Written by:
9/4/2012 

Since the beginning of the year, we’ve been recommending waiting for the release of Windows 2012. Now we have some great news to share.

For those in the queue who have been holding their breath for Windows 2012 -- the wait is over! This September 4th, Windows 2012 Server will finally be officially released.

ECL will begin rolling out the new Windows 2012 servers alongside its release in September.

If you are not yet sold on Windows 2012 , here are 10 reasons why you should consider upgrading:

1. New Essentials Edition: For less than $500, small organizations with 25 or fewer users can have a new low-cost way to get started with a Windows server.  It comes with free Windows Server CALs for up to 25 users.
   
2. New Standard Edition: For less than $1000, mid-sized organizations can get 1 host plus 2 virtual machine licenses. This is twice as many Virtual Machines as Windows 2008; thus handling twice the business complexity.
   
3. New Data Center Edition: For less than $5000, large organizations and service providers (like ECL) can have a single host with an unlimited number of Virtual Machine licenses to handle very complex environments.
   
4. Full features on all editions: Unlike the old Windows 2008, where lower editions had features and functions disabled, all 3 new Windows 2012 editions have practically the same functions as the full DataCenter edition.
   
5. New Metro user interface: A simplified user interface, the Metro menu system reduces user fatigue and clutter compared to the old Windows 7 desktop interface.
   
6. New USB 3.0 native drivers: Improves backup times 3 to 5 fold. Instead of the typical 3 to 5 hours, nightly offsite backups can now be completed in less tan 1 hour.
   
7. New and enhanced file systems: A new Reliable File System (ReFS) is introduced. It is a self-healing system for data on disks. The common problems with older Windows versions due to corrupt files will be dramatically reduced. The old NTFS has been enhanced with a “deduping” feature which can store much more data on a same disk by eliminating duplicated data. We have seen 2 to 20 times increase in data storage capability on the same disk after deduping.  This translates to significant savings!
   
8. Enhanced SSD support: Solid State Disks (SSD) perform up to 10 times as fast as regular Hard Disk Drives (HDD), providing improved performance in a multi-user terminal server environment.
   
9. Enhanced graphics performance: With the old versions of Windows, when running on Terminal Server mode (Remote Desktop Services), displaying high-speed graphics or listening to high quality audio is painfully slow to the point of not being useable. With the new Windows 2012, you can display reasonably  good animated business  graphics, watch YouTube videos, or listen to music or voicemail over a  good WAN connection on a thin-client workstation. All thanks to the new Windows 2012 RemoteFX feature,  Windows 2012 can now deliver highly compressed audio/video data streams over a lower bandwidth link for you to enjoy streaming multimedia from low-cost workstations.
   
10. Enhanced server hardware virtualization: This is perhaps the best feature for systems administrators. Windows 2012 is the most virtual OS ever. It has numerous new and enhanced features that provides incredible power, reliability, flexibility, and speed in the way systems are built and managed compared to earlier operating systems.

Overall Windows 2012 is much more reliable, functional, and easier-to-use than the old Windows 2008. Best of all, for most small businesses, Windows 2012 licenses are generally 50% less costly than Windows 2008 for the equivalent computing power.

If you’re not in the upgrade queue yet, we highly recommend moving your old Windows servers to Windows 2012. For more information, or a demonstration, contact us at sales@eclcomputing.ca.

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