Investment thesis

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) has been a dominant leader in the tech industry for several decades at this point. They started out as an operating system software company, and the overwhelming success of Microsoft Windows and Office catapulted them to the top of the tech industry. They have since expanded into many different branches (cloud service, productivity and collaboration tools, games, etc.). They are one of the truly dominant companies with many competitive advantages.

Recently, due to inflationary pressure and rising labor and supply costs, many companies have seen their margins squeezed. However, Microsoft continues to find new ways to increase its margins. The current global turmoil and economic uncertainty have taken their toll on the stock market, and in particular on tech growth stocks. This volatility has created a rare opportunity to grab Microsoft shares at a bargain price. I think Microsoft is a great option for a long-term investor because:

• Microsoft announced a resounding result in the 2nd quarter of 2022 with substantial revenue growth and an increase in the profit margin.
• Microsoft has steadily increased its margins since 2019 by focusing on more lucrative segments of the business, while maintaining steady growth in the legacy business.
• Additionally, they continue to expand their dominance through substantial organic growth and key acquisitions.

Blowout 2Q 2022 (4Q 2021) Microsoft Results

Microsoft released Q2 2022 (Q4 2021 for the rest of us) results at the end of January, and it was a resounding result. They easily exceeded high and low expectations. Revenue was $51.7 billion, up 20% year-on-year, and operating income was $22.2 billion, up 24%. All segments grew significantly from the same quarter last year, with LinkedIn, Dynamics products and cloud services leading the growth. LinkedIn revenue increased 37% and Dynamics products and cloud services revenue increased 29%.

As an investor focused on business fundamentals, I was very pleased to see an increase in operating margin. The operating margin increased from 41.5% last year to 43.0% this year. This is a remarkable result, especially as many companies are experiencing squeezed margins due to inflation, rising labor costs and supply chain pressure. supply. A margin expansion of this magnitude is a clear indication of product superiority and shrewd business focus on the part of management. I will discuss how they expand their margins in the following sections.

Focus on the good deals

The first secret to expanding their margin – focus on the right business. Tracking the operating margins of each segment (Productivity and Business Process, Intelligent Cloud, and More Personal Computing), Productivity and Business Process and Intelligent Cloud clearly achieve higher profitability than Personal Computing.

Operating margins	2018	2019	2020	2021
Productivity and business process	36%	39%	40%	45%
smart cloud	36%	36%	38%	43%
More personal computing	25%	28%	33%	36%

Operating margins by segment Microsoft. Table generated by the author. Data Source: SEC Filings

Since 2016, Microsoft has focused heavily on revenue growth in Productivity & Business Processes (Office, Dynamics, and LinkedIn) and Intelligent Cloud (Azure, associated cloud services, and platform). You can clearly see the stronger trend of growth in Productivity and Business Processes and Intelligent Cloud, both of which outpace the More Personal Computing business around 2019.

The growth of Productivity & Business Process has largely been achieved by offering superior products and capturing synergies between products. Microsoft has dominated the operating system and desktop software market for several decades at this point, so the installed base of this software is huge. In addition to the large installed base of operating systems and desktop software, Microsoft offers new products that work seamlessly with other software/platforms, and this synergy further fuels cross-selling and, therefore, revenue growth. Dynamics 365 for Talent with LinkedIn is a great example of the synergistic effect between Microsoft software.

Growth of the Intelligent Cloud platform is achieved through superior AI technology and economies of scale. With the new remote work environment, companies have accelerated their digital transformation, and Microsoft is providing key technologies and infrastructure to achieve this transformation. Additionally, using their vast global footprint and resources, Microsoft has created an extensive network of data centers that provides three major benefits for economies of scale; much cheaper data centers in terms of compute; data centers that provide excellent data coordination and aggregation across diverse customer, geographic and application demand patterns; and data centers that reduce application maintenance costs. With these advantages, their Intelligent Cloud segment is growing at a truly incredible rate, and I expect that to continue for the foreseeable future.

