In this Blog let’s take a look at some of the most innovative and new features of the recently launched server operating system – Windows Server 2022.
Microsoft announced a new version of Windows Server 2022 in September 2021 with major improvements and new features. Outdated hardware and software or operating systems are not recommended for IT infrastructure as they are susceptible for cyber threats. Windows Server 2022 is a reliable, most secure server operating system developed to help organizations run their workloads securely, enable hybrid cloud integration, and update their applications to meet demanding IT needs.
Here are the major improvements and features added to Windows server 2022.
SECURITY
The new security improvement in Windows Server 2022 provides intense protection against advanced threats with advanced multi-layer security. Considering the increasing security threats and cyber-attacks, Windows Server 2022 is built with top-notch security parameters.
Secured-core Server
Secured core server uses the resources and driver capabilities to enable advanced security features ensuring mission critical data of organisations.
Encryption
The windows server 2022 is inbuilt with TPM 2.0 (Trusted Platform Module), a security based crypto-processor chip which provides encryption to sensitive cryptographic data and keys.
Secure Boot and Tamper Proof
Secure Boot ensures the server boots only with the firmware and software provided and trusted by the hardware manufacturer. This also allows the servers to boot the firmware and gives control to the OS only if the hardware/software has a valid signature.
Kernel Data Protection (KDP) structures with inbuilt windows defender making it a tamper proof and provided protection to ROM containing non-executable data in the kernel memory.
SECURE CONNECTIVITY
TLS and HTTPS
Windows server 2022 has TLS (Transport Layer Security) 1.3 which is the most deployed security protocol in the internet today which provides end-to-end communication encryption. By default, HTTPS and TLS has been enabled in server 2022 ensuring the data protection of clients stored in the server.
Secure DNS
DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) is now supported in Windows server 2022 that encrypts DNS queries using HTTPS protocol preventing the server traffic as private and not manipulation of DNS Data.
SMB AES-256 Encryption
AES-256-GCM and CCM is now supported in windows server 2022 for SMB Encryption, when connecting to another network or computer this automatically deals with more cipher methods making the connection secure.
SMB Direct and RDMA encryption
Previously on windows servers enabling SMB Direct encryption seriously affects performance of the server but now SMB Direct encryption is supported in windows server 2022. SMB Direct and RMDA supply low latency network workloads like Storage replica, Hyper-V or SQL Server on higher bandwidth.
IMPROVEMENTS IN NETWORKING PERFORMANCE
UDP PERFORMANCE
The increase in RTP and custom streaming / gaming protocols popularity, UDP is carrying more network traffic and becoming popular in protocols. The performance of UDP takes a level higher when compared TCP using QUIC protocol which was built on top of UDP Protocol.
TCP PERFORMANCE
To reduce packet loss during connection start up and to reduce Retransmit Timeouts (RTO) TCP HyStart++ and RACK are used in windows server 2022. By default, these features are enabled in the transport stack and provide better performance at high speed with smoother network data flow.
VIRTUALIZATION SWITCH
To process one larger segment of packet from the hypervisor network, Virtual Switches in Hyper_V have been enhanced with updated Receive Segment Coalescing (RSC).
APPLICATION PLATFORM
There are several platform improvements for windows containers that will be done on windows server 2022, One of the major improvements includes, reducing 40% of windows container image size which gain better performance and 30% faster boot up time. In addition, containerization of .NET applications is made easy using windows admin center.
OTHER KEY FEATURED IN WINDOWS SERVER 2022
- Nested Virtualization for AMD Processors
- Storage Migration Service
- Faster Repair and re-sync
- SMB Compression
- ReFS file-level snapshots
- EDGE Browser instead of Internet Explorer
Three editions of Windows server 2022 are available: Standard, Datacenter and Essentials. The Datacenter version finds its use in large-scale data centers, where the need to host and manage large fleets of virtual machines is present. It’s typically used for ERP systems and for hybrid and private clouds. Standard is the familiar small application server or operational database server, with limited virtualization requirements. Smaller businesses with basic file and print needs, and up to 25 employees, can take the option of the Essentials release.
