November 4, 2024 at 01:34PM
Microsoft’s Windows Server 2025 is now available as of November 1st. Key features include hotpatching, next-gen Active Directory, improved NVMe storage performance, and enhanced security measures. Notable issues such as installation bugs have been identified. Extended support lasts until October 10, 2034, with a free 180-day trial accessible for testing.
**Meeting Takeaways: Windows Server 2025 Announcement**
1. **General Availability**: Windows Server 2025 will be officially available from November 1st, 2023.
2. **Key Features and Improvements**:
– **Hotpatching**: Enabled by Azure Arc for enhanced cloud security through automatic updates.
– **Increased Storage Performance**: Delivers up to 60% more storage IOPS than Windows Server 2022.
– **Block Cloning Support**: Enhances performance for file copying with ReFS file system.
– **New Active Directory Capabilities**: Includes object repair, enhanced security features, and optional database page sizes.
– **Credential Guard**: Protects against credential theft by blocking NTLM password hash and Kerberos TGT access.
– **SMB Hardening**: Introduces SMB over QUIC for secure file sharing, along with hardened security defaults against attacks.
– **Delegate Managed Service Accounts (dMSA)**: Simplifies password management through automatic handling by Active Directory.
– **Accelerated Networking (AccelNet)**: Reduces latency and CPU usage for VMs in clusters.
– **DTrace Tool**: Provides real-time system performance monitoring and troubleshooting capabilities.
– **Virtualization-Based Security (VBS)**: Protects application secrets by minimizing trust on admins.
– **Local Administrator Password Solution (LAPS)**: Automatically generates and manages secure local admin account passwords.
3. **Known Issues**: Microsoft is investigating issues including installation bugs, BSOD errors related to systems with over 256 logical processors, and boot problems in iSCSI environments.
4. **Support Timeline**: Windows Server 2025 will be supported until October 10th, 2029, with extended support ending on October 10th, 2034.
5. **Trial Availability**: A free 180-day trial of Windows Server 2025 is available at the Microsoft Evaluation Center for interested customers.
This summary captures the main highlights and issues surrounding the launch of Windows Server 2025.