Today, Microsoft is releasing Windows Server 2022, making it generally available to customers around the world. Generally, Windows Server builds are somewhat aligned with consumer builds of Windows, but Windows Server 2022 still looks more like Windows 10 than Windows 11. That’s likely because Windows use cases Server doesn’t really require the kind of UI refresh that Windows 11 is.
Instead, this release focuses on improving core features that are more important to servers. First, there are security enhancements with what Microsoft calls “advanced multi-layered security.” There are two parts to this; First, there’s Secured-core Server, a type of device where Microsoft works with hardware partners to enable new hardware, firmware, and driver features to provide enhanced security. Microsoft did something similar for business PCs, which it called Secure-Core PCs, and it’s taking that to servers.
Additionally, Windows Server 2022 improves the speed and security of network connections with HTTPS and TLS 1.3 enabled by default, and support for DNS over HTTPS is also available now. Support for AES-256 encryption is now also available for the SMB protocol.
Windows Server 2022 also comes with new Azure features, like Azure Arc, which enables cloud services for on-premises configurations. Additionally, there is support for SMB compression and an updated Windows Admin Center with an improved server management experience. Microsoft also highlighted some Azure features released over the past year, such as Azure Automanage to automate cloud best practices, Azure Kubernetes Service with .NET support, and more.
This version of Windows Server adds support for 48TB of RAM as well as 2,048 logical cores across 64 CPU sockets, which should provide support for even more applications. Plus, it includes improved app support for Windows containers, adds support for IPv6 and dual-stack networking, and more.
If you are interested in Windows Server 2022, you can go here to try it out and find the full list of new features here. To purchase it, three pricing options are available; Essentials is designed for specialty servers and is licensed per server, while Standard and Datacenter are licensed per core and intended for large-scale applications.
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