Day: July 7, 2012

Windows Server 2012 Editions

1 Licensing Overview

Windows Server 2012 delivers a dramatically simplified licensing experience. Shaped by feedback from customers and partners, the new Windows Server licensing approach will help make choosing the right Windows Server easier while delivering the following benefits.

2 Simple

It’s easier than ever to determine the right Windows Server edition for you. Choose from just four editions of Windows Server 2012, based on the size of your organization and your requirements for virtualization and cloud computing.

3 Economical

All editions of Windows Server 2012 deliver excellent economics and ROI for your business. For example, Datacenter edition with unlimited virtualization rights provides the benefits of cloud-level scale with predictable, lower costs. Standard edition now offers all of the same enterprise-class features as Datacenter and is differentiated only by virtualization rights.

4 Cloud-optimized

Businesses today are rapidly adopting a hybrid approach across private and public cloud computing. Windows Server 2012 offers the right edition for you, no matter where you are on your path to the cloud; Datacenter edition for highly virtualized cloud environments, Standard edition for lightly virtualized environments progressing toward cloud, or Essentials edition for an ideal cloud-connected first server.

5 Editions Overview

Edition

Ideal for…

High Level Feature
Comparison

Licensing Model

Pricing
Open NL (US$)

Datacenter

Highly virtualized
private & hybrid
cloud environments

Full Windows
Server functionality
with unlimited
virtual instances

Processor + CAL*

$4,809**

Standard

Low density or non-
virtualized
environments

Full Windows
Server functionality
with two virtual
instances

Processor + CAL*

$882**

Essentials

Small business
environments

Simpler interface,
pre-configured
connectivity to
cloud based services; no
virtualization rights

Server (25 User
Account Limit)

$425**

Foundation

Economical general
purpose server

General purpose
server functionality
with no
virtualization rights

Server (15 User
Account Limit)

OEM Only

*CALs are required for every user or device accessing a server directly or indirectly. See the Product Use Rights for details.

MDT 2012 Update 1 Beta 1

The Microsoft Deployment Toolkit team is pleased to announce that Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2012 Update 1 Beta 1 is now available for download!

Download MDT 2012 Update 1 Beta 1 now!

Download the latest release to stay up-to-date on your deployment needs. New features and enhancements make large-scale desktop and server deployments smoother than ever!

This release expands your deployment capabilities with support for the latest software releases, including Windows 8 Release Preview, Windows Server 2012 Release Candidate, and System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1 Community Technology Preview. Other notable new features include:

  • Support for using the DaRT 8 Beta with the Windows 8 Release Preview version of the Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK).
  • New "Build Your Own Pages" support for User-Driven Installation (UDI), enabling IT pros to create new wizard panes using simple drag-and-drop operations – no coding required.
  • Integration with System Center Orchestrator, enabling task sequences to invoke Orchestrator runbooks at any point in the deployment process.
  • Completely reworked "Roles and Features" logic, supporting both installation and removal, as well as providing a new Lite Touch wizard pane for selecting roles and features to install at deploy time.
  • Support for PowerShell 3.0 to make it easier to run PowerShell scripts inside task sequences on Windows 8, Windows Server 2012, and Windows PE 4.0.
  • Simple monitoring functionality for Configuration Manager task sequences, leveraging the monitoring capabilities provided initially in MDT 2012 for Lite Touch deployments.
  • Improved "boot from VHD" deployment capabilities, supporting both bare metal and refresh deployments.
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