When you migrate to Windows Server 2012 harvest?

Windows Server 2012 is the first major version of Microsoft's update, and it offers a range of enhancements to the IT staff that are trying to move some workloads out of the data center. Here we look at when the enterprise will gain benefits.

Pain, then is harvest?

The upgrade process from Windows Server 2008 to Windows Server 2012 can cause problems. The inevitable downtime in the upgrade process is a big hassle and application compatibility needs to be addressed. However, companies that are willing to do this kind of upgrade will end up with a bitter finish. Microsoft promised that their next upgrade would not be so painful.

Interestingly, this upgrade should not be too late. Just eight months after Windows Server 2012 was released, Microsoft unveiled the Windows Server R2 Preview and will launch a formal version by the end of 2013. The Windows server R2 is billed as a completely new, fully-built server product with a range of new features. It includes Hyper-V network virtualization, which helps organizations build software definition networks (SDN) that bridge applications to the cloud. Improved storage space that allows applications to run on different types of storage disks.

Since most Microsoft dealers are still testing Windows Server 2012, many have questioned the strategy for a rapid change in the new version. Although the new version has many eye-catching features, many administrators are still using Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2, and some are even using Windows Server 2003.

When Microsoft started abandoning the 32-bit architecture from Windows Server 2008 R2, many companies were left behind in the upgraded ranks, which continued until their hardware was replaced.

Despite this, Microsoft remains confident of its fast-moving pace.

"Anytime we want to give our customers a chance to quickly deploy Microsoft products," he said. "said Jeff Woolsey, chief project manager at Microsoft server and cloud computing.

At the same time, Woolsey says, the company is trying to simplify the upgrade process with features similar to Hyper-V real-time migrations, which means there will be no downtime for virtual machines when upgrading from Windows Server 2012 to Windows Server R2.

For administrators like Pratt, a more seamless migration process is certainly good news. In fact, Pratt says, he will consider a real-time migration from Windows Server 2012 to Windows Server R2 in the period after Windows Server R2 is released at the end of 2013.