For many years, Microsoft has been developing and enhancing its server operating systems. Windows Server 2022 is the latest release designed to meet the needs of modern businesses with a reliable, secure, and high-performance platform. This article will focus on the Standard Edition, detailing its key features and benefits. Let’s explore what makes this edition notable and why it is worth considering for your organization.
Overview of Windows Server 2022 Standard Edition
Windows Server 2022 Standard is an optimal choice for most medium and large businesses that require a powerful and functional server OS to handle a wide range of tasks. Unlike the Essentials Edition, which is more suitable for small businesses with a limited number of users and devices, the Standard Edition supports significantly more users and devices without substantial limitations.
Key Features and Enhancements in Windows Server 2022 Standard
Security
Security is one of the key areas of focus in Windows Server 2022. The Standard edition includes an advanced multi-layer protection system and a secured-core server. This system provides comprehensive protection at the hardware, firmware, and virtualization levels, significantly reducing the risks associated with modern cyber threats.
Additionally, Windows Server 2022 Standard supports DNS query encryption using the HTTPS protocol (DNS-over-HTTPS). This protects user privacy and prevents the interception and manipulation of DNS traffic. Traffic for the SMB file protocol is also encrypted using the robust AES-256 algorithm, ensuring secure data transmission between servers and clients.
Platform for Applications and Containers
Windows Server 2022 Standard offers enhanced support for container technologies, such as Docker and Kubernetes, for deploying and managing applications in Windows and Linux containers. Compared to previous versions, container image sizes have been reduced by an impressive 40%, resulting in a 30% faster startup time and lower storage and data transfer overhead.
Moreover, Windows Server 2022 Standard supports DirectX graphics hardware acceleration within containers. This opens new possibilities for machine learning scenarios, high-performance computing, and other tasks requiring high graphics performance within a containerized environment.
Performance and Scalability
The Windows Server 2022 Standard provides high performance and scalability for various server workloads. Thanks to Hyper-V virtualization technology, the Standard edition allows up to two virtual machines per physical host. This enables server consolidation, optimizes hardware resource utilization, and simplifies infrastructure management.
Significant performance improvements have been achieved in the network stack of Windows Server 2022 Standard. TCP traffic processing is accelerated through optimizations like TCP HyStart+. The efficiency of handling UDP traffic is also enhanced with support for UDP Segmentation Offload and Receive Side Coalescing. Additionally, Hyper-V virtual switches can now leverage hardware acceleration, increasing throughput and reducing CPU load.
Data Storage
Windows Server 2022 Standard offers several enhancements in data storage. The Storage Migration Service simplifies the migration of servers and data between diverse storage systems, particularly useful during infrastructure upgrades or server consolidation. For high availability and disaster recovery, the Storage Replica component allows volume replication between servers.
The Standard edition also implements compression and encryption mechanisms for SMB traffic between cluster nodes. This ensures efficient use of network resources and data confidentiality during transmission. Compression reduces the volume of transmitted data, which is particularly relevant when dealing with limited network bandwidth.
Other Improvements
Windows Server 2022 Standard contains numerous other significant improvements and innovations. One of these is automatic recovery from failures caused by incorrect updates. If an update causes server issues, the system automatically reverts to the previous stable state, minimizing downtime.
In server roles with a graphical interface, such as Remote Desktop Services, Internet Explorer has been replaced with Microsoft Edge. This provides a more modern, faster, and secure web browsing experience for administrators and users.
Windows Server 2022 Standard supports five key server roles:
- Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) for account and access management.
- Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS) for issuing and managing digital certificates.
- Active Directory Rights Management Services (AD RMS) for protecting confidential documents.
- DNS Server for domain name to IP address conversion, and DHCP Server for automatic client network parameter configuration.
Use Cases and Licensing
Windows Server 2022 Standard Edition is a versatile solution for companies requiring a reliable and functional server operating system to perform various tasks. This edition is ideal for deploying file servers, print servers, web servers, application servers, Active Directory domain controllers, and other typical server roles.
Licensing for Windows Server 2022 Standard is based on the number of physical processor cores. The minimum number of licensed cores per server is 16. For example, if you have a server with 2 processors with 8 cores each, you need a license for 16 cores. If the server has more than 16 cores, additional licenses must be purchased to cover the actual number of cores.
Conclusion
Windows Server 2022 Standard Edition is a powerful server operating system that offers numerous benefits for medium and large businesses. Significant improvements in security, performance, scalability, container support, and data storage make this edition an attractive choice for modernizing IT infrastructure.
If your company is still using outdated versions, such as Windows Server 2012 or Windows Server 2012 R2, transitioning to Windows Server 2022 Standard will allow you to take advantage of all the benefits of a modern server platform. With the end of mainstream support for previous versions in 2023, migrating to Windows Server 2022 becomes even more relevant to ensure security and gain new capabilities.
