Windows Server 2019 Is Commercially Available, But Hardware Lags

Windows Server 2019 Is Now Commercially Available

Windows Server 2019 builds on the basis of Windows Server 2016. This OS is the fastest version of Windows Server and 10 millions of instances are deployed worldwide. Server 2019 is designed to modernize data centers.

Recently, Microsoft has announced Windows Server 2019 will be generally available in October. And this company is making it available for download. It contains three editions including Essentials, Standard and Datacenter.

For Windows Server customers with valid Software Assurance, the new OS can be downloaded from the Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC). It can be downloaded by testers at the Evaluation Center. Besides, this OS is also available for customers running Server on an Azure virtual machine.

Microsoft also says they will add this system to Visual Studio Subscription (former MSDN) and other portals like the Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) later in October.

Certified Hardware Isn’t Available Yet

Although Windows Server 2019 is now commercially available, the certified hardware from Microsoft’s OEM partners is not available yet. This is because the release-to-manufacturing (RTM) stage with this release of Windows Server 2019 is skipped by Microsoft.

This company offers Windows Server Software Defined (WSSD) program to its hardware makers to validate key Windows Server features, such as Storage Spaces Direct and the OS’s hyper-converged infrastructure capabilities. And the goal is to produce certified Windows Server hardware.

Microsoft says the first certified Windows Server 2019 hardware products will be launched in mid-January 2019.

In-Place Upgrades Supported

Microsoft supports in-place upgrades to Windows Server 2019 for organizations using Server 2016 and this depends on hardware requirements. This upgrade way replaces the underlying OS bits and it is different from traditional wipe-and-replace deployment method.

Microsoft suggests that an in-place upgrade should be taken place when the server is listed as certified in the Windows Server 2019 directory. In this case, organizations can check with their hardware vendors.

Windows Server 2019 Licensing

Microsoft licenses Windows Server 2019 by physical core, which is the same as Windows Server 2016. The licenses of this new OS are sold in 2-packs and 16-packs.

Except when using Essentials Edition, Client Access Licenses (at additional cost) are required to support server connections.

Users can download a datasheet on Windows Server 2019 licensing from Licensing School that is a U.K.-based consultancy that Microsoft has authorized.

Besides, according to an announcement from this consultancy, the datasheet confirms that the price of Windows Server 2019 Standard Core licenses has gone up by 10%.

What’s more, Microsoft offers two options to this system: traditional “5 + 5” years servicing option (now named “long-term servicing channel”), a “semiannual channel” servicing option that can provide 18 months of support between new OS feature updates.

Final Words

Now you have got some information about Windows Server 2019. If you are interested in the operating system, you can download it online and install it to enjoy its powerful features.