Windows Server

by
Jim Gaynor

by
Jim Gaynor

Jim analyzes and writes about Teams and other Microsoft services for collaboration and unified communication, Windows Server and related OSs,... more

Windows Server is Microsoft’s OS for deployment on server hardware and for use within VMs. It’s a prerequisite for most Microsoft server applications such as SQL Server, Exchange Server, and SharePoint Server, and it continues to provide on-premises infrastructure for identity management (Active Directory [AD]), virtualization (Hyper-V), storage and file services, and other tasks. Windows Server 2025, released in Nov. 2024, is the latest version of Windows Server.

See “Windows Client” for the Windows Client OS and other client OS versions.

Product: Windows Server

Licensing: Windows Server

Near Term (2026–2027)

Hotpatching for Windows Server 2025 dropped its per-core subscription fee effective May 15, 2026, and it’s now available at no additional cost. Hotpatching still requires Azure Arc enrollment.

Windows Server Annual Channel was retired effective May 15, 2026. Microsoft will not supply further updates or security patches. Customers should migrate to supported Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) versions of Windows Server.