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Introduction
This blog post covers the changes in the list of Roles, Role Services and Features from Windows Server 2008 (with Service Pack 2) to Windows Server 2008 R2 (used the latest RC build available to me). To create the tables and lists below, I installed both operating systems, used the "ServerManagerCmd -query" command and did some editing of the resulting text to provide a side-by-side comparison. Please note that I based the "New", "Renamed" or "Removed" marks based on the output of the commands, nothing else. The ">" in the beginning of the items' names indicates the indentation level.
Obviously, there's much more to Roles, Role Services and Features than their names. Many of the items that exist in both versions were deeply improved in Windows Server 2008 R2, but you will not find that type of change here. If you look at Hyper-V, for instance, the changes are truly impressive, but the lists below do not capture that. For those details, you should look at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/R2.aspx and the Reviewers Guide at http://download.microsoft.com/download/F/2/1/F2146213-4AC0-4C50-B69A-12428FF0B077/Windows_Server_2008_R2_Reviewers_Guide_(RC).doc
Table Comparing Roles and Role Services
Table Comparing Features
Lists Comparing Roles and Role Services
New Roles, Role Services
Renamed Roles and Role Services
Removed Roles and Role Services
Lists Comparing Features
New Features
Renamed Features
Removed Features
Conclusion
I hope this blog post has helped you better understand the changes in the list of Roles, Role Services and Features between Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2. I encourage your to visit http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/R2.aspx to see more details on the changes in Windows Server 2008 R2, which go way beyond the names of the Roles, Role Services and Features.
Starting with Windows Server 2008 R2, the ServerManagerCmd command is deprecated. It still works, but you should use the new PowerShell cmdlets for feature management (Add-WindowsFeature, Remove-WindowsFeature and Get-WindowsFeature). You will need to use "Import-Module ServerManager" before using the Server Manager PowerShell cmdlets. Details at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc732757.aspx
Excellent post Jose!! This one makes the favorites for sure. I'm glad Ned mentioned your blog on the DS team blog last week.
Thanks
Mike