Background

Understanding Windows Server 2019 may be quite difficult if the relevant aspects are not discussed. Therefore, it is necessary first to understand the basic concepts underpinning the entirety of the Windows Server 2019 alongside the differences between Windows Server 2019 and the normal, common, and widely used types of operating systems such as Windows 10 and Windows 7.

Check out Our Guide on Windows 10

Operating System

The platform through which the hardware of a computer is connected with the computer’s software is termed the operating system (OS). Through the operating systems, a user interacts with the computer and performs the required functions of any kind. The OS provides the users with a graphical interface, thus making it a necessary prerequisite for such devices like computers and smartphones to have an operating system to perform all the tasks. The best-known examples of OS are Windows OS and Mac OS.

Server

As the name indicates, a server is merely a system or a single computer that functions to ‘serve’. A server provides data, services, and resources to other computers linked to the server through a network. All the linked computers are called clients. 

Client-Server Configuration

 

Difference between Windows OS and Windows Server 2019

A wide majority of people use computers or smartphones for personal purposes. These activities can be educational, connecting with other people, social media, gaming, etc. However, not every computer is to be used for personal matters as this is the age of information technology where almost every walk of life is dependent on it. Having said so, smartphones and particularly computers (PCs and laptops) are commonly used in enterprises, businesses, companies, and organizations, whereby a simple operating system designed for personal usage fails to meet the dynamics of an organization. Therefore, to cope with the proceedings of any organization, there ought to be a certain type of operating system designed mainly to carry out the tasks specifically for an organization or an enterprise where all the computers are connected.

Windows OS

While Operating Systems such as Windows 10, Windows 8, and Windows 7 are made entirely for personal PC use, the Windows Server is designed to run server systems and is a dedicated operating system. Being linked with enterprises and businesses, it is not astonishing that most computer users are unaware of Windows Server because OS like Windows 10 performs all the functions a user needs to perform at a personal level. On the other hand, Windows Server 2019 is used in enterprises. It caters to centralized networking that aid in carrying out the activities within an organization using Windows Server for the necessary tasks. However, not all businesses or enterprises require this dedicated operating system. Hence, only those enterprises that are linked with IT one way or another, or those organizations aiming to bring forth a streamlined course of actions in business objectives working remotely or on computers, use various versions of Windows Server.  

Windows Server 2019

Revolving around the basic notion of streamlining the activities of businesses and building them on the fabric, the users trust with the server at the center and the proceedings of the businesses running smoothly, Windows Server 2019 is packed with new features that add up to the previous ones in serving the function for which such operating system was made. Windows Server 2019 is packed with astoundingly great technology squeezed in on a single and small installation disk. Through this version of windows server, Microsoft changed the users’ perceptions regarding the exact meaning of a server. Apart from that, the Windows Server 2019 comes with extraordinary new capabilities that make being an administrator exciting and the computing environment more efficient. 

Windows Admin Center

The Windows Admin Center has been around in the previous versions of Windows Server, but in the version of 2019, there have been a lot of changes that make the user experience better than ever. Through the Admin Center in Windows Server 2019, the users have a comparatively larger aspect of freedom as far as the management is concerned. Through this window, the users can first see the CPU load connection load and monitor the traffic. Such facets allow for companies to work even more efficiently while working remotely. 

Through Devices, the administrator can easily monitor all the devices connected to the server. Similarly, the basic notion behind such an admin center is to allow the administrator to control almost everything in an organization virtually. Similarly, the Admin Center allows the administrator to check, control, monitor, and manage events, files, networks, remote desktops, schedules tasks, storage, services, and all the other roles and features provided by Windows Server 2019.

Windows Server Admin center

Release and Versions

The announcement of the release of Windows Server 2019 was made in March 2018 and was released on 6th October 2018. However, certain problems resulted in a temporary pause in the release, and Windows Server 2019 was actively released after resolving the problems in November 2018. 

Windows Server 2019 Essentials

Windows Server 2019 comes in three versions. The Windows Server 2019 Essentials was targeted at companies with up to 25 employees and 50 devices. Since small companies do not require many servers or a lot of features and can do well with the basic features, this version only supports a single server. On top of that, it was made to be memory limited.  Windows Server 2019 Essentials is a successor to the previous version of Windows Server 2016 Essentials and is designed primarily for small size businesses, whereby it only requires a single license called the CAL or Client Access License for proper working.