Develop their competitive advantage

The other key element that has driven Microsoft’s growing margin is their constant effort to increase their competitive advantage. Since 2016, they have steadily increased their capital expenditures, increasing from $8.9 billion in 2016 to $24.2 billion in 2021. Additionally, they have consistently spent around 20% of their gross profit in R&D ($22 billion in the last twelve months) . With this kind of investment to increase capacity and improve products, it’s no surprise that their products stay on top for a long time.

In addition, Microsoft has not hesitated to acquire key businesses to strengthen its competitive advantage. More recently, they caused a stir with the acquisition of Blizzard. I think it’s a great decision to acquire top talent in the gaming industry as well as great gaming franchises that will drive future growth. The detailed breakdown of the deal is explained in this article. In 2021 alone, Microsoft has entered into 14 deals, including Two Hat, Clear Software, Peer5, and CloudKnox. These acquisitions will provide key technology and talent to fuel future growth, while increasing revenues.

Estimated intrinsic value of MSFT shares

I used the DCF model to estimate the intrinsic value of Microsoft. For the estimate, I used EBITDA ($90.8 billion) as the cash flow indicator and the current WACC of 7.5% as the discount rate. For the base case, I assumed 20% EBITDA growth (Seeking Alpha Consensus) for the next 5 years and zero growth thereafter (zero terminal growth). For the bullish and very bullish case, I assumed EBITDA growth of 22% and 24%, respectively, for the next 5 years and zero growth thereafter. Given their rapid growth due to existing tailwinds and additional growth from Blizzard and other acquisitions, I think EBITDA growth of 22-24% is quite reasonable. In addition, their expanding margin will contribute positively to EBITDA growth.

The estimate revealed that the current share price is up 15-25%. This estimate shows that the current market volatility provides a rare opportunity to buy Microsoft stock at a bargain price, and I think investors should take advantage of this opportunity.

	Price target	Upside down
Base case	$311.83	11%
Bullish case	$335.63	20%
Very bullish case	$360.97	29%

The assumptions and data used for the price target estimation are summarized below:

• WACC: 7.5%
• EBITDA growth rate: 20% (base case), 22% (bullish case), 24% (very bullish case)
• Current EBITDA: $90.8 billion
• Current stock price: $280.07 (03/11/2022)
• Tax rate: 15%

Risk

Acquiring businesses always involves risk. Especially a company the size of Blizzard can absorb a lot of financial, time and human resources to complete. Even after completion, the cost synergies and increased revenue should be significant enough to justify the cost of acquisition. Additionally, Blizzard has had cultural issues within the company and is exposed to legal issues. Therefore, the investor should closely monitor the news regarding the acquisition process.

There is a lot of turmoil in the world, creating a lot of uncertainty. War, inflation, economic growth rates and supply chain issues all rock the stock market wildly on a daily basis. In this market, it is really difficult to maintain a long-term perspective and not be swayed by short-term market fluctuations caused by headlines. Therefore, the investor must remain committed to a long-term investment.

Conclusion

Microsoft has been an incredible investment for several decades at this point. Market dominance, technological superiority and management’s relentless drive for growth have combined for exceptional profitability and superb long-term growth. I expect this trend to continue for the foreseeable future. I see 15-25% upside from the current level.

Microsoft Windows Server 2022, which debuted last year, introduced a host of features to improve security and performance.

In the collection of 10 articles below, experts provide step-by-step instructions for taking advantage of many of these new Windows Server 2022 features. Read the articles and share your own Windows Server tips in the comments.

1. Windows Server 2022 features: Adjust storage repair speed

Windows Server 2022 allows users to control the speed of storage repair. In this how-to article, expert Brien Posey walks through the steps to configure Storage Repair Speed ​​using Windows Admin Center and PowerShell.

2. How to Check Disk Health and Identify Bad Disks in Windows Server

It is not always easy to determine which physical disks need to be replaced. Fortunately, PowerShell gives IT pros an easy way to check disk health and identify unhealthy ones. Here are the steps of the PowerShell process.

