Advanced Security
For hybrid use cases when using Microsoft Windows Server 2025, both on-premises and on Azure: Get crucial updates with less downtime. Hotpatching allows many security updates to be applied without a need to reboot. Add-on service is available for Azure Arc-enabled servers. Multi-layered security; secured-core server technology: Trusted Platform Module 2.0 and system guard to boot up Windows Server more securely and minimize risk from firmware vulnerabilities.
Windows Defender Credential Guard—virtualization-based security. Windows Defender Exploit Guard offers a set of host intrusion prevention capabilities. Integrated Windows Defender ATP gives access to deep kernel and memory sensors. Virtualization-based security (VBS) enclaves enable isolation of sensitive workloads; VBS key protection to protect cryptographic keys. Active Directory: LDAP support for TLS 1.3 helps remove obsolete cryptographic algorithms; Kerberos support AES SHA256/384; new domain controllers increased to 32K pages; added RootDSE mod; Microsoft Windows Server 2025 supports AES-256-GCM and AES-256-CCM cryptographic suites for SMB encryption.
Hybrid Cloud Capabilities
WAC: Hybrid and on-premises server management at no additional cost. Azure hybrid services tool in WAC and Azure Monitor; seamless management of hybrid server environments, storage migration, system insights (predictive analytics capabilities native to Windows Server), protecting VMs and synchronizing file servers.
For hybrid use cases when using Microsoft Windows Server 2025 both on-premises and on Azure: Azure Monitor can collect data directly from physical or virtual Windows computers into a Log Analytics workspace for detailed analysis and correlation.
High-Performance Infrastructure
Microsoft Windows Server 2025 delivers a modern operating system that enables enhanced virtual machine memory, expanded processor and device support, superior congestion control, and improvements in encryption and networking. Storage Migration Service provides a graphical tool that inventories data on Windows, Linux®, and NetApp CIFS servers and then transfers the data to newer servers or to Azure virtual machines. The containers extension in WAC enables the containerization of apps as well as troubleshooting for containers running on a host, such as opening a console connection to a container, checking logs, monitoring resource consumption, and more.
Microsoft drastically decreased the size of the Windows Server core container base image by reducing duplicate payloads and removing unused optional components. Software-defined storage enhancements: ReFS-optimized deduplication and compression (for active workloads like VMs); save up to 60% of storage for file servers, and up to 90% of storage for VHD/ISO/backups; storage replica compression is now available in all editions of Windows Server.
