Introduction

The Windows Server development process, which delivers alternating major and minor releases of the server OS on a more predictable schedule, has produced a new interim release: Windows Server 2008 R2, which became generally available in Oct. 2009. Although customers might be inclined to skip such minor releases, improvements to the Server Core installation, Hyper-V, and server administration make Windows Server 2008 R2 worthwhile. But before upgrading, it is necessary to check whether vital server applications, such as Exchange, might also need to be updated before they can run on the new OS.

Why Upgrade to Server 2008 R2?

Despite being an interim release, Windows Server 2008 R2 includes improvements that will be of particular interest to customers using Server Core, hardware virtualization, and/or Active Directory (AD); administering large numbers of servers; and deploying Windows 7.

Customers using Server Core. Windows Server 2008 introduced a new installation mode, Server Core, which installs only enough of the Windows OS to support specific infrastructure workloads, such as an IIS-based Web server. With Windows Server 2008 R2, Server Core gains support for the .NET Framework, which means that Web sites hosted on Server Core can use ASP.NET for dynamic Web pages and applications. The availability of the .NET Framework in Server Core also means that PowerShell, Microsoft’s command-line interface and scripting environment, can now be used for both local and remote management of core servers.