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Stand-alone download managers also are available, including the Microsoft Download Manager. The Microsoft Download Manager solves these potential problems. It gives you the ability to download multiple files at one time and download large files quickly and reliably. It also allows you to suspend active downloads and resume downloads that have failed.

Microsoft Download Manager is free and available for download now. Warning: This site requires the use of scripts, which your browser does not currently allow. See how to enable scripts. Windows Server Essentials Media Pack.

Choose the download you want. Download Summary:. While Windows gets all of the accolades, Windows Server is something of a hidden workhorse, especially for businesses. Unlike its higher-profile software offerings, like Microsoft , Microsoft has a specific lifecycle for its Windows Server products.

In a nutshell, this means that each product is supported for 10 years: the first 5 of which are known as mainstream support , and the second 5 known as extended support. Microsoft Server R2, having originally been launched in October , completed its mainstream support phase in October But what does that really mean? Even Microsoft themselves are clear and open about the risks of running a product beyond its end-of-life roadmap.

So, after October , Windows Server R2 will no longer receive any security updates or critical patches for key exploits. The problem for businesses? The Windows Server R2 Datacenter edition is the flagship product created to meet the needs of medium to large enterprises. The major difference between the Standard and Datacenter edition is that the Datacenter edition allows the creation of unlimited Virtual Machines and is therefore suitable for environments with extensive use of virtualization technology.

Before purchasing the Windows Server operating system, it is very important to understand the difference between various editions, the table below shows the difference between the four editions of Windows Server For example, a CAL assigned to a user, allows only that user to access the server via any device. Likewise, if a DAL is assigned to particular device, then any authenticated user using that device is allowed to access the server.

We can use a simple example to help highlight the practical differences between CAL and DAL licensing models and understand the most cost-effective approach:. Assume an environment with Windows Server R2 standard edition and a total of 50 users and 25 devices workstations. In this case, we can purchase either 50 CAL licenses to cover the 50 users we have or alternatively 25 DAL licenses to cover the total amount of workstations that need to access the server.

In this scenario, purchasing DALs is a more cost effective solution. If however we had 10 users with a total of 20 devices , e. Windows Server Foundation is available to OEMs Original Equipment Manufacturers only and therefore can only be purchased at the time of purchasing a n new hardware server. Windows Foundation edition supports up to 15 users. In addition, Foundation edition owners cannot upgrade to other editions.

The Essential edition of server is available to OEMs with the purchase of new hardware and also at retail stores. The user limit of this server edition is 25 and device limit is This means that a maximum of 25 users amongst 50 computers can access the Windows Server Essentials edition.

For example, you have 20 users rotating randomly amongst 25 computers accessing the Server Essentials edition, without any problem. Receive news updates via email from this site. Toggle navigation. Windows Server will be available in two main editions: Standard and Datacenter. In addition, Microsoft will introduce a new edition for Azure. Author Recent Posts. Wolfgang Sommergut. Wolfgang Sommergut has over 20 years of experience in IT journalism.

He has also worked as a system administrator and as a tech consultant. Today he runs the German publication WindowsPro. Latest posts by Wolfgang Sommergut see all. Related Articles. Few innovations, uncertain future: Is Windows Server worth an upgrade? Vincent Moulineau 7 months ago. Hello Wolfgang, Thanks for your post.

Br, Vincent. Wolfgang Sommergut 6 months ago. Michael Elkin 4 months ago. Leave a reply Click here to cancel the reply Your email address will not be published. Subscribe to newsletter. Follow 4sysops. Send Sending. Log in with your credentials or Create an account.

Download Windows Server Essentials Media Pack from Official Microsoft Download Center

Upgrade to Microsoft Edge to take advantage of the latest features, security updates, and technical support. The following list describes new and updated feature areas for Windows Server and Windows Server R2.

For more information on new Windows 8 and Windows 8. Data Deduplication. Data deduplication finds and removes duplication within data on a volume while ensuring that the data remains correct and complete. This makes it possible to store more file data in less space on the volume. Software Inventory Logging. Software Inventory Logging collects licensing data about software installed on a Windows Server, and provides remote access to the data so it can be aggregated easily by a datacenter.

A number of new features were added for Windows Server R2. Mobile Device Management Registration. An industry trend has been developing in which employees connect their personal mobile computing devices to the corporate network and resources either on premise or through the cloud to perform workplace tasks. This trend requires support for easy configuration of the network and resources, such that employees can register personal devices with the company for work-related purposes.

Applications and technology to support easy configuration must also enable IT professionals to manage the risk associated with having uncontrolled devices connected to the corporate network. Windows PowerShell. Windows PowerShell is a task-based command-line shell and scripting language designed especially for system administration.

New in Windows Server R2, Windows PowerShell v4 supports Desired State Configuration, which is a new management platform in Windows PowerShell that enables deploying and managing configuration data for software services and managing the environment in which these services run. Windows Clustering. Windows Clustering allows you to manage both network load-balanced clusters as well as failover clusters. A number of new features were added in this release, including new Group management features, common properties, and integration with WMI.

User Access Logging. This UAL framework is a foundational and critical component of the larger licensing management solution. Windows Server includes a number of Connection API’s that focus on interacting with running instances and shells.

Windows Management Infrastructure. MI is fully compatible with previous versions of WMI and provides a host of features and benefits that make designing and developing providers and clients easier than ever. SMB Management. Server Core. Windows Server provides minimal server installation options for computers running on the Windows Server operating system or later. Windows Server offers Server Core as both a configuration as well as an installation options.

Windows Server Backup. The Windows Server Backup feature automatically backs up and restores application data. Windows Desktop Sharing. Windows Desktop Sharing is a multiple-party screen-sharing technology.

Remote Desktop Services. Windows Desktop Sharing allows the user to remotely access an instance of the operating system. Management OData. Windows Server R2 on TechNet. Windows Server R2 on Microsoft. Skip to main content.

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