3. Considerations before implementing Windows Server DFS Replication

Microsoft’s Distributed File System (DFS) allows users to replicate files between file servers. As useful as this feature is, there are some important limitations and requirements to consider before deploying DFS Replication.

4. How to enable storage caching in Windows Server

New in Windows Server 2022, users can configure storage caching for Windows Storage Spaces on standalone servers. Learn how to configure storage caching using PowerShell.

5. Tips for working with SMB Direct for Windows Server

SMB Direct, a feature that Microsoft has made available since Windows Server 2012, can increase Windows’ ability to access SMB storage. Here are some tips for using SMB Direct, as well as pitfalls to avoid.

6. How to enable SMB compression to speed up file transfers

Windows Server 2022 offers SMB compression, which compresses network traffic flowing to and from SMB file shares. Brien Posey details the process for configuring SMB compression.

7. How to get started with Windows Server DFS

Microsoft’s DFS is designed to centralize file shares and folders in a namespace. This article explains what you need to know about DFS and how to deploy it on Windows Server.

8. Windows server hardening

IT professionals can help protect Windows Server environments by tightening security configurations. Microsoft’s learning guide describes how to secure administrator access to privileged access workstations, establish security baselines, and more.

9. 9 Must-Have Tips for Securing Windows Servers

This MakeUsOf article from expert Tashreef Shareef explains how to augment Windows Server security features to provide additional protection against cyberattacks.

10. How to Join Windows Server 2022 Core to Active Directory

In this article by Petri, technical expert Michael Reinders explores methods for connecting Windows Server 2022 Core to an Active Directory domain.

Share your own Windows Server tips and tricks in the comments below!

Microsoft announced the general availability of hotpatching for Windows Server Azure Edition primary virtual machines, allowing administrators to install Windows security updates on supported virtual machines without requiring a server restart.

The feature works with newly deployed Azure VMs running Windows Server 2022 Datacenter: Azure Edition Core Gen2 images and is available in all Azure regions globally.

“Hotpatching is a new way to install updates on a Windows Server 2022 Datacenter: Azure Edition (Core) virtual machine that does not require a restart after installation, by patching the in-memory code of running processes. execution without having to restart the process,” said Ned Pyle, senior program manager in the Microsoft Windows Server engineering group.

“Hotpatching covers Windows security updates and maintains parity with the content of security updates released in the regular (non-Hotpatch) Windows Update channel. Hotpatching works by first establishing a baseline reference with a latest cumulative update from Windows Update.”

The benefits of using hotpatching to keep your Windows Server 2022 Azure VMs up to date and secure include:

• Increased availability with fewer reboots
• Faster deployment of updates as packages are smaller, install faster, and have easier patch orchestration with Azure Update Manager
• Better protection, as Hotpatch packages install faster without the need to schedule a reboot, reducing the “vulnerability window” after a Windows security update is released

It won’t be available in AWS for a while, sorry. This feature is currently limited to Windows Server Azure Edition only. It is rather desirable that hotpatching eventually arrives on all Windows, even clients. But I don’t have a timeline for that yet.

— Ned Pyle (@NerdPyle) February 16, 2022

It is important to mention that servers will still require reboots after installing updates provided through the regular (non-Hotpatch) Windows update channel that are not included in the Hotpatch program.

Examples of patches that cannot be installed without a restart include non-Windows updates (such as .NET patches) and non-security updates released for Windows.

Reboots will also be required periodically after installing a new baseline to synchronize VMs with non-security fixes included in the latest Windows Cumulative Update.

“Baselines (which require a restart) will start on a three-month cadence and increase over time,” Microsoft explains.

“If you need to install an update outside of the Hotpatch program, you can disable and unregister hotpatching on a VM and revert to typical VM update behavior for Windows Server. You can re-register hotpatching VM later,” Pyle added.