The price of this OS is comparatively lower and works fine for enterprise-level businesses, and can be managed through the Windows Admin Center. Similarly,  the features provided by this operating system are almost the same as the previous version; however, certain changes make the management experience better than before. Windows Server 2019 Essential is integrated with the Recovery Services of Azure Site so that the valuable data, prediction results, and managing progress is never lost and are kept safe.

On top of that, this operating system provides an extension that enables the users to extend the reach from within the premises to the Azure Virtual Network, thus allowing efficient management even if the enterprise is working remotely. Another feature not part of the previous version is that this version also supports the Azure Active Directory Connect Installation. Despite such changes and improvements, certain features were removed from this version. There is no option for Add Roles and Features Wizard in this version.

In contrast, the rest is kept visually the same with advancements that make the experience better and management efficient. However, removing certain other minuscule features now requires the administrator to manage the various facets manually, which were first done automatically. 

Windows Server 2019 Standard

Windows Server 2019 Standard is primarily designed for businesses or organizations beyond the minimum watermark of 25 employees and 50 devices. Huge organizations and businesses use the Standard version of Windows Server 2019, and that is because of the various features that enable streamlined proceedings of the business activities and efficient management even for the companies working remotely. Moreover, the Essentials version has various drawbacks when dealing with larger organizations. Therefore, huge organizations require multiple domain controllers controlling through multiple servers and managing different numbers of employees for different objectives of the organization. 

Similarly, this version cannot support more than one server and hence fails to be an intelligent operating system in companies with more than 25 employees and require multiple domain controllers. On top of that, there are various such functions and services provided by the Standard version, which simply cease to exist in the Essentials version. These include:

Host Guardian Service

Through this service, the Hyper-V hosts within the organization are thoroughly known to the enterprise. It is made sure that such entities use only the trusted software and that no such software is being used that poses a threat or harm to the enterprise or the organization.

Windows Server Host Guardian Service

Storage Replica

All the data and information in a single device or a single server can be lost for various reasons. Organizations that have the Standard version of Windows Server 2019 need not worry about losing valuable data and information because of the Storage Replica feature in the Standard version. All the stored data can easily be replicated and stored in multiple volumes through different servers through these features. Therefore, even if all the storage at one place is lost due to any reason, the data can be recovered through the replicated storage in another volume.

Windows Server Storage Replica 

Device Health Attestation

Through this feature, the integrity of all the hardware within an enterprise can be checked, aiding the enterprise to raise the security bar of the organization. Device Health attestation requires no additional infrastructure or software to be installed. The entire organization’s security is improved without an increase in the operation cost, thus saving not only the money but the valuable integrity of all the devices within an organization. 

System Insight

Windows Server 2019 has this new feature called System Insights. System Insights is a predictive analytics feature comparatively new and better than the previous versions of Windows Server. This new capability is fueled by a machine learning model that locally analyses the system data in the Windows Server. Moreover, the system data is a broader term and can be specified as the aspects revolving around the performance events and counters. What system insight does is to provide the users or the administrator, to be precise, an insight into the exact functioning of the servers, consequently reducing the expenses required to manage the issues in the deployments as far as the operational expenses are concerned.  

However, that is not the only function served by the system insight. The system insight features in Windows Server 2019 come with four default capabilities. These include capacity forecasting, networking, storage, and prediction of future resources. Additionally, all of these capabilities get better with time due to the fundamental aspect of machine learning. These capabilities are always based on the user’s previous usage patterns and aim to reduce any uncertainty by giving precise and accurate outcomes through machine learning.

The users can manage Systems Insights through a Windows Admin Center or the feature of PowerShell. The System Insights allows the users the service of configuring the predictive capability based entirely on the needs of the deployment. Furthermore, the prediction results are never lost in the noise and are actively stored in the Windows Server 2019 event log. Such capability allows for easy and convenient usage of Azure Monitor, whereby the predictions are visible across a group of interconnected machines. 

Windows Server System Insights

 

Related Tutorials on Microsoft Windows Server 19 links

Windows Server 2019 – Wikipedia

Learn more about Windows Server Operating System

Install Windows Server 2019 by using the operating system Media

Windows Admin Center in Server 19

What Is Windows Server and How Is It Different from Windows?

 

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