10 new things in Windows Server 2022 you need to know
To meet today's complex data and business needs, Microsoft regularly releases updates and enhancements to its server operating system, such as enhanced security, faster networking, cloud updates, and more.
Microsoft announced a new version of Windows Server 2022 in September 2021. Since then, many people and forums have been discussing the improvements and new features of Windows Server 2022.
Legacy hardware, software or operating systems are not recommended for IT infrastructure as they create backdoors for cyber threats.
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So let's take a look at some of the best new features in Windows Server 2022.
Introduction
Windows Server 2022 is the most secure, reliable, and Azure-compatible server Microsoft has designed in the 20th century.
Considering the growing security threats (see research data below) and cyber attacks, Windows Server 2022 is built with top-notch security options, which we will discuss in the following subsections, to keep data packets up to date across the cluster. level. It is a useful security package that protects end-to-end IT infrastructure.
Windows Server 2022 will help organizations of all types run their workloads securely, integrate with hybrid cloud, and update their applications to meet IT needs.
Research:
A recent IBM study in 2021 investigated that more than 500 data breaches worldwide resulted in $4.24 million in costs, the highest in 17 years.
As security threats and cyberattacks grow, data protection is paramount for all types of businesses. Windows Server 2022 plays a vital role in today's scenario, including advanced security features with secure server cores, secure connectivity, and more, which we'll cover in the following sections.
We'll also take a look at the technical improvements in Windows Server 2022 and how SMBs (SMBs) and large enterprises can benefit from this innovative and robust Windows server platform.
Different Versions of Windows Server 2022
According to Microsoft resources, Windows Server 2022 has three major editions: Essential, Standard, and Data Center, with another version released later, the Azure Datacenter edition.
Let's take a look at the exact technical differences between these editions, comparing Windows Server 2022 editions.
All versions of Windows Server 2022 can install Server Core and the desktop version. The desktop version is installed for remote desktop sessions hosted by non-server services and other components.
Server version installation is for specific roles and features such as DNS server, web server, Active Directory, virtualization, etc.
While there are many variations across all versions, in this section we'll look at the main differences between Windows 2022 server editions.
Windows Server 2022 standard
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Standard Edition is the base version of Windows Server 2022. One Standard Edition license can only run two virtual machines and one Hyper-V host.
The replica storage option is available with one partnership and one 2TB resource group. Features such as hot fix, software-defined networking, and storage are not available in the standard version.
Windows Server 2022 Data Center
This version has elite features not found in the standard version, such as secure virtual machines. This feature protects the firmware and startup files of the virtual machine, and enables BitLocker Drive Encryption.
Because data protection and management is critical to enterprise-grade infrastructure, Microsoft is integrating two key features: software-defined storage and storage replication with Storage Spaces Direct.
Storage replication provides block-level data replication without data loss and even replicates open files. Software-defined storage with Storage Spaces Direct provides manageability and scalability—supports up to 16 servers and up to 1 petabyte of clustered storage.
Windows Server 2022 Azure Edition Data Center
As the name suggests, it is designed for the Microsoft Azure platform. It has great features not available in Standard Edition and Data Center Edition. For example, the Hot Patch feature allows you to install updates without rebooting the server, and Server Message Block through QUIC provides access to shared files without the need for a VPN over the network.
Windows 2022 Azure Edition runs virtual machines on the Azure Stack Hyper Converged Infrastructure (HCI) operating system, known for its security, performance, and new hybrid capabilities.
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Windows Server 2022 Major Edition
It is designed for small organizations supporting up to 25 users and 50 devices. It lacks features such as a toolbar, client backup, and anywhere access. It supports processors with a maximum of 10 cores.
How to get the Windows 2022 operating system?
If you want to try the Windows 2022 server operating system before purchasing, you can try the 180-day trial version by downloading its ISO . See the pricing section for details on pricing and licenses.
Hardware requirements for installing Windows Server 2022
Microsoft publishes minimum hardware requirements for servers to work satisfactorily. If the minimum requirements are not met, the installation will most likely fail.
Primary requirements:
- Processor: 1.4GHz 64-bit processor, 64-bit compatible
- RAM (storage): 512 MB and 2 GB for a server with the option to install Desktop Experience.
- Network: Network card with a minimum bandwidth of 1 Gbps.
- Hard disk: 32 GB
Now let's discuss the top 8 features of the rising Windows Server 2022.
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Server Hardware Improvements
One of the major improvements in Windows 2022 is that server hardware limits have been extended to the highest level. Server 2022 supports 48 terabytes of memory and 2048 logical cores running on 64 physical sockets.
It also supports the Intel Ice Lake SGX processor, which helps isolate sensitive data in an encrypted processor enclave during processing.
Storage enhancements
The storage level innovation is one of the major enhancements to Windows Server 2022. The day-to-day management of data has become a challenge for data engineers. In such scenarios, Extended Storage Updates are built into Servers 2022:
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- Advanced Caching: Automatically stores important data on faster storage volumes and less important data on slower volumes. This provides faster access to read and write operations.
- Faster, more manageable storage: Rebuilds your hard drive faster in the event of a server restart or hardware failure.
- ReFS file snapshots: ReFS snapshots use a unique technique known as fast metadata operations to create constant-time snapshots of data, regardless of size.
Updated security measures
Microsoft will never stop innovating in its security practices because as technology advances, so do threats. Windows Server 2022 offers three major security enhancements, including hardware trust, firmware protection, and virtual environment security, with the cloud being the second most used platform.
