A version of the Windows NT operating system | |
Screenshot of Windows Server 2008 R2 Datacenter Service Pack 1
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Developer | Microsoft |
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Source model | Closed source / Shared source |
Released to manufacturing |
July 22, 2009 |
General availability |
October 22, 2009 |
Latest release | 6.1 (Build 7601: Service Pack 1) / February 22, 2011 |
Update method | Windows Update, Windows Server Update Services, SCCM |
Platforms | x64, Itanium |
Kernel type | Hybrid |
License | Commercial software (Retail, volume licensing, Microsoft Software Assurance) |
Preceded by | Windows Server 2008 (2008) |
Succeeded by | Windows Server 2012 (2012) |
Official website | technet |
Support status | |
Mainstream support ended on 13 January 2015. Extended support ends on 14 January 2020. |
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Articles in the series | |
Windows Server 2008 R2 is a server operating system produced by Microsoft. It was released to manufacturing (RTM) on July 22, 2009 and launched on October 22, 2009. According to the Windows Server Blog, the retail availability was September 14, 2009. It is built on the same kernel used with the client-oriented Windows 7. It is the first 64-bit–only operating system released from Microsoft. Enhancements include new functionality for Active Directory, new virtualization and management features, version 7.5 of the Internet Information Services (IIS) web server and support for up to 256 logical processors.
There are seven editions: Foundation, Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter, Web, HPC Server and Itanium, as well as Windows Storage Server 2008 R2.
Microsoft introduced Windows Server 2008 R2 at the 2008 Professional Developers Conference as the server variant of Windows 7.
On January 7, 2009, a beta release of Windows Server 2008 R2 was made available to subscribers of Microsoft's TechNet and MSDN programs, as well as those participating in the Microsoft Connect program for Windows 7. Two days later, the beta was released to the public via the Microsoft Download Center.
On April 30, 2009, the release candidate was made available to subscribers of TechNet and MSDN. On May 5, 2009, the release candidate was made available to the general public via the Microsoft download center.