A little less than a year after the preview, Windows Server 2025 is now available in volume. The new version notably offers improved performance for NVMe and an expanded Active Directory.
Server 2025 is the successor to Windows Server 2022, but can be considered a sort of extended upgrade. This is how it is possible to initially migrate from old versions (up to Server 2012 R2) to the new operating system. This new version runs on the vast majority of 64-bit processors provided they operate at a minimum of 1.4 GHz. That being said, you must have support for Popcnt and the sse4.2 instruction. Features like TPM and Secure Boot are only needed for specific situations.
One of the new things in Server 2025 is the fact that Microsoft announces a performance improvement of up to 70 percent for NVMe storage. Likewise, Active Directory should now work more effectively in very large environments. From now on, it is possible to use up to 32,000 pages, compared to 8,000 previously.
2,048 virtual machines
Anyone who wants to use multiple virtual machines on a single graphics card can now do so with GPU partitioning, which allows each VM to access a portion of the graphics computing power.
Regarding Hyper-V, Microsoft’s virtualization environment, it is now possible in Server 2025 to allocate 2,048 virtual CPUs and up to 240 terabytes of memory. Hosts in these Hyper-V environments can integrate up to 4 petabytes of memory. However, this facility is more intended for data centers than for the small home server hidden in an attic.
Server 2025 has more security options, according to Microsoft. With functions such as SMB or QUIC, it is now possible to share secure files on a server with less reliable environments, such as the entire Internet.
Exit WordPad
With the arrival of this new version, several elements disappear. This is the case for WordPad and the SMTP service which is no longer found in Server 2025. Likewise, the Windows PowerShell 2.0 engine is removed and users are recommended to upgrade to PowerShell 5 or higher.
Finally, Server 2025 offers hotpatching, which allows the device (or virtual machine) to be taken offline less often. Microsoft also says it has streamlined its upgrade process. Windows Server 2025 will continue to benefit from new features until October 2029. Security updates are guaranteed until October 2034, which in principle will allow continued use of the server operating system for the next ten years .