The most notable improvements are secure DNS support with DNS-over-HTTPS, AES-256 server message block, and SMB East-West encryption, SMB over QUIC, HTTPS and TLS 1.3, Azure Arc, and Azure Automanage.
These security protocols and enhancements ensure that Windows Server 2022 can handle sensitive data and critical applications on its own. The entire server core is secured in terms of hardware, firmware, and drivers to prevent today's sophisticated attacks.
Firmware Attack Prevention: Advanced threats and attacks occur during server restart via firmware. Technologies such as DRTM (Dynamic Root of Trust for Measurement) and DMA (Direct Memory Access) are used to prevent such cyber attacks.
Hypervisor security. The hypervisor is protected by virtualization-based security (VBS). This technology isolates individual processes from the operating system. In the event of an attack, the attack does not spread to other parts of the system and avoids compromising the entire server.
Secure connection. By default, the latest version of the Internet Protocol Transport Layer Security (TLS) is used to establish a secure connection between two hosts. Even name resolution is shared with encrypted DNS queries.
Server Message Block (SMB): New SMB over QUIC functionality eliminates the need for a VPN for remote workers, mobile users, and highly secure organizations. It uses UDP (Using Datagram Protocol) and ensures that Internet traffic always remains encrypted.
Improving the Azure experience
The capabilities of Microsoft Azure have been expanded in Window 2022 to support virtualization outside the network or even other providers. Azure Arc-enabled servers offer a comprehensive and secure approach to integration across any on-premises, multi-cloud, and edge environments.
To learn more about how Azure Arc-enabled servers can be used to provide Azure monitoring, security, and update services in hybrid and multi-cloud environments, watch the following video.
Application Platform Improvements
Windows Server 2022 provides a flexible platform for upgrading containerized applications. Server 2022 supports large-scale business-critical applications such as SQL Server that require 48 terabytes of memory.
Windows Server 2022 boots up to 30% faster than previous operating systems due to the smaller size of the Windows container. Windows Admin Center tools have also been updated for storing .NET applications.
Easy cloud management
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One of the most important features built into the Azure Windows 2022 release is cloud management and automation with security best practices, some of which are listed below:
- Reduce costs by automating the management of Windows Server and Linux virtual machines.
- Ability to apply security patches without restarting the server
- Automatic detection and provisioning of resources on demand and automatic updating of templates
- Automate temporary and administrative tasks such as monitoring and Azure archiving.
- Migrate data from on-premises to Azure while keeping the original IP address.
Network Improvements
There are two main protocols in all network communications: User Datagram Protocol (UDP) and Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). Microsoft has greatly improved these protocols in Windows Server 2022.
UDP: UDP Segmentation Offload (USO) and UDP Receive Side Aggregation (UDP RSC) are included in Windows 2022 servers to reduce CPU usage.
TCP: TCP HyStart++ on Windows 2022 servers helps reduce packet loss when starting a connection, and RACK reduces retransmission time.
Improved virtual switch. Upgrading a virtual switch improves the performance of both network traffic from an external host and from a virtual network adapter to another virtual network adapter on the same host.
QUIC: IT pros love this feature because it makes it easy to copy files remotely without the need for a VPN over advanced SMB (message block server).
Features removed or discontinued in 2022
With each new version of Windows Server, Microsoft makes improvements and enhancements while closing old features.
In this section, we'll look at features that are no longer supported on Windows Server 2022:
Semi-Annual Channel (SAC): The SAC channel will be discontinued and replaced by the Long Term Channel as the main release channel. SAC will continue to work with Kubernetes communities such as Azure Kubernetes Services (AKS), AKS from Azure Stack HCI.
Internet Storage Name Service (iSNS) Server: This server has been removed from Windows Server 2022.
Guarded Fabric and Shielded Virtual Machines (VMs): These are supported by Microsoft, but will not be further developed.
Remote Server Administration Tool (RSAT): This feature is being removed from the client version of Windows.
Windows Deployment Services (WDS): The deployment features of the WDS operating system are deprecated in part.
Comparison of Windows Server 2022 and 2019
Microsoft released Windows Server 2022 in September 2021 with some improvements over Server 2019 (released October 2018). Windows Server 2022 is more secure, flexible, and more supportive of hybrid deployments than 2019.
The section below lists three major differences when it comes to security, the cloud, and connectivity:
- In terms of security, Defender Advanced Threat Protection, Exploit Guard, and Attack Surface Reduction are available in Windows Server 2019. Meanwhile, in Windows 2022, layered security provides enhanced security in terms of cryptographic keys, firmware protection, and virtualization environment security.
- In terms of connectivity, Windows 2022 introduces Transport Layer Security 1.3, secure DNS, Server Message Block (SMB), and SMB over QUIC. Software-defined networking (SDN) security was introduced in 2019.
- The cloud has become a necessity in today's IT infrastructure. Therefore, with a future roadmap in mind, Microsoft has released a hybrid cloud service in Windows 2019 that provides compatibility with core server applications. Microsoft has gone even further in Windows 2022 and has integrated Azure Arc technology. With this technology, you can manage multiple clouds from a central console from Azure.
Summary 👩‍💻
With the introduction of Microsoft Windows Server 2022, enterprises can manage their business with a secure infrastructure, integrate existing virtual environments into hybrid cloud models, and restructure their applications to meet the demands of growth.
In particular, smaller organizations or education departments can choose Windows 2022 Essential, which supports up to 25 users.
If you are looking for a local solution and very little virtual involvement, you can use the standard version.
If you have a large, enterprise-grade virtual installation or plan to scale in your cloud or data center, then Windows 2022 Data Center or Azure Data Edition with advanced security and management features is the right choice for you.