Windows Server 2025 Now Available in Public Preview

Microsoft's Windows Server 2025 is now available in public preview — the next milestone toward full release.

Interested organizations can access the public preview via the Evaluation Center here. ISOs of the Datacenter and Standard editions are available for evaluation. Organizations can also test drive Windows Server 2025 using pre-built Azure images. Users will have the option to install the comparatively lightweight Server Core version, which is managed remotely and lacks a GUI, or the complete Server with Desktop Experience, which has the full GUI.

Windows Server 2025 is expected to become generally available sometime this fall as a Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) release, meaning it will be eligible for mainstream support benefits for five years, and extended for-pay support for five more.

Microsoft had previously explained that Windows Server 2025 will feature an easier update process, a pay-as-you-go subscription option on top of the usual perpetual license, improvements to Azure Stack HCI, hotpatching, broad availability of SMB over QUIC, and more improvements.

In a blog post, Ian LeGrow, head of Azure Edge + Platform at Microsoft, described a few more enhancements coming to Windows Server 2025, which he described as the "most secure and innovative version yet."

Other features described by LeGrow include:

  • New identity management capabilities via Active Directory.
  • Support for multisite workloads.
  • Azure Arc-enabled multicloud management.
  • GPU-related enhancements with the goal of supporting AI workloads.
  • New network management features.
  • Improved Hyper-V scalability and performance.

"This release delivers advanced security, new Azure hybrid features, a high-performance platform for your existing apps and AI workloads, and a modernized Windows Server experience," LeGrow said.

For more information, visit the Microsoft site.

About the Author

Gladys Rama (@GladysRama3) is the editorial director of Converge360.

Featured

  • open laptop with data streams

    OpenAI Launches AI-Powered Web Browser Built Around User Context

    OpenAI has introduced ChatGPT Atlas, a standalone browser that places ChatGPT at the heart of everyday web activity. This release represents a major expansion of the company's efforts to reshape how users search, browse, and complete tasks online.

  • school building connected by lines to symbols of AI, data charts, and a funding document with a dollar sign

    ED Issues Guidance on the Use of Federal Grant Funds to Support Learner Outcomes with AI

    In response to President Trump's April 23 Executive Order on advancing AI education, the United States Department of Education has issued new guidance on how K-12 and higher education institutions may use federal grant funds "to support improved outcomes for learners through the responsible integration of artificial intelligence."

  • computer monitor with an envelope and padlock shield icon

    Email Security Transparency Dashboard Added to Office 365 Defender

    Microsoft has announced a new e-mail security dashboard in Microsoft Defender for Office 365, offering customers visibility into threat detection metrics and benchmarking data.

  • server racks, a human head with a microchip, data pipes, cloud storage, and analytical symbols

    OpenAI, Oracle Expand AI Infrastructure Partnership

    OpenAI and Oracle have announced they will develop an additional 4.5 gigawatts of data center capacity, expanding their artificial intelligence infrastructure partnership as part of the Stargate Project, a joint venture among OpenAI, Oracle, and Japan's SoftBank Group that aims to deploy 10 gigawatts of computing capacity over four years.