Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Datacenter
Datacenter Edition is most cost-efficient for more than four VMs per processor because you can run an unlimited number of VMs per processor and license each processor. While Datacenter is more expensive than Enterprise when running four VMs per processor, you have more scalability and support for future growth, so you could, potentially, adopt Datacenter over Enterprise when you consider future requirements. Remember that you have to license all processors in the server.
The Datacenter edition represents the top end of the Windows Server 2008 product range and is targeted at mission-critical enterprises requiring stability and high uptime levels. Windows Server 2008 Datacenter edition is tied closely to the underlying hardware through the implementation of custom Hardware Abstraction Layers (HAL). As such, it is currently only possible to obtain Datacenter edition as part of hardware purchase.
As with other versions, the Datacenter edition is available only in a 64-bit version and supports up to 2TB of RAM. In addition, this edition supports a minimum of 8 processors up to a maximum of 64.
Upgrade paths to Windows Server 2008 Datacenter Edition are available from Eksoftware the Datacenter editions of Windows 2000 and 2003.
Differences in the Editions based on Server Roles
| Role |
Standard |
Enterprise |
Datacenter |
| Active Directory Certificate services |
X * |
X |
X |
| Active Directory Domain Services |
X |
X |
X |
| Active Directory Federation Services |
|
X |
X |
| Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services |
X |
X |
X |
| Active Directory Rights Management Services |
X |
X |
X |
| Application Server |
X |
X |
X |
| DHCP Server |
X |
X |
X |
| DNS Server |
X |
X |
X |
| Fax Server |
X |
X |
X |
| File Services |
X ** |
X |
X |
| Hyper-V |
X |
X |
X |
| Network Policy and Access Services |
X *** |
X |
X |
| Print and Document Services |
X |
X |
X |
| Remote Desktop Services |
X **** |
X |
X |
| Web Services(IIS) |
X |
X |
X |
| Windows Deployment Services |
X |
X |
X |
| Windows Server Update Services(WSUS) |
X |
X |
X |
* Limited to creating Certificate Authorities – no other ADCS features (NDES, Online Responder Service). See ADCS role documentation on TechNet for more information.
** Limited to 1 standalone DFS root.
*** Limited to 250 RRAS connections, 50 IAS connections and 2 IAS Server Groups.
**** Limited to 250 Remote Desktop Services Gateway connections.
Differences in the Editions based on Technical Specifications
| Specification |
Standard |
Enterprise |
Datacenter |
| Cross-File Replication(DFS-R) |
|
X |
X |
| Failover Cluster Nodes(Nodes) |
|
16 |
16 |
| Fault-Tolerant Memory Sync |
|
X |
X |
| Hot Add Memory |
|
X |
X |
| Hot Add Processors |
|
|
X |
| Hot Replace Memory |
|
|
X |
| Hot replace Processors |
|
|
X |
| Network Access Connections(IAS) |
50 |
Unlimited |
Unlimited |
| Network Access Connections(RRAS) |
250 |
Unlimited |
Unlimited |
| Remote Desktop Admin Connections |
2 |
2 |
2 |
| Remote Desktop Services Gateway |
250 |
Unlimited |
Unlimited |
| Virtual Images Use Rights |
Host + 1 VM |
Host + 4 VM |
Unlimited |
| Max RAM |
32GB |
2TB |
2TB |
| Max CPU Sockets |
4 |
8 |
64 |
These are minimum system requirements for installing Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Datacenter
- Processor: 1GHz (x86) or 1.4 GHz (x64) minimum; 2 GHz or faster recommended; Itanium users must have two processors
- Memory: 512 MB minimum; 2 GB or more recommended; 2 TB maximum in Datacenter edition
- Available Hard Disk Space: 10 GB minimum; 40 GB or more recommended; 16 GB minimum to run dump files, paging, and hibernation
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