You can find more details on how you can patch your Windows Server Azure VMs in this blog post or on this Microsoft Docs page.

VIENNA, February 16, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — WinDRBD is the port of the Linux DRBD kernel driver and userspace utilities to the Microsoft Windows family of operating systems. It allows to create high availability (HA) clusters on Windows Server and Client platforms.

WinDRBD provides its storage volumes as normal SCSI disks, which makes it compatible with most Windows applications. As it is a kernel driver, applications such as Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Hyper-V can be made highly available in a cluster of Windows nodes.

WinDRBD is compatible with the Linux version, so one can also create mixed setups replicating data between Linux and Windows machines. In addition, WinDRBD allows Windows clients to be booted from one or more Linux servers, thus realizing diskless thin clients running Windows 10 (and in the future Windows 11).

Quote:

Philippe ReisnerCEO of LINBIT, says, “I am proud and happy that WinDRBD is reaching the 1.0 milestone. This is an important step in the journey. One of the next steps will also bring LINSTOR to the Windows platform.

John Thomas, the developer of WinDRBD explains: “The Linux kernel compatibility layer allows us to use the original Linux DRBD sources inside the Windows NT kernel. With this layer, we can always use the most recent DRBD sources for WinDRBD. It implements kernel mechanisms such as threads, queues, spinlocks, and a network socket API. Therefore, this compatibility layer can also be used to port other drivers from Linux to Windows. Read Johannes mailing list announcement in his original statement https://lists.linbit.com/pipermail/drbd-announce/2022-February/000528.html?_ga=2.138109744.1629062005.1644919859-72617285.1640446433 here.

About LINBIT:

LINBIT is the force behind DRBD, the de facto open source standard for high availability (HA) software, and LINSTOR, which manages data storage for enterprise virtualization and cloud computing. LINBIT DRBD software is deployed in millions of mission-critical environments worldwide to provide high availability (HA), geographic clustering for disaster recovery (DR). LINSTOR is the foundation of software-defined storage (SDS) for many cloud orchestration systems such as Kubernetes-based clouds, OpenStack, ApacheCloudStack, OpenNebula, XCP-ng and Proxmox VE.

About WinDRBD:

WinDRBD® is the port of LINBIT’s DRBD kernel driver and userspace utilities to the Microsoft Windows family of operating systems (Windows Server, Windows 10). It is based on the original DRBD source code, which makes it widely compatible with the Linux version of DRBD. Most of the features that come with Linux DRBD are also available on the WinDRBD port. Additionally, WinDRBD can be used to boot a Windows client from a network resource. You can download the exe file https://pkg.linbit.com//downloads/drbd-windows/install-windrbd-1.0.0-signed.exe?_ga=2.138109744.1629062005.1644919859-72617285.1640446433 here.

Media Contact

Niels Rossipaul, LINBIT HA Solutions GmbH, 43 1 817 82 92 0, niels.rossipaul@linbit.com

SOURCELINBIT HA Solutions GmbH

SAN DIEGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Lumicademythe platform solution for live education and training, today announced its new update with media sharing, mobile chat and other enhanced usability features, providing a platform for corporate training, federal, state and local government and educational institutions. Additionally, Lumicademy works seamlessly on Microsoft Windows 11 to deliver enhanced interactive live video lessons in a secure setting.

Lumicademy provides teachers and their IT administrators, HR and corporate trainers, and companies with the powerful live classroom tools created specifically for employee education and training. We provide services to the education sector, private and public companies, as well as government institutions.

Lumicademy too integrates with business tools including Slack, Zapier, and Hubspot, giving organizations the ability to deliver end-to-end, seamless solutions for virtual training, meetings, and even onboarding programs.

What’s new in Lumicademy

• Media sharing – sharing of video and audio files so that your participants/team members can view them in real time. Play, pause, stop and replay any split screen video. Most video file formats are supported and real-time transcoded for playback on any target device or platform. The recording of your video shares and any collaboration is also always available in your Lumicademy room.

