I pin that observation on two factors. First, Windows Server 2008 R2 is the first Microsoft operating system platform to make the move to 64-bit only. Most folks who hear this don't realize that they've been buying 64-bit-capable servers for the past three years. You should also know that 32-bit apps will continue to run and that this is a necessity for evolving faster performance and the ability to better leverage cutting-edge CPU technologies as they arrive. Second, and certainly more impactful right now, there's virtualization. Windows Server 2008 R2 contains an industry-competitive server and application virtualization suite right out of the box. Server consolidation; no-interrupt workload migration across physical hosts; virtualized desktops attuned to tasks, users or groups; and application sandboxing and serving; it's all there and it's tightly integrated with the tools you use to manage your servers every day: Active Directory, PowerShell and System Center.
That's just huge. This gives Windows Server administrators a whole new landscape of deployment options. Data centers can be designed around workloads not boxes, and those loads can change without the need for user downtime. Administrators can also give their users new resources and build new kinds of work scenarios - virtualized desktops and applications that spawn when needed and behave indistinguishably from locally installed software. I'm really looking forward to seeing how customers implement these tools and hearing from you how this is working - you're going to see some cool stuff.
But R2 also adds other notable features that not only give you a louder bang for your server buck, you also won't find them as part and parcel of another server platform. The File Classification Infrastructure, for example. This technology can radically alter how you design your data storage because it lets server administrators classify files based on content and then execute lifecycle directions based on that classification - content management in the box.
Networking is miles and miles ahead of where we were in Windows 2000 Server. Redesigned networking protocols introduced with Windows Server 2008 have meant big throughput gains for some time. But Windows Server 2008 R2 has taken the first steps towards using these new protocol-level technologies to build new top-level features. DirectAccess is one example. This takes existing remote network protocols and combines them with TCP/IP v4 and v6 capabilities to give users seamless, highly secure and "always-on" access to the corporate network no matter where they're connecting from - so you can say goodbye to expensive VPN hardware purchases. BranchCache takes those updated protocols and combines them with a smart local cache at the branch office. The result is an average of between 30%-40% lower WAN bandwidth usage in early deployments - that means less money spent on the WAN pipe and faster performance for branch office users.
There's more - notably PowerShell 2.0 which opens new doors for administrators looking to build custom management tools for their environments. But most of all I'm impressed with the power of Server and Client. Windows 2000 was the last time that Server and Client released products together and the result was a powerful new set of capabilities for customers. Just like then, bringing Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 together means not just a host of new features on each platform, but new synergies between the two platforms that give administrators new options in designing IT solutions for their particular organizations.
For more on Windows Server 2008 R2, check out this excellent ars technica piece entitled "This Time, it's Different: Windows Server 2008 R2 In-Depth". It's been a big year for Windows Server and I'm proud to have been a part of it.
Oliver RistSr. Product ManagerMicrosoftWindows Server Marketing