In the ever-evolving landscape of technology, the demands on IT infrastructure continue to grow. Windows Server 2025, the latest release from Microsoft, is crafted to meet these increasing needs with its advanced features and enhancements. Here’s an overview of the key features and compelling reasons for organizations to consider upgrading to this new version.
Key Features of Windows Server 2025
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Enhanced Security
- Active Directory Improvements: Windows Server 2025 introduces advanced security capabilities for Active Directory, including enhanced encryption, protocol hardening, and new cryptographic support.
- SMB Over QUIC: This feature ensures secure access to file shares over the internet, providing protection against man-in-the-middle attacks, relay attacks, and spoofing.
- Delegate Managed Service Accounts (dMSA): These accounts mitigate security risks by automating password management and offering improved visibility and logs of service account activity.
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Hybrid Cloud Capabilities
- Hotpatching via Azure Arc: This feature allows for security updates with minimal disruption, reducing the need for reboots and ensuring continuous operation.
- Easy Azure Arc Onboarding: Simplifies the integration of Azure’s hybrid features, enhancing operational flexibility and management of hybrid and multicloud environments.
- Software-Defined Networking (SDN): Provides native L2 and L3 connectivity for seamless workload migration across various locations, along with unified network policy management.
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Performance and Scalability
- Hyper-V Enhancements: Windows Server 2025 supports GPU partitioning and can manage large data sets across distributed environments, making it ideal for AI and machine learning workloads.
- NVMe Storage Performance: Offers up to 60% more storage IOPs performance compared to Windows Server 2022.
- Storage Spaces Direct: Features innovations like Native ReFS deduplication and compression, thinly provisioned Storage Spaces, and Storage Replica Compression.
Why Upgrade to Windows Server 2025?
- Maintain Essential 8 Compliance: It is important to highlight that the Australian Signals Directorate advises organisations to utilise the most recent or preceding release of operating systems. Consequently, any organisation still operating on Server 2016 or 2019 would not meet the Level 3 maturity level requirements of the framework.
- Improved Security Posture: With cyber threats becoming more sophisticated, the enhanced security features in Windows Server 2025 provide robust protection for your data and infrastructure. The improvements in Active Directory and SMB security, along with automated service account management, help safeguard against evolving threats.
- Operational Efficiency: The hybrid cloud capabilities, such as hotpatching and easy Azure Arc onboarding, allow for greater flexibility and reduced downtime. These features enable organizations to maintain high availability and operational efficiency, even during updates and maintenance.
- Future-Proofing IT Infrastructure: Windows Server 2025 is designed to handle the most demanding workloads, including AI and machine learning. The performance and scalability enhancements ensure that your IT infrastructure can grow and adapt to future needs, providing a solid foundation for innovation and growth.
- Seamless Integration with Cloud Services: The integration with Azure Arc and other cloud services simplifies the management of hybrid and multicloud environments. This allows organizations to leverage the benefits of both on-premises and cloud infrastructure, optimizing their IT operations.
In conclusion, Windows Server 2025 offers a range of advanced features that enhance security, performance, and flexibility. By upgrading to this new version, organizations can improve their security posture, achieve greater operational efficiency, and future-proof their IT infrastructure.
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