Microsoft Windows Server 2022

Advanced multi-layer security

Advanced, Multi-Layer Security

Public and private sectors continue to suffer major data breaches, at an average cost of $4.24 million in 2022. As cybersecurity threats escalate and the cost of incidents grows, security continues to be a top priority for customers. Windows Server 2022 includes enhanced security features with a Secured-core server and secure connectivity.

Secured-Core Server

  • Benefit from powerful threat protection and multi-layer security from chip to cloud — across hardware, firmware, and the operating system — to help you proactively thwart potential attack vectors. It uses the TPM 2.0 and System Guard to boot up Windows Server securely and minimize risk from firmware vulnerabilities. Secured-core server includes virtualization-based security (VBS) features like Credential Guard and Hypervisor-protected code integrity (HVCI).

Secure Connectivity to Business Critical Assets

  • Secured connectivity adds an additional layer of security during transport. The release adds faster and more secure encrypted hypertext transfer protocol secure (HTTPS) connections, and industry-standard AES-256 encryption with support for server message block (SMB) protocol.

Hybrid Capabilities With Azure

Extend your datacenter to Azure for greater IT efficiency and take advantage of cloud innovation with your on-premises investments — while you enjoy improved tools to help manage servers wherever they are.

Extend Azure Management and Services On-Premises and Across Clouds

  • With Azure Arc, you can manage, secure, and govern Windows Server on-premises, at the edge, or in multi-cloud environments from a single control pane. You can also easily employ Azure management capabilities such as Azure Policy, Azure Monitor, and Azure Defender for those servers. Connect to Azure Arc with a few simple clicks in the Windows Admin Center management tool, which is available natively in the Azure Portal.

Seamlessly Connect On-Premises File Servers to File Servers in Azure

  • Take advantage of file server enhancements such as SMB compression. SMB compression improves application file transfer by compressing data while in transit over a network.

Manage Windows Server Anywhere

  • Gain remote management capabilities with Windows Admin Center, a tool admins love. Use in Azure or download at no additional cost. Enhancements include an event viewer and gateway proxy support for Azure-connected scenarios.

Flexible Application Platform

Empower your developers and IT pros to create applications quickly without worrying about the production environment. Windows Server 2022 offers enhanced platform capabilities and tools that improve developer velocity and increase support for key workloads. Run business-critical and large-scale applications like SQL Server that require 48TB of memory and 2,048 logical cores running on 64 physical sockets.

Download Windows Container Images Faster

  • Reduced Windows Container image size speeds download and improve performance. In addition, you can now run applications that depend on Azure Active Directory with group Managed Services Accounts (gMSA) without domain joining the container host. Several other enhancements simplify the Windows Container experience with Kubernetes, with support for host-process containers for node configuration, IPv6, and consistent network policy implementation with Calico.

Simplify .NET Application Deployment

  • Enhancements to the Windows Admin Center tool enable you to easily containerize .NET applications, host the containerized application on Azure Container Registry, and then deploy it to other Azure services, including Azure Kubernetes Service, a fully-managed Kubernetes service.

Unbeatable Offers on Azure

Take advantage of more than 200 Azure services and unique capabilities, such as Azure Automanage, Windows Admin Center in Azure, Azure Arc–enabled servers, and Azure App Service to boost efficiencies for Windows Server anywhere.

Azure Automanage

  • Intelligently onboard machines at scale to best-practice Azure services, enhancing reliability, security, and management. Azure Automanage automatically applies predefined best practice configuration profiles or customized configuration profiles to machines both inside and outside of Azure. Simply point, click, set, and forget. In addition, quickly deploy security updates without having to reboot, using hotpatch for Windows Server Core VMs; and easily migrate workloads to Azure by extending on-premises IP subnets and preserving the original private IP addresses.

Windows Admin Center in Azure

  • Use your favorite server-management tool in the Azure Portal, enabling granular management, configuration, troubleshooting, and maintenance functionality for Azure virtual machines.

Windows Containers in App Service

  • Deploy web applications, along with any dependencies — such as custom fonts, cultures and GAC deployed assemblies — in a Windows Container on Azure App Service.