Windows Server 2025: Enhanced Security, Performance, and Cloud Integration
My Top 5 New Features of Windows Server 2025
- Block Cloning: This feature significantly improves file copy performance, especially for large files, optimising file operations by copying only modified blocks, reducing I/O and improving performance for large files.
- SMB over QUIC: This enables secure access to file shares over the internet, providing faster and more reliable file transfers using native SMB technologies.
- Hotpatching: This allows for the application of security updates to running servers with minimal downtime, no more out of hours scheduling of reboots!
- GPU Partitioning: This lets you split up GPU resources by allowing them to be divided into smaller, virtualized GPUs, adding GPU resources to a VM? Yes please!.
- Enhanced Active Directory: This includes features like AD object repair, optional 32k database page size, and improved security for confidential attributes and default machine account passwords.
Key Features of Windows Server 2025:
- Enhanced Security: Robust security measures, including hardened SMB protocols, improved Active Directory, and enhanced protection against cyber threats.
- Accelerated Performance: Significant performance boosts for virtualization, storage, and networking, especially for AI and machine learning workloads.
- Seamless Cloud Integration: Improved integration with Azure for hybrid and multi-cloud environments, enabling seamless workload migration and management.
- Modernized Infrastructure: Support for the latest hardware and software technologies, including NVMe storage and GPU acceleration.
Its just a bit better in every way from Server 2022 – and 100% better than 2012 R2!
| Feature | Windows Server 2025 | Windows Server 2022 | Windows Server 2012 R2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Security | Enhanced security protocols, improved AD, stronger threat protection | Robust security features, including shielded VMs and credential guard | Basic security features with early Active Directory improvements and Security Essentials |
| Performance | Accelerated virtualization, storage, and networking, optimized for AI/ML | Strong performance, especially for virtualization and storage | Improved performance for Hyper-V and storage, but limited optimization for newer technologies |
| Cloud Integration | Deeper Azure integration, seamless workload migration | Good Azure integration, basic hybrid cloud capabilities | Limited cloud integration, early support for hybrid environments with System Center |
| Hardware Support | Support for latest hardware, including NVMe and GPU | Support for modern hardware, including NVMe | Support for basic hardware configurations; limited support for emerging hardware like NVMe |
In summary, Windows Server 2025 steps up the game with smarter security, better performance, and seamless cloud connectivity. From the efficient file handling with Block Cloning to downtime-reducing Hotpatching, it’s clear this release is built to make life easier for us admins. Adding GPU Partitioning for VM flexibility and enhanced AD features, Microsoft has pushed the envelope to give us a modern, future-proof server OS that seamlessly connects to Azure and Entra.
With all these updates, Windows Server 2025 is a significant improvement over its predecessor, Windows Server 2022, and a massive leap from the now-aged Server 2012 R2. Finally, if you are thinking about upgrading now EOL servers. This one’s worth it!