Windows Server 2008 R2 released to MSDN and TechNet

David M Williams
Monday, 17 August 2009 13:01

IT Industry - Market

Features exclusive to Windows Server 2008 R2 itself include a new set of management tools, reduced power consumption and new virtualisation capabilities including failover clustering of virtual machines.

Like Windows Server 2008 the R2 version offers a GUI-free server core installation option but with built in .NET and PowerShell support.

Microsoft claim work has been expended to decrease boot times and improve I/O efficiency and generally improve the speed of storage devices, particularly iSCSI.

Two major new features are an Active Directory recycle bin so directory elements can be restored swiftly in the event of inadvertent deletion and an upgrade of Internet Information Services, IIS, that includes an updated FTP server.
DNSSEC security support has been integrated into DNS and interestingly a new File Classification Infrastructure service will allow file servers to enforce business naming conventions over the files stored on it.

Windows Server 2008 R2 supports up to 64 physical processors, or up to 256 logical processors, per system. The minimum requirements are claimed to be a 1.4GHz x64 or Itanium 2 processor and 512MB RAM but no doubt performance and features would be limited.

Ideally, a server would include a multi-core processor and a minimum of 2GB RAM. The standard version of the operating system can see up to 32GB RAM, going up to an incredible 2TB RAM in higher versions.

Nevertheless, it is unlikely that Windows Server 2008 R2 will find itself constrained by old hardware because you will note that the processor must be 64-bit. Windows Server 2008 was the last 32-bit server operating system from Microsoft, with R2 being 64-bit only. This means you have no upgrade path from 32-bit servers without investing in new hardware.

This change is not unexpected. Already Microsoft Exchange 2007 was 64-bit only and other Microsoft server products are similarly migrating to 64-bit only versions.

Speaking of Exchange, though, do be warned that Exchange 2007 is not supported on 2008 R2. You cannot upgrade a Windows Server 2003 or 2008 system to 2008 R2 if it is running Exchange 2007. Your upgrade path is restricted until you are simultaneously able to upgrade to Exchange Server 2010, which is not yet available.

Nevertheless, with Server 2008 R2 being now available systems administrators can begin their testing and evaluation on non-production systems and virtual machines.