When renting a server, we are generally required to install what type of operating system. Among them, the Windows operating system mainly includes Windows 2003, Windows 2008 R2, and Windows 2012 R2. So which version of the Windows server operating system is better? What is the difference between them?
Windows Server 2003
First of all, Windows 2003 appeared earlier. At that time, many users asked to install Windows 2003. The main features of Windows 2003 are good stability, strong compatibility, and strong application functions.
In fact, Windows 2003 has several versions, and each version is suitable for different user needs. Due to the advantages of reliability, availability, scalability and security of Windows 2003, this makes it a very reliable platform. Before renting a server, users basically installed the Windows 2003 version.
Later, with the continuous improvement of the server hardware environment, Windows 2003 slowly declined. Now Microsoft has basically stopped updating Windows 2003, so few users now install Windows 2003.
Windows 2008 R2
Among many server products, the current mainstream version is Windows 2008 R2. Currently, Windows 2008 R2 is commonly available in Enterprise Edition and Standard Edition. Among the servers rented by users, the Standard Edition is mainly used. Compared to Windows 2003, Windows 2008 R2 is more mature, both in terms of network optimization and system compatibility.
In addition, the difference between Windows 2008 R2 and Windows 2003 is mainly reflected in the integrated IIS version. Windows 2003 is generally IIS6, and Windows 2008 R2 is IIS7. Therefore, if the server configuration is not high, it is recommended to install Windows server 2003, if the configuration is high, you can install Windows Server 2008 R2.
It is worth mentioning that compared with Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2 continues to improve applications in the fields of virtualization, system management flexibility, and information security, and many functions need to be paired with Windows 7, making it easier to handle. Currently, Windows Server 2008 R2 is also the first server operating system that only provides a 64-bit version.
Windows server 2012 R2
Windows Server 2012 R2 is a new generation of Windows Server operating system based on Windows 8.1 and Windows RT 8.1 interfaces and is also an upgraded version of Windows Server 2012.
Compared with Windows server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012 R2 has many new features. For example, the functionality of the Windows operating system is enhanced, and it is also an expansion of the original functions of Windows Server 2012, incorporating advantages such as openness, scalability, security, scalability, high performance, and simple operation.
Windows Server 2012 R2 still has many advantages, and the operation is basically similar to Windows Server 2008 R2. However, it may be because Windows Server 2012 R2 is still in its infancy, so now among users who rent servers in the United States, Windows Server 2008 R2 is still the main version. However, the future Windows Server 2012 R2 version will certainly dominate the server Windows operating system.
When users rent a server, they can choose the server operating system version according to their needs.
