Tonight Microsoft has made available the public preview release of Windows Server 2012 R2. With this release, Microsoft is laying out its vision for what it calls the Cloud OS.
The Cloud OS is the platform that Microsoft is building with the release of Windows Server 2012 R2, System Center 2012 R2, SQL Server 2014 and Windows Azure. The four key tenets of the Cloud OS are:
- Transform the Datacenter
- Enable modern business applications
- Empower people-centric IT
- Unlock insights on any data
New to Windows Server 2012 R2 are such features as:
- Storage Tiering within Storage Spaces
- Software-defined networking
- Virtual IP Address management
- Windows Powershell 4.0
- Windows Server Essentials Experience
To get started with the Windows Server 2012 R2 Preview, go to http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/dn205286.aspx
Tom on Tech 