Windows Server 2022 is Now Generally Available

Microsoft announced today that it has made Windows Server 2022 available to customers, though sources tell me it’s been available for weeks.

“Windows Server 2022. It’s a big step forward for the operating system that is trusted by major corporations and small businesses alike to run their business and mission-critical workloads,” Microsoft vice president Bernardo Caldas writes. “With Windows Server 2022, customers can continue to securely run their workloads, enable new hybrid cloud scenarios, and modernize their applications to meet evolving business requirements.”

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As that quote subtly suggests, this latest version of Windows Server 2022 is not quite as full-featured as Windows Servers past, in large part because of the ongoing shift to cloud computing. But Windows Server 2022 is designed to run in hybrid environments with Azure Arc, and it supports workloads that make sense to those customers that still need some on-premises infrastructure.

Among the new features are Windows container advances, secured-core server configurations that provide multi-layer security and secure connectivity, SMB compression in the File Server, and a more modern version of the Windows Admin Center that features a new event viewer and gateway proxy support for connecting to Azure. Windows Server 2022 also scales to 48 TB of RAM and 2,048 logical processor cores running on 64 physical sockets, Microsoft notes.

You can learn more about Windows Server 2022 from the Microsoft Docs website and, on September 16, 2021, the free Windows Server Summit.

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Conversation 14 comments

  • jglathe

    Premium Member
    01 September, 2021 - 4:31 pm

    <p>Is it an improvement? In Performance? </p>

    • ikifar

      01 September, 2021 - 5:43 pm

      <p>It’s got Chromium edge by default </p>

    • bluvg

      01 September, 2021 - 6:03 pm

      <p>I really, <em>really </em>hope update performance is addressed, and not just via hotpatching. The difference between 2012 R2 and 2016 is staggering, I think typically about ~10x faster on 2012 R2. 2019 is slightly better than 2016. Server Core is not much faster for updates either, plus it does silly things like continually offering Silverlight.</p>

      • reason42

        01 September, 2021 - 7:25 pm

        <p>Windows Update for 2016 is directly impacted by the power profile of the server. Only at Max performance have I seen it go quick enough, anything less, it’s is shockingly slow. Server by default typically ship with eco/power-save mode, so that might be your issue.</p>

        • bluvg

          01 September, 2021 - 11:29 pm

          <p>These stats are for VMs running each OS level on the same host. I’d want to verify to be 100% sure, but I’m 99% sure the performance profile at both the BIOS and OS levels for the cluster nodes are set to high.</p>

          • bettyblue

            02 September, 2021 - 8:41 am

            <p>Same in my environment. All VM’s on ESXi, 2016 can take forever to update. Everything from host BIOS on powerful servers to VM’s set high performance. Just Google it you will get pages of results. </p><p><br></p><p>2019 is much better but 2012R2 is faster. 2008 R2 was slow as well near the end and Windows update would break on it requiring the Windows/Software distribution folder to be purged and updates to be restarted. </p><p><br></p><p>Windows server 2003 was the last great version of Windows server. </p>

      • dougkinzinger

        01 September, 2021 - 8:57 pm

        <p>It’s funny, I thought I was alone on this thought, but you’re <em>exactly right</em> – 2012 R2 is usually way faster than 2016. 2019 seems OK (I guess) but 2016 was/is particularly slow at patching, even with power set to High Performance. Interesting.</p>

  • iainlennox

    01 September, 2021 - 4:51 pm

    <p>Clicking on the link for this article the first time had taken me to a advert, really! </p>

  • blue77star

    01 September, 2021 - 5:01 pm

    <p>I run it as a workstation OS. It is really great. The build number on it is 2xxxx newer than Windows 10 21H2.</p>

  • waethorn

    01 September, 2021 - 9:07 pm

    <p>Bye bye free Hyper-V Server.</p>

    • bettyblue

      02 September, 2021 - 8:44 am

      <p>Really? Not that I will ever use Hyper V but that is sad if it’s gone. ESXi still has a free version. </p>

  • wolters

    Premium Member
    01 September, 2021 - 9:36 pm

    <p>I’m on 2016 on my physical servers but 2012 R2 on virtual servers so it is time to upgraded. I’m IT Director and SOLO IT person so no team to assist me so got to start planning this. </p>

    • bettyblue

      02 September, 2021 - 8:43 am

      <p>Solo IT director? Promote your self to CIO! :)</p>

  • ghostrider

    02 September, 2021 - 8:15 am

    <p>For MS, Windows Server is now just an extension of Azure, and is designed as such to funnel customers into the Microsoft Cloud. The fact Hyper-V is now depreciated is a clear sign MS want you to run all your VM’s on their systems. We’re now seeing the slow, painful demise of on-prem Windows and the only people who will truly see the benefit of that are MS themselves.</p>

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