Windows Server 2008 Editions and System Requirements
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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.
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 Enterprise Edition
<google>ADSDAQBOX_FLOW</google> Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Edition provides greater functionality and scalability than the Standard Edition. As with Standard Edition both 32-bit and 64-bit versions are available. Enhancements include support for as many as 8 processors and up to 64GB of RAM on 32-bit systems and 2TB of RAM on 64-bit systems.
Additional features of the Enterprise edition include support for clusters of up to 8 nodes and Active Directory Federated Services (AD FS).
Windows Server 2000, Windows 2000 Advanced Server, Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition and Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition may all be upgraded to Windows Server 2008 Enterprise 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
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 greatre-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.
