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Windows Server 2008 Editions and System Requirements

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Windows Server 2008 Editions and System Requirements

Before embarking on the installation of Windows Server 2008, it is important to first gain an understanding of the different editions available and the corresponding hardware requirements. It is also important to be aware of the upgrade options available with each edition. With this objective in mind, this chapter will focus on providing an overview of both the different Windows Server 2008 editions and the recommended hardware requirements.

Contents

  • 1 Windows Server 2008 Standard Edition
  • 2 Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Edition
  • 3 Windows Server 2008 Datacenter Edition
  • 4 Windows Web Server 2008
  • 5 Windows Server 2008 Features Matrix
  • 6 Windows Server 2008 Hardware Requirements 

  • Windows Server 2008 Standard Edition

    Windows Server 2008 Standard is one of Microsoft's entry level server offerings (alongside Windows Web Server 2008) and is one of the least expensive of the various editions available. Both 32-bit and 64-bit versions are available, and in terms of hardware Standard Edition supports up to 4GB of RAM and 4 processors.
    Windows Server 2008 is primarily targeted and small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) and is ideal for providing domain, web, DNS, remote access, print, file and application services. Support for clustering, however, is notably absent from this edition.
    An upgrade path to Windows Server 2008 Standard is available from Windows 2000 Server and Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition.

    Windows Server 2008 Datacenter Edition

    The Datacenter edition represents the top end of the Windows Server 2008 product range and is targeted at mission critical enterprises requiring stability and high uptime levels. Windows Server 2008 Datacenter edition is tied closely to the underlying hardware through the implementation of custom Hardware Abstraction Layers (HAL). As such, it is currently only possible to obtain Datacenter edition as part of a hardware purchase.
    As with other versions, the Datacenter edition is available in 32-bit and 64-bit versions and supports 64GB of RAM on 32-bit systems and up to 2TB of RAM on 64-bit systems. In addition, this edition supports a minimum of 8 processors up to a maximum of 64.
    Upgrade paths to Windows Server 2008 Datacenter Edition are available from the Datacenter editions of Windows 2000 and 2003.

    Windows Web Server 2008

    Windows Web Server 2008 is essentially a version of Windows Server 2008 designed primarily for the purpose of providing web services. It includes Internet Information Services (IIS) 7.0 along with associated services such as Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) and Telnet. It is available in 32-bit and 64-bit versions and supports up to 4 processors. RAM is limited to 4GB and 32GB on 32-bit and 64-bit systems respectively.
    Windows Web Server 2008 lacks many of the features present in other editions such as clustering, BitLocker drive encryption, multipath I/O, Windows Internet Naming Service (WINS), Removable Storage Management and SAN Management.

    Windows Server 2008 Features Matrix

    Windows Server 2008 Features Matrix

    Now that we have covered in general terms the various different editions of Windows Server 2008 we can now look in a little more detail at a feature by feature comparison of the four different editions. This is outlined in the following feature matrix:
    Feature Enterprise Datacenter Standard Web Itanium
    ADFS Web Agent
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    No
    No
    Directory uIDM
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    No
    No
    Desktop Experience
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    No
    Windows Clustering
    Yes
    Yes
    No
    No
    Yes
    Windows Server Backup
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    Windows Network Load Balancing (WNLB)
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    Simple TCP/IP Services
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    No
    Yes
    SMTP
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    No
    Subsystem for Unix-Based Applications (SUA)
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    No
    Yes
    Telnet Client
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    Telnet Server
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    Microsoft Message Queuing (MSMQ)
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    No
    Yes
    RPC Over HTTP Proxy
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    No
    Yes
    Windows Internet Naming Service (WINS)
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    No
    No
    Wireless Client
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    No
    No
    Windows System Resource Manager (WSRM)
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    Simple SAN Management
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    No
    No
    LPR Port Monitor
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    No
    No
    The Windows Foundation Components for WinFX
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    BITS Server Extensions
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    No
    Yes
    iSNS Server Service
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    No
    BitLocker Drive Encryption
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    No
    Yes
    Multipath IO
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    No
    Yes
    Removable Storage Management
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    No
    Yes
    TFTP
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    No
    Yes
    SNMP
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    Server Admin Pack
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    No
    RDC
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    No
    Yes
    Peer-to-Peer Name Resolution Protocol
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    Recovery Disk
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    Windows PowerShell
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes


    Windows Server 2008 Hardware Requirements

    Before investing time and resources into downloading and installing Windows Server 2008, the first step is to gain an appreciation of the hardware requirements necessary to effectively run the operating system. The following table provides an overview of Microsoft's recommended minimum hardware:
    Category Minimum / Recommended Requirements
    Processor • Minimum: 1GHz (x86 processor) or 1.4GHz (x64 processor)
    • Recommended: 2GHz or faster
    Note: For Itanium based systems an Intel Itanium 2 processor is required.
    Memory • Minimum: 512MB RAM
    • Recommended: 2GB RAM or greater
    • Maximum (32-bit systems): 4GB (Standard) or 64GB (Enterprise and Datacenter)
    • Maximum (64-bit systems): 32GB (Standard) or 2TB (Enterprise, Datacenter and Itanium-Based Systems)
    Available Disk Space • Minimum: 10GB
    • Recommended: 40GB or greater
    Note: Systems with RAM in excess of 16GB will require greater amounts of disk space to accommodate paging, hibernation, and dump files
    Drive DVD-ROM drive
    Display and Peripherals • Super VGA or greater-resolution monitor (800x600)
    • Keyboard
    • Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device
    As with the specified system requirements for all Windows systems it is best to aim for the Recommended values rather than the Minimum values to ensure acceptable levels of performance. For example, whilst it is possible to run Windows Server 2008 in 512Mb of RAM it is unlikely that performance levels will be optimal with such a configuration.


     


     

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