Microsoft Windows Server 2008.
Windows Server 2008 is the most advanced Windows Server operating system yet,
designed to power the next-generation of networks, applications, and Web
services. With Windows Server 2008 you can develop, deliver, and manage rich
user experiences and applications, provide a highly secure network
infrastructure, and increase technological efficiency and value within your
organization.
Windows Server 2008 builds on the success and strengths of its Windows Server
predecessors while delivering valuable new functionality and powerful
improvements to the base operating system. New Web tools, virtualization
technologies, security enhancements, and management utilities help save time,
reduce costs, and provide a solid foundation for your information technology
(IT) infrastructure.
A Solid Foundation for Your Business
Windows Server 2008 provides a solid foundation for all of your server workload
and application requirements while also being easy to deploy and manage. The all
new Server Manager provides a unified management console that simplifies and
streamlines server setup, configuration, and ongoing management. Windows
PowerShell, a new command-line shell, helps enable administrators to automate
routine system administration tasks across multiple servers. Windows Deployment
Services provides a simplified, highly secure means of rapidly deploying the
operating system via network-based installations. And Windows Server 2008
Failover Clustering wizards, and full Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) support
plus consolidated management of Network Load Balancing, make high availability
easy to implement even by IT generalists. The new Server Core installation
option of Windows Server 2008 allows for installation of server roles with only
the necessary components and subsystems without a graphical user interface.
Fewer roles and features means minimizing disk and service footprints while
reducing attack surfaces. It also enables your IT staff to specialize according
to the server roles they need to support.
Virtualization Built-in
Windows Server Hyper-V, the next-generation hypervisor-based server
virtualization technology, allows you to make the best use of your server
hardware investments by consolidating multiple server roles as separate virtual
machines running on a single physical machine. You can also efficiently run
multiple operating systems - Windows, Linux, and others – in parallel on a
single server. With Hyper-V and simple licensing policies, it's now easier than
ever to take advantage of the cost savings of virtualization. Applications can
also be efficiently virtualized using Windows Server 2008 centralized
application access technologies. Terminal Services Gateway and Terminal Services
RemoteApp allow easy remote access to standard Windows-based programs from
anywhere by running them on a terminal server instead of directly on a client
computer - without the need for a complicated virtual private network (VPN).
Built for the Web
Windows Server 2008 comes with Internet Information Services 7.0 (IIS 7.0), a Web
server and security-enhanced, easy-to-manage platform for developing and
reliably hosting Web applications and services. A major enhancement to the
Windows Web platform, IIS 7.0 includes a componentized architecture for greater
flexibility and control. IIS 7.0 also provides simplified management, powerful
diagnostic and troubleshooting capabilities that save time, and comprehensive
extensibility. Internet Information Server IIS 7.0 together with the .NET
Framework 3.0 provides a comprehensive platform for building applications that
connect users and data, enabling them to visualize, share, and act on
information. Additionally, IIS 7.0 plays a central role in unifying Microsoft's
Web platform technologies—ASP.NET, Windows Communication Foundation Web
services, and Windows SharePoint Services.
High Security
Windows Server 2008 is the most secure Windows Server yet. The operating system
has been hardened to help protect against failure and several new technologies
help prevent unauthorized connections to your networks, servers, data, and user
accounts. Network Access Protection (NAP) helps ensure that computers that try
to connect to your network comply with your organization's security policy.
Technology integration and several enhancements make Active Directory services a
potent unified and integrated Identity and Access (IDA) solution. And Read-Only
Domain Controller (RODC) and BitLocker Drive Encryption allow you to more
securely deploy your AD database at branch office locations.
High Performance Computing
The benefits and cost savings of Windows Server 2008 extend to Windows HPC Server
2008 for your high performance computing (HPC) environment. Windows HPC Server
2008 is built on Windows Server 2008, x64-bit technology and can efficiently
scale to thousands of processing cores with out-of-the-box functionality to
improve the productivity, and reduce the complexity of your HPC environment.
Windows HPC Server 2008 enables broader adoption by providing a rich and
integrated end-user experience that scales from the desktop application to the
clusters, and includes a comprehensive set of deployment, administration, and
monitoring tools that are easy to deploy, manage, and integrate with your
existing infrastructure.