• mobile chat – you can now chat in real time, in your Lumicademy room from your mobile device. Do more, faster and on the go.

• Windows 11 support – The update includes support for high resolution displays and multi-monitor setups.

In addition to these features, Lumicademy now has a setting to always display attendee names on videos, video sharing, and improved Android and iOS audio compatibility with select devices for better usability.

“Virtual corporate training has become a staple for businesses across all industries. Over the past two years, virtual and distance learning has grown for a number of reasons, including pandemic-related factors” , said Allen Drennan, co-founder and CTO of Lumicademy, “Lumicademy complements its LMS with these new enhancements to deliver engaging and positive learning experiences that also provide enough flexibility to reach more participants.”

Published a few days ago, Gartner^® “Forecast: Enterprise IT spending for government and education markets, worldwide, 2019-2025, 4Q21 update” states “the 4Q21 update reflects increased investment in digital initiatives. Gartner estimates a CAGR of 6.7% for government and education from 2020 to 2025, with overall IT spending expected to reach over $829 billion (constant US dollars) by 2025.”[1]

“Challenges in K-12 education are evolving, but nonetheless continue to be significant,” according to Gartner. “The goal for K-12 CIOs is to leverage all digital investments made to date, identify those that still need to be made, and create an agile and composable digital learning organization.”[2]

For example, Progressive Expert Consulting, Inc. (PEC), a training and technology company, pioneered synchronous and asynchronous training concepts to provide physical learning in a virtual environment. Create a platform solution that would meet the stringent training requirements for the US Department of Defenseincluding the Special Operations Forces Remote Training System (SOFTS), PEC has partnered with Lumicademy and integrated its secure video conferencing platform.

“We needed a platform solution that we could control that would also meet our stringent military-grade security requirements,” said Tim Feng, vice president of PEC. “It needed to be private, so we could choose how and where to install modules, as well as meet critical encryption requirements for sensitive operations. Lumicademy provided the ability to control everything for the user – from high-level video and audio controls, classroom security, to controlling the devices used at each workstation. »

Additionally, PEC also noted that Lumicademy provides secure sharing of sensitive content such as documents, files, and recordings that cannot be streamed over the public internet or stored in uncontrolled cloud data centers.

To request a demo, please visit https://my.lumicademy.com/sales.

​​[1] Gartner, “Forecast: Enterprise IT Spending for Government and Education Markets, Worldwide, 2019-2025, 4Q21 Update,” Daniel Snyder, Kelly Calhoun Williams, Irma Fabular, Inna Agamirzian, Rika Narisawa, James Ingham, January 28, 2021.

[2] Gartner, “Top Trends Impacting K-12 Education in 2022,” Kelly Calhoun Williams, Saher Mahmood, Tony Sheehan, Paul Furtado, February 8, 2022. GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries in the United States and internationally and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved.

About Lumicademy

Based in San Diego, Lumicademy is the award-winning platform solution for live education and training. Engaging students and teachers, Lumicademy offers the ability to interact in a live video meeting and view presentations with screen shares, document shares, annotations and whiteboards – securely. Educators and learners can chat live with peers in up to 100 languages ​​and take advantage of learning capabilities traditional platforms can’t offer, with unlimited users joining the classroom experience . For more information, please visit https://www.lumicademy.com/ and join the conversation on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Microsoft Windows 11’s “Your Phone” feature adds a new menu that displays recently opened Android apps from your smartphone.

Microsoft Windows 11 “Your Phone”: Recently Opened Android Apps

According to a report by Windows Central, Microsoft has officially announced that a Windows update introduces a new quick access menu to the “Your Phone” app on Windows 11.

The preview for the new feature is initially rolling out to Windows Insider users, as well as a select number of Samsung smartphones.

Samsung’s Unpacked event, which also launched the Galaxy S22, unveiled the new feature on “Your Phone”. Microsoft followed the South Korean phone maker’s announcement in a tweet, confirming its upcoming feature.

