Windows Server 2025 Announced for Late 2024

• Windows Server 2025, the next LTSC version of Windows Server, is available in preview and scheduled for general availability in Fall 2024.
• It enhances core features like Active Directory, Storage, and Hyper-V, and it has the same traditional 10-year support policies as previous Windows Server releases.
• This version includes features first introduced in Azure Stack HCI and Azure Edition but with a more manageable 10-year support period.
• Active Directory improvements, while attractive, require forest-wide upgrades that may require intermediate upgrades from older versions of Windows Server.
• Updated to include availability of public preview versions of Windows Server 2025 and a planned release window in Fall 2024.

The next Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) release of Windows Server, Windows Server 2025, is in preview and planned for availability in Fall 2024. Features announced for the new version focus on infrastructure roles, security, and scalability and incorporate several improvements previously introduced with other editions of Windows Server. Windows Server 2025 will have the same hardware requirements, support for Microsoft 365 Apps, and Mainstream and Extended support life-cycle periods as previous versions. (See the chart “Windows Server and Stack HCI Support Timeline”.) Customers interested in security improvements, access to Azure Edition or Azure Stack HCI features on the LTSC, or who need ongoing Microsoft 365 Apps support on Windows Server should examine the preview.