Development process
On February 29, 2012, Microsoft launched the WindowsServer8Beta version for public testing. This version updated the online backup service, and built-in Simplified Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese, etc. Five languages.
On April 18, 2012, WindowsServer8 was officially renamed WindowsServer2012.
On June 1, 2012, Microsoft released the data center version of WindowsServer2012RC, which provides enterprises and hosting providers with a scalable, dynamic, multi-tenant support and optimized infrastructure through cloud computing.
On August 2, 2012, Microsoft released the WindowsServer2012RTM version.
On September 4, 2012, Microsoft officially released the official version of Windows Server 2012.
On November 2, 2012, the WindowsServer2012Essentials version launched by Microsoft was officially launched.
System features
SMB3.0
Brand new server manager (2 photos)
WindowsServer2012 includes SMB3.0, the third edition server The new functions provided by the Message Block (SMB) protocol can be used to build a continuously available file server. SMB is a network file sharing protocol that can be used by applications to read and write files and send service requests from services over the network. SMB3.0 adds automatic rebalancing of the scale-out file server client, VHDX files as shared storage of the guest cluster, Hyper-V live migration through SMB, improved SMB bandwidth management, and support for multiple SMBs on a scale-out file server Examples and other functions.NFS4.1
The NFS4.1 server provided by WindowsServer2012 provides a huge storage system for heterogeneous environments and supports parallel storage. In the previous protocol, the client connects directly to the server and transmits data directly to the server. This method is not a problem when the number of clients is small, but if a large number of clients want to access data, the NFS server will quickly become a bottleneck, inhibiting the performance of the system. NFSv4.1 supports parallel storage. The server consists of a metadata server (MDS) and multiple data servers (DS). The metadata server only manages the layout of files on the disk, while data transmission is between the client and the data server. Proceed directly. Since the system contains multiple data servers, data can be accessed in parallel, resulting in a rapid increase in system throughput.
iSCSI
The iSCSI (InternetSmallComputerSystemInterface, Internet Small Computer System Interface) target server provided by Windows Server 2012 allows multiple computers to be booted over the network from an operating system image stored in a central location. This can improve efficiency, manageability, usability, and security. An iSCSI target server can start hundreds of computers with a single operating system image.
In Windows Server 2012, iSCSISoftwareTarget has become a built-in function, directly integrated in the failover cluster, so the guest cluster using shared iSCSI storage is easier to implement. And by starting the high availability wizard from the Failover Cluster Manager console, you can quickly join the iSCSITargetServer as a role in the cluster.
Hyper-VReplica
The Hyper-V Replica (Hyper-VReplica) in Windows Server 2012 is a storage technology used to continuously replicate virtual machines to a backup cluster. It ensures that the snapshot does not exceed 15 minutes and the key virtual machine is available on any network connection, including the Internet. It fully replicates the initial snapshot, and then only sends the changed blocks, and fully supports version control of the virtual machine.
After Hyper-V is used together with the failover cluster function, virtual machines can be moved between different nodes in the data center, so that virtual machines can obtain guaranteed service availability. In contrast, Hyper-V replicas allow virtual machines to maintain availability across multiple data centers, because nodes that carry replicas can be located in geographically dispersed physical sites. So this is a solution independent of the application and also a solution independent of the storage device.
Hyper-V3.0
Hyper-V3.0 in WindowsServer2012 contains a series of new and improved functions, mainly related to tenant isolation, communication shaping, protection and prevention of malicious Virtual machines, as well as easy troubleshooting and many other fields, have the characteristics of high scalability, unlimited concurrent real-time migration, real-time storage migration, new virtual disk format, and VHDX support 16T storage space. The Hyper-V3.0 host supports up to 160 logical processors and up to 2TB of RAM.