Microsoft senior program manager Analy Otero Diaz says a new feature on “Your Phone” is “coming.”

Diaz further explained that recently opened apps on your Android smartphone would then be displayed from the taskbar of your Windows machine.

The senior Microsoft program manager noted that this should make it easier “to get back to the apps you were recently using on your Samsung phone.”

Diaz’s tweet is accompanied by a screenshot of how the newly opened “Your Phone” apps feature works, showing a pop-up titled “Recently used on Taylor’s phone.”

The taskbar mini flyout displays the three most recent apps on the user’s smartphone. However, if they want to see more than that, there’s a “Show All Apps” option, which displays all the apps on your smartphone, as the name clearly suggests.

#WindowsInsiders New @MSYourPhone upcoming feature! Recent apps integrated into your taskbar. Make it easy to get back to the apps you were recently using on your Samsung phone. pic.twitter.com/fJgXT6zgRz

— Analy Otero Diaz (@AnalyMsft) February 9, 2022

It should be noted, however, that the feature is only exclusive to Samsung devices. Windows Central added that this comes despite the Surface Duo also supporting “Your Phone” “apps” functionality.

But still, Microsoft has yet to announce support for the Surface Duo.

Read also : Microsoft Windows 11 is opening a ‘dev channel’ for testers to try out new features, separate from the beta

Windows 10 “Your Phone” and Samsung devices

According to a report by About Msft, Microsoft clarified that Windows 10 users also benefit from the new functionality of the “Your Phone” application.

However, you should have your paired Samsung smartphone updated to OneUI 3.1.1 or any other latest version.

Microsoft said various Samsung mobile devices are part of recent apps functionality on Windows, including S series models, Note series devices, Z Fold line and Z Flip phones. But it’s worth noting that the tech giant didn’t mention the specific supported devices.

Related article: Microsoft Windows 11 Leak: New Sticker Editor App, Tablet Mode, Eco Switch and More Updates Coming Soon

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Written by Teejay Boris

ⓒ 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

Windows Server 2022 arrived without the trappings of previous versions of Windows Server, but organizations with specific needs will appreciate the improvements in this version of the server operating system.

Microsoft has offered Standard and Datacenter editions of its Windows Server operating systems for several years, which continued with Windows Server 2022. However, the company has introduced a new product called Windows Server 2022 Datacenter Azure edition. As the name suggests, this edition ties server workloads more tightly to the Microsoft cloud platform and offers unique features to tempt customers who want easier fixes and other benefits.

Microsoft has decided to abandon the Windows Server Semi-Annual Channel, which was aimed at organizations interested in emerging server technologies, and stick with the Long-Term Servicing Channel, which produces a major feature release approximately every two years. All editions of Windows Server 2022 follow Microsoft’s fixed lifecycle policy and will receive five years of general support followed by five years of extended support. Although Microsoft always recommends a fresh installation of its server operating system, Windows Server 2022 supports in-place upgrades from the previous two versions of Windows Server.

Hardware requirements and limitations of Windows Server 2022

Windows Server 2022 Standard and Datacenter editions share the same hardware requirements. Both require a 1.4 GHz, 64-bit processor and 512 MB of RAM; for the Desktop Experience GUI-based version, the system needs 2 GB of RAM. Additionally, 32 GB of disk space is required.

These minimum hardware requirements will not be enough to run a workload with decent performance. Even Microsoft’s own documentation states that the minimum system requirements to install Windows Server 2022 require at least 800MB of RAM. Once Windows Server is installed, the RAM can be reduced to 512MB if needed. As a best practice, organizations should match the server hardware to the workload.

The Standard edition and Datacenter edition can run on an unlimited number of cores, but both editions are limited to a total of 64 sockets, which must be 64-bit. Likewise, both editions support a maximum of 48TB of RAM.

All Trusted Platform Module (TPM) features, such as BitLocker Drive Encryption and Secure Server, will require the hardware to come with a TPM 2.0 chip.

