Datasheet
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Choosing an Edition of Windows Server 2008 R2
NO TE All versions of Windows Server 2008 R2 run on only 64-bit platforms. If
you’ve got a server that has a 32-bit processor, you won’t be able to run Windows
Server 2008 R2, though you will still be able to run Windows Server 2008.
There are seven editions of Windows Server 2008 R2. The differences between
them are as follows:
The Standard Edition comes with only one virtual license, does not support 3
Active Directory Federation Services, and has caveats when it comes to host-
ing the Certicate Services role. There are connection limits on Network Pol-
icy and Access Services and Remote Desktop Services roles, and DFS is limited
to one stand-alone DFS root. The Standard Edition supports up to four processor
sockets and up to 32 GB of RAM.
Enterprise comes with four virtual licenses, supports all server roles and fea-3
tures, and supports up to eight sockets and 2 TB of RAM. This version of Win-
dows Server 2008 R2 is most commonly deployed in medium- to large-sized
organizations.
The Datacenter Edition differs from the Enterprise Edition only in that you 3
get an unlimited number of virtual instances and can use up to 64 processor
sockets. The Datacenter Edition is most often deployed in virtualization
scenarios, as it allows you to run as many virtual machines as you want on the
one bit of hardware.
The Foundation Edition is available only from OEMs on single-socket serv-3
ers and is limited to 8 GB of RAM. The key to understanding the Foundation
Edition is that it is limited to 15 user accounts. You can have it as a Domain
Controller (DC) or as a member server, but if there are more than 15 accounts
in the domain or on the stand-alone system, the Foundation Edition will
automatically shut down after a ten-day grace period. With that 15-account
limitation and a few minor exceptions, the Foundation Edition supports the
same features as the Standard Edition of Windows Server 2008 R2. You cannot
install the Foundation Edition in the Server Core conguration.
The Web Server Edition supports only the Web server and DNS server roles. It is 3
cheaper to license than other editions, and you should deploy it if you need a
server running IIS but nothing else. It supports up to 32 GB of RAM and four
processor sockets.
Sockets are
different from
cores, so if you
have a collection
of quad-core
processors that
are all the same,
you can install four
of these quad-
core processors
on a server that
runs the Standard
Edition of Windows
Server 2008 R2.
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