Data deduplication
The deduplication function of Windows Server 2012 includes the operation of discovering and deleting duplicate information in the data without losing the accuracy or integrity of the data. The goal is to divide the file into small (32~128KB) and variable-size blocks, determine duplicate blocks, and then keep a copy of each block to store more data in a smaller space. The use of a single copy of the reference replaces the redundant copy of the block, the block is divided into container files, and the container has been compressed for further space optimization.
Cluster Shared Volumes
The cluster shared volume (CSV, ClusterSharedVolumes) function in Windows Server 2012 has been greatly improved to make its configuration simpler and can use CSV to provide better security and performance , Beyond the virtual hard disk hosted for Hyper-V. CSV also supports the SMB3.0 function, which can provide a Scale-out file server with continuous availability and scalable storage features.
PowerShell3.0
The default PowerShell version of WindowsServer2012 is PowerShell3.0. It is neither a graphical user interface nor a command line interface, but both. In PowerShell3.0, better remote management is introduced, which can disconnect remote sessions and later reconnect to the same session from the same or a different computer; the construction of new workflows can be written with similar functions Things, using PowerShell to translate commands and script codes into the Windows workflow technology WWF process is a more effective and reliable way to orchestrate long-running, complex, and multi-step tasks; updatable help means that the help file can be on-demand Updates, from any Microsoft server people like can download to new XML files and other new features, which can provide additional flexibility and powerful features for the management of cloud and multi-server environments.
IIS8.0
IIS8.0 in WindowsServer2012 supports script pre-compilation, has precise process restrictions, SNI support, centralized certificate management, and an FTP server with login restrictions. IIS8.0 also provides a multi-core expansion function based on non-uniform memory access (NUMA). This technology allows the server to be more efficiently expanded to up to 64 processors and can be expanded across NUMA nodes. For Web applications that need to be developed and deployed, IIS8.0 also provides greater flexibility for the business.
System version
Version introduction
WindowsServer2012 includes Datacenter data center edition, Standard standard edition, Essentials edition and Foundation edition:
Datacenter Data Center Edition: The Data Center Edition provides complete WindowsServer functions, suitable for highly virtualized cloud environments, and does not limit the number of virtual hosts.
Standard Standard Edition: Standard Edition provides complete WindowsServer functions, suitable for non-virtualized or low-level virtualized environments, and restricts the use of two virtual hosts.
Essentials version: The Essentials version is for small and medium-sized enterprises, and users are limited to no more than 25. This version simplifies the interface, pre-configured cloud service connections, supports only two processors, and does not support virtualization.
Foundation version: The Foundation version is only available to OEM manufacturers, limited to 15 users, provides general-purpose server functions, supports only one processor, and does not support virtualization.
Version difference
Installation options
Installation mode (1 photo)
WindowsServer2012 provides two installation modes:Server with GUI : After the installation is complete, a graphical user interface (GUI) is included, which provides a friendly user interface and graphical management tools, which is equivalent to a complete installation in WindowsServer2008R2.
Server core installation: After the installation is complete, only a minimal environment is provided, which can reduce maintenance and management requirements, reduce the use of hard disk capacity, and reduce the number of attacks. Since there is no graphical user interface, you can only use command prompt (commandprompt), Windows PowerShell or through a remote computer to manage this server.
Version update
Hardware requirements
System evaluation
Microsoft carefully designed WindowsServer2012 to allow developers to write in different A single application that can run in any environment. The IT operations team can easily transfer these recently written applications between different environments and places. In many cases, even allowing applications to be transferred or shared across multiple places while running without disturbing users. (Comment by CarlClaunch, analyst of Gartner Group)
As a cloud operating system, WindowsServer2012 supports many of Microsoft's cloud services, such as Skydrive, XBOXLive, etc., and is also fully compatible with the latest Microsoft products such as Windows8 and Office2013. At the same time, it can perfectly support Microsoft WindowsPhone8 and Surface platform computers. On the other hand, Windows Server 2012 also provides customized settings for IT management and big data processing. Through the Hyper-V management platform and virtual machines, a large number of server devices can be managed to achieve dynamic resource allocation. (Netease Technology Review)