Windows Server 2012, codenamed “Windows Server 8”,[2] is the sixth release of Windows Server. It is the server version of Windows 8 and succeeds Windows Server 2008 R2. Two pre-release versions, a developer preview and a beta version, were released during development. The software was generally available to customers starting on September 4, 2012.[3]
Unlike its predecessor, Windows Server 2012 has no support for Itanium-based computers,[4] and has four editions. Various features were added or improved over Windows Server 2008 R2, such as an updated version of Hyper-V, an IP address management role, a new version of Windows Task Manager, and ReFS, a new file system. Although it has a Metro user interface (which has led to a mixed reception for Windows 8), the operating system has generally received positive reviews for these features.
Windows Server 2012, codenamed “Windows Server 8”,[2] is the sixth release of Windows Server family of operating systems developed concurrently with Windows 8.[5][6] It was not until 17 April 2012 that the company announced that the final product name would be “Windows Server 2012”.[2]
Microsoft introduced Windows Server 2012 and its developer preview in the BUILD 2011 conference on 9 September 2011.[7] However, unlike Windows 8, the developer preview of Windows Server 2012 was only made available to MSDN subscribers.[8] It included a graphical user interface (GUI) based on Metro design language and a new Server Manager, a graphical application used for server management.[9] On 16 February 2012, Microsoft released an update for developer preview build that extended its expiry date from 8 April 2012 to 15 January 2013.[10]
Before Windows Server 2012 was finalized, two test builds were made public. A public beta version of Windows Server 2012 was released along with the Windows 8 Consumer Preview on 29 February 2012.[5] The release candidate of Windows Server 2012 was released on 31 May 2012, along with the Windows 8 Release Preview.[6]
The product was released to manufacturing on 1 August 2012 and became generally available on 4 September 2012.[3] However, not all editions of Windows Server 2012 were released at the same time. Windows Server 2012 Essentials was released to manufacturing on 9 October 2012[11] and was made generally available on 5 November 2012.[12] As of 23 September 2012, all students subscribed to DreamSpark program can download Windows Server 2012 Standard or Datacenter free of charge.[13]
Ousman Faal [Digital Vigilante] is a Tech Entrepreneur & Digital Skills Trainer who teaches both in the classroom and online. He has experience in various technologies and likes sharing it with others. Ousman has published 149 articles on this blog. He is the CEO of Faalen Technologies and Skills.gm.
