Microsoft releases Windows Server 2022

The latest release for Microsoft’s onsite offerings came out in the middle of August, in terms of features it offers better security and encryption across the services which include DNS over HTTPS having the ability to have up to 256bit encryption when using SMB, essentially making file copies across a network share safe and sound if enabled, previously this was only available to those with Intel processors but is now supported when using AMD processors too.

SMB over QUIC enables secure access to your server files without having to setup and manage a VPN, a good feature for those which don’t want to use Routing and Remote Access on their servers or configure a third party solution with certificates…However with everyone having to change the way they work since 2020 this might be more of a mute feature as most will already have something like this in place already.

The interface for the new server release will match a similar setup to Windows 10 as it currently stands using the build 21H2 so while Windows 11 is nearly with us this server release will not include this new look.

The Admin Center, a little gem you can install for managing your servers has received an update and now includes items for more Cloud integration with Microsoft Azure which includes Backup, File Sync and Monitoring for those of you which use Microsoft 365 services.  In fact it is safe to say that most of the feature updates coming through are centred around Azure…

• Hotpatch is a big one for those with servers in the cloud, this will allow you to install patches in not only a fraction of the time but also without rebooting the server, this is big news for those which have to normally factor in downloading, installing and then arranging a time with the office when it’s ok to reboot 

• There is a dedicated Server 2022 Azure Edition coming out for the first time which is more of a subscription version of the server software and indeed continues Microsoft’s push towards getting everyone to move towards their Cloud offers in the future 

Last but not least Microsoft have turned around and said they will support Server 2022 for 15 years however this will include 5 years of proper support and then 10 years of their “extended support” which means after the 5 years is up they will essentially provide the basic security patches and standard updates rather than any big changes…”