимущества безопасности и обслуживания в Azure.
Windows Server 2008 и 2008 R2.
Для клиентов, использующих Windows Server 2008/2008 R2, окончание второго года расширенных обновлений безопасности (ESU) наступило 11 января 2022 года. Третий год станет последним для лицензий Windows Server, он закончится 10 января 2023 года.
Клиенты могут получить дополнительный четвертый год бесплатных расширенных обновлений безопасности только в Azure (в том числе в Azure Stack HCI, Azure Stack HUB и прочих продуктах Azure). Это позволит продолжить получать обновления безопасности для Windows Server 2008 и 2008 R2 вплоть до 9-го января 2024-го года.
Windows Server 2012 и 2012 R2.
Для клиентов Windows Server 2012/2012 R2 окончание поддержки наступит 10 октября 2023-го года. До октября 2022 года доступны для заказа расширенные обновления безопасности (ESU), их установка начнется с 10 октября 2023 года. Обновления безопасности (ESU) будут доступны в течении трёх лет с ежегодным продлением, вплоть до финальной даты 13 октября 2026-го года.
Заключение.
Для клиентов Software Assurance или лицензий по подписке в рамках корпоративного соглашения, которые не могут мигрировать свои установки Windows Server в Azure, доступна опция расширенных обновлений безопасности (ESU). Дополнительные подробности и инструкции по заказу и активации расширенных обновлений безопасности для Windows Server 2008 и 2008 R2 можно найти по ссылке. Дополнительные сведения о заказе расширенных обновлений безопасности для Windows Server 2012 и 2012 R2 станут доступны ближе к дате окончания поддержки.
Windows Server (formerly Windows NT Server) is a group of operating systems (OS) for servers by
Microsoft. The brand name was changed to Windows Server in 2003.
Release | Released | Active Support | Security Support | Extended Security Updates | Latest |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Windows Server 2022 (LTSC) |
2 years ago
(18 Aug 2021) |
Ends (13 Oct 2026) |
Ends (14 Oct 2031) |
Unavailable |
10.0.20348 |
Windows Server 20H2 |
2 years and 11 months ago
(20 Oct 2020) |
Ended (09 Aug 2022) |
Ended (09 Aug 2022) |
Unavailable |
10.0.19042 |
Windows Server 2004 |
3 years and 4 months ago
(27 May 2020) |
Ended (14 Dec 2021) |
Ended (14 Dec 2021) |
Unavailable |
10.0.19041 |
Windows Server 1909 |
3 years and 11 months ago
(12 Nov 2019) |
Ended (11 May 2021) |
Ended (11 May 2021) |
Unavailable |
10.0.18363 |
Windows Server 1809 |
4 years and 11 months ago
(13 Nov 2018) |
Ended (10 Nov 2020) |
Ended (10 Nov 2020) |
Unavailable |
10.0.17763 |
Windows Server 2019 (LTSC) |
4 years and 11 months ago
(13 Nov 2018) |
Ends (09 Jan 2024) |
Ends (09 Jan 2029) |
Unavailable |
10.0.17763 |
Windows Server 1903 |
5 years ago
(21 May 2018) |
Ended (08 Dec 2020) |
Ended (08 Dec 2020) |
Unavailable |
10.0.18362 |
Windows Server 1803 |
5 years ago
(30 Apr 2018) |
Ended (12 Nov 2019) |
Ended (12 Nov 2019) |
Unavailable |
10.0.17134 |
Windows Server 1709 |
5 years and 11 months ago
(17 Oct 2017) |
Ended (09 Apr 2019) |
Ended (09 Apr 2019) |
Unavailable |
10.0.16299 |
Windows Server 2016 (LTSC) |
6 years and 12 months ago
(15 Oct 2016) |
Ended (11 Jan 2022) |
Ends (12 Jan 2027) |
Unavailable |
10.0.14393 |
Windows Server 2012-R2 (LTSC) |
9 years ago
(25 Nov 2013) |
Ended (09 Oct 2018) |
Ends (10 Oct 2023) |
Ends (13 Oct 2026) |
6.3.9600 |
Windows Server 2012 (LTSC) |
10 years ago
(30 Oct 2012) |
Ended (09 Oct 2018) |
Ends (10 Oct 2023) |
Ends (13 Oct 2026) |
6.2.9200 |
Windows Server 2008-R2-SP1 (LTSC) |
12 years ago
(22 Feb 2011) |
Ended (13 Jan 2015) |
Ended (14 Jan 2020) |
Ended (10 Jan 2023) |
6.1.7601 |
Windows Server 2008-SP2 (LTSC) |
14 years ago
(29 Apr 2009) |
Ended (13 Jan 2015) |
Ended (14 Jan 2020) |
Ended (10 Jan 2023) |
6.0.6003 |
Windows Server 2003-SP2 (LTSC) |
20 years ago
(24 Apr 2003) |
Ended (13 Jul 2010) |
Ended (14 Jul 2015) |
Unavailable |
5.2.3790 |
Windows Server 2000 (LTSC) |
23 years ago
(17 Feb 2000) |
Ended (30 Jun 2005) |
Ended (13 Jul 2010) |
Unavailable |
5.0.2195 |
Servicing channels
Previously with Windows Server 2016 and Windows Server 2019 there have been two primary release channels available:
- Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC)
- Semi-Annual Channel (SAC)
The Windows Server Semi-Annual Channel (SAC) was retired on August 9, 2022. There will be no future SAC releases of Windows Server.
Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC)
With the Long-Term Servicing Channel, a new major version of Windows Server is released every 2-3 years. Users are entitled to 5 years of mainstream support and 5 years of extended support. The Long-Term Servicing Channel will continue to receive security and non-security updates, but it will not receive the new features and functionality.
Semi-Annual Channel (SAC)
Each release in this channel is supported for 18 months from the initial release. Most of the features introduced in the Semi-Annual Channel have been rolled up into the next Long-Term Servicing Channel release of Windows Server.
In this model, Windows Server releases were identified by the year and month of release: for example, in 2017, a release in the 9th month (September) would be identified as version 1709. Fresh releases of Windows Server in the Semi-Annual Channel occurred twice each year. The support lifecycle for each release is 18 months. Starting with fall 2020 (20H2) releases, the identification changed. Instead of a month, the release is named based on the release cycle. For example: version 20H2, for a release in the second half of the year 2020.
Extended Security Updates (ESU)
For some releases, customers also have the option to purchase Extended Security Updates (ESU).
It includes Critical and/or Important security updates for a maximum of three years after the
product’s End of Extended Support date. Customers can also get technical support for the ESU period
as long as they also have an active support plan.
More information is available on the Microsoft Windows Server website.
You should be running one of the supported release numbers listed above in the rightmost column.
You can check the version that you are currently using by running:
winver
You can submit an improvement to this page
on GitHub
.
This page has a corresponding
Talk Page.
A JSON version of this page is available at /api/windows-server.json.
See the API Documentation for more information.
You can subscribe to the iCalendar feed at /calendar/windows-server.ics.