Let’s at a look at some of the important new features in Windows Server 2022. The latest iteration of the popular server software suite has been available in various stages for some time now, with many different businesses experimenting with it in preparation for upgrades.
Since Windows Server 2016 support is ending in January of 2022, millions of servers will need to be upgraded. In addition, many companies want to update other versions to this latest iteration of the platform in order to take advantage of the latest features and functionalities made available. Of course, new servers that are being staged today will largely be equipped with Windows Server 2022 so that they are as futureproof as possible.
As with any major update to a key operating system like this, you will have hundreds of different improvements and innovations to take advantage of. This article gives a quick overview of just a few of the most important ones that most people will appreciate.
Focus on Security for Windows Server 2022
Perhaps the biggest improvement in Windows Server 2022 is their focus on security. As you are undoubtedly aware, digital security breaches have become huge problems for all sorts of businesses. Various hacks and other problems are costing companies billions of dollars per year, making it a major priority. Windows is definitely taking this threat seriously and making some big improvements to the baseline security that is included on their operating system. Some key points to be aware of in this area include:
- Secure Core – Secure Core is a suite of security options that are used to protect key information in the system. Some of these features have been available on older systems as options, but on Windows Server 2022, they all come enabled and active by default right out of the box.
- Memory Protection – This system uses boost direct memory access to help stop attacks against security technologies that use stored secrets. This is essentially a security feature to protect other security features, which makes your systems much safer.
- Transport Layer Security (TLS) – The most advanced version of TLS is now available on Windows Server by default. TLS is also being rolled out to older versions of Windows Server but it will have to be manually added and enabled, which is not the case with 2022.
- AES 256 Encryption – Windows 2022 has AES-256 encryption available for securing your file servers. Without getting overly technical, suffice it to say that this is an extremely effective encryption standard.
These are just a few of the most significant security advancements that will be coming standard with Windows Server 2022. They have also made a huge number of patches and incremental improvements to their other security systems, which will help to protect your systems.
Impressive Scalability
This new feature is really not going to be used by very many companies. In fact, only a fraction of a percent of all Windows Servers will ever come close to needing the level of scalability that is now being offered. That being said, it is always nice to know that you can upgrade your servers to almost ridiculous levels. This will also help to ensure that this operating system is ready for hardware advancements for many years to come.
So, just how scalable is Windows Server 2022? To start with, a single physical server now has the ability to actively use up to 48TB of RAM. This operating system can also take advantage of up to 64 CPU sockets with 2048 logical processors. If your business needs to run extraordinarily large or powerful virtual environments, rest assured that Windows Server 2022 new features can handle it with ease.
Efficiency Improvements with SMB Compression
If your business has to transfer a lot of files between servers, between a local system and the cloud, or from servers to local computers, you know how system intensive this can be. Transferring large files requires a significant amount of network bandwidth, disk space, CPU utilization, and more. If you do not have a system that is up to the task, attempting to transfer one large file can cause other things to slow way down, which is a big problem.
With the new SMB Compression system on Windows Server 2022, this is going to be a much smaller concern. This feature is able to automatically compress large files when they need to be sent over the network. Using this advanced compression system, you will need far less network bandwidth and other system resources in order to complete the file transfers. The SMB Compression process does use some CPU power, but in virtually every situation you will be saving huge amounts of time and overall resources by reducing the size of these files during the transfer.
Advanced Integration with Azure
Cloud technologies have continued to advance at a rapid pace over the last several years. Microsoft’s cloud service, Azure, has been at the forefront of many of these advances. It is quite clear that Azure (and cloud tech in general) was at the front of the minds of the developers throughout the creation of this new operating system.
Whether you use Azure or any cloud environment or not, the advancements associated with it have the potential to be very helpful. For example, the Windows Admin Center has gotten a major upgrade. In addition to having a variety of new features and a streamlined look, you can also operate it from within the Azure portal. This will allow you to do things like run proxy configurations, pull various tools into their own browser windows, update or execute extensions, and other means of Windows-based server troubleshooting.
Another thing that anyone who has used Microsoft Azure cloud service will notice is that this server OS is pulling a lot of the user interface features right from the cloud. This does not mean that you have to be connected to Azure to use it, but rather that Microsoft has taken what is working so well on their cloud systems and incorporating it into the local Windows Server systems, which most people will love. This is especially nice if you operate a hybrid environment where you access both cloud and local servers. Having a more unified look and feel makes things a lot easier.
Simple Storage Migration
One last significant feature to mention is one that anyone who is going to be upgrading systems will definitely appreciate. The storage migration system update for Windows Server 2022 makes it easier than ever to migrate data from older systems. This tool will make it so you can bring virtually any type of data from older Windows or Linux machines to a modern Windows Server.
Having this tool available will make it easier than ever to decommission old equipment while you are upgrading to more modern systems. If you will be using cloud storage with Azure, you can also use this system to migrate the data up to the cloud without any difficulty at all. Storage Migration Services really makes data migration fast and simple, which is exactly what it should be.
Get Ready for Your Server Upgrade Today
The deadline for support of Windows Server 2016 is quickly approaching. As of the time of this writing, Windows Server 2016 is slated to hit end of life in January of 2023. While it is possible that this could get delayed, it is best to make sure all of your servers are upgraded before that point, so you do not need to pay for extended support contracts or be left without the services you need. No matter what operating systems your current servers are using, the new features in Windows Server 2022 make it a great option to consider.
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