The long wait for Microsoft’s new server operating system is coming to an end, as Microsoft inches closer to officially launching Windows Server 2022, the much-awaited successor to Windows Server 2019.

The latest Windows Server 2022 Preview build 20298 was released on Feb. 24th, 2021. The full public release of Windows Server 2022 is expected later this year or in the first half of 2022.

Windows Server 2022, also known as vNext and Windows Server 21H2, has a ton of exciting new features.

In this article we’ll take a look at some of the most innovative and impactful features of this server operating system.

#1 – Hybrid Cloud

Windows Server 2022 will have improved Hybrid Cloud capabilities as Microsoft is rolling out key improvements in Azure Arc.

Azure Arc allows you to manage Windows Server on-premise in multi-cloud environments from a single, simple control panel.

You can easily control and implement Azure management capabilities including Azure Policy, Azure Defender, and Azure Monitor.

Windows Server 2022 has an improved Windows Admin Center v2103 with strong virtual machine management capabilities and features.

#2 – Hyper-V Manager

Microsoft Hyper-V Manager is an administrative tool to manage virtual machines. Windows Server 2022 is bringing the following changes to Hyper-V Manager.

• New action bar
• Live storage migration
• Affinity and Anti-Affinity Rules
• VM Clones
• Ability to move running workloads between servers, and
• Improved security with optimized CPU hyperthreading and secure workloads via CPU groups

You will also be able to use the partitioning tool to give VMs access to physical GPUs of your choice, boosting performance and output.

#3 – Improved Containerization

Containers remain the focus of Microsoft as they are extensively used in modern software development as they make development and deployment easy and cost-effective.

Microsoft Server 2022 will have increased support for Windows containers, with a thin and secure hypervisor to reduce dependencies between the host operating system and containerized applications.

Windows Server 2022 will have faster download times and better performance, thanks to compressed Windows Container image sizes.

You will also be able to run applications dependent upon Azure Active Directory with group Managed Services Accounts (gMSA) without domain joining the container host.

The revamped Windows Admin Center also makes it easier to containerize .NET applications by allowing you to host your applications on Azure Container Registry and also deploy on other Azure services, including Azure Kubernetes Service.

Windows Server 2022 will reduce the overhead involved in running a software-defined network, with seamless and easy integration of Windows SDN tools with Kubernetes. This will make it easier to create virtual infrastructure using Windows Server.

Windows Server 2022 will also provide the ability to include or exclude specific adapters in cluster networking.

#4 – Secure-Cored Technology

Windows Server 2022 is also bringing multi-layered security features across OS and hardware via secure-cored server technology.

Thanks to Microsoft’s extensive partnerships, Windows Server 2022 users will have the assurance that they are interacting with OEM-approved software instances.

OEMs will also have access to Integrated Azure Stack HCI systems, which would enable them to provide operating system features by default and simplify configuration for customers.

Secured-core server also brings multi-layered threat protected achieved through Trusted Platform Module 2.0 and System Guard that boot up Windows Server with minimum risks from firmware-based vulnerabilities.

#5 – Performance Monitoring

Windows Server 2022 will provide advanced performance monitoring tools. In Admin Center, you can create custom performance views and access real-time information from servers.

#6 – Storage Migration

Microsoft Server 2022 supports NetApp migration.

NetApp Arrays are used for secure and optimized storage in NAS and SAN environments for data analytics and disk-based backups.

In Windows Server 2022 you can migrate NetApp arrays to Windows Server and integrate them with clusters.

DFSN migration is also supported in Windows Server 2022. You will be able to use the Admin Center GUI to integrate and transfer roots for a seamless migration of DFSN.

Windows Server 2022 also offers integration between Azure File Sync Cloud with SMS. Azure File Sync allows you to cache a number of Azure file shares on an on-premises Windows Server or VM.

The new integration will allow you to see the status of your file transfers between Azure File sync and the sync target server. This will help you to keep track of storage capacity, pause and resume file transfers, and evaluate performance in real time.

Windows Server 2022 will also have faster transfer speeds and inventory validation

#7 – New SMB Features

Windows Server 2022 is bringing a lot of improvements for SMB, a network file sharing protocol.

SMB now supports AES-256 encryption. There are also performance improvements when it comes to SMB encryption or signing with SMB Direct with RDMA-enabled network cards.

SMB compression is also supported in the new OS.

There will also be support for UDP 443, IETF, TLS 1.3 and mobile.

#8 – Disaster Recovery

Windows Server 2022 will have improved disaster recovery because of Windows Server’s Storage Replica features which will allow Azure Stack HCI to run across multiple sites.

Some improvements include automatic detection of nodes using active directory and IP addresses, separate storage pools for site configurations, and automatic adjustments of sites in case of cluster failure.

#9 – Special Protection for Cryptocurrency

Windows Server 2022 also brings new features to ensure security for cryptocurrency mining.

The cryptocurrency industry is facing a formidable threat from ransomware attacks. The Secured-core technology supports virtualization-based security (VBS) and hypervisor-based code integrity (HVCI) which protect systems against the EternalBlue exploit.

This exploit is commonly used by hackers to breach the cryptocurrency settings.  VBS isolates critical parts of the OS, such as the kernel, from the rest of the system.

#10 – Edge Browser

The new Microsoft Edge browser based on the Chromium engine will come pre-installed in Windows Server 2022 installations with desktop experience as Microsoft is planning to eventually phase-out Internet Explorer.