Deprecated features from Microsoft in Windows Server 2022

Every time Microsoft releases a new Windows Server product, certain features are deprecated. In the case of Windows Server 2022, Microsoft removed the Internet Storage Name Service, the protocol used to find and use iSCSI systems on the network.

Microsoft has also stopped development on the Shielded Fabric and Shielded Virtual Machines introduced with Windows Server 2016, but will continue to support these features.

Administrators deploying the main server version of Windows Server should note that Microsoft plans to discontinue development of the Server Configuration Tool (sconfig) and remove it from the next version of Windows Server. The sconfig utility will still run on login, but Windows Server 2022 will use PowerShell as the default shell rather than the command prompt.

Other features that Microsoft will not develop further include deploying the Windows Deployment Services boot.wim image and disabling the Local Security Authority Remote Protocol interface used to connect to encrypted files in the Microsoft file system. network encryption.

What’s in Windows Server 2022 Standard Edition?

Microsoft designed Windows Server 2022 Standard for physical machines or minimally virtualized environments. Retail price for the Standard Edition is $1,069 for up to 16 core usage. Systems with more than 16 cores will require additional licenses to cover each physical CPU core. Additionally, each client accessing a Standard Edition server requires a Client Access License (CAL).

Windows Server 2022 Standard has largely the same feature set as the Datacenter edition with some minor variations. For example, the Standard edition limits the Storage Replica feature to a single partnership with a resource group and a 2 TB volume. Similarly, the Standard edition only supports legacy activation if it is running in as a guest on a Datacenter edition server. The standard edition also does not support software-defined networking and the Storage Spaces Direct software-defined storage feature.

The biggest difference between Standard and Datacenter editions is in virtual machine licensing. Both editions support an unlimited number of Windows Server containers. However, the Standard edition limits this to two operating systems per license, which means that a Standard edition server can run a parent operating system and a single Hyper-V virtual machine or a single Hyper-V container. V. In contrast, a Datacenter Edition license allows an unlimited number of Hyper-V virtual machines or Hyper-V containers.

What’s in the Windows Server 2022 Datacenter edition?

Microsoft is releasing Windows Server 2022 Datacenter for use in highly virtualized environments, such as data centers and clouds. A Datacenter license has a retail price of $6,155.

Like the Standard edition, this license allows Windows Server to run on up to 16 cores with additional licenses required for processors with more cores. CALs are also required for each client that accesses the server.

What’s included in Windows Server 2022 Datacenter Azure edition?

Windows Server 2022 Datacenter Azure edition runs as an Azure VM or on an Azure Stack HCI cluster. It cannot be installed on bare metal, nor can it be installed and run as a Hyper-V virtual machine. Microsoft did not disclose the price of this edition.

Windows Server 2022 Azure Edition offers several new features that are not available on the Standard or Datacenter editions of Windows Server 2022. Microsoft calls this unique combination of features “Automatic Management for Windows Server”.

SMB over QUIC provides encrypted access to SMB file shares without the need for a VPN. This feature uses the TLS 1.3 protocol and administrators cannot disable encryption in the settings. Microsoft said this feature uses certificates rather than public key infrastructure authentication.

The hotfix is ​​also unique to the Windows Server 2022 Datacenter Azure edition. With this feature, administrators can patch Windows Server 2022 Datacenter Azure virtual machines without the reboot typically required by Windows, which causes downtime.

The Datacenter Azure edition supports a wide area network in Azure so that virtual machines retain the IP address when migrating from the datacenter to Microsoft’s cloud.

For smaller organizations, Essentials editions are another option

Microsoft also offers an Essentials edition of Windows Server 2022 that it targets for small businesses with up to 25 users and 50 devices. Windows Server 2022 Essentials retails for $501 and does not require a CAL but is limited to 10 cores, a single socket, and a single VM. The feature set is the same as the Standard edition. Windows Server 2022 Essentials is only available through select server hardware partners.

Microsoft compares the different editions of Windows Server 2022 on its website at this link.