- [Instructor] I was speaking recently
with a network administrator for a global company.
He told me that his IT infrastructure was out of date
because his Windows Servers were a version
or two behind the newest thing from Microsoft.
The long-term Windows Server releases like Server 2012,
2016, and now Windows Server 2019 are meant
to remain functional for more than just a couple of years,
so this is a normal situation.
A new one will come out every two to four years
and they'll be supported for approximately 10 years.
That means you're never really forced into a quick upgrade.
In fact, I'll go on record as saying
that the release of a newer version
of Windows Server is never the reason
to upgrade your entire network.
Let me tell you, instead,
why you should install a newer version of Windows Server.
You should plan to start integrating Windows Server 2019
installations into your network
if you're expanding a data center
and would like the control and flexibility
of being able to group your clusters
and take advantage of advances in Storage Spaces Direct.
You might consider Windows Server 2019
if your older file servers need to be retired
and you need a new system that will allow you
to easily migrate data and entire configurations
to new servers without disrupting service.
Or you might be looking for any
of the features rolled out in the semiannual releases
of Windows Server, but maybe you didn't want the volatility
of an operating system that will reach end-of-life
in less than two years.
And this is by no means an exhaustive list,
but the bottom line is this,
you should begin to upgrade your network
because you face evolving needs
and you recognize that Microsoft has addressed those needs
in the new version of Windows Server.
In courses on installing and configuring Windows Server,
I discuss the process of planning how servers will be used
so that the installation will fit the needs
from the very beginning, including the roles,
the right edition of Windows Server,
and when it comes to adding a new version of Windows Server,
or a new version of any product, you add another dimension.
You still need to consider all of this,
but you also need to take into account
the minimum system requirements.
For example, Windows Server 2019 has hardware requirements
that may seem very similar to Server 2016.
A minimum of a 1.4 gigahertz 64-bit processor
that supports memory protection
and Second Level Address Translation is still a requirement,
especially for virtualization roles.
You will also need at least a couple gigabytes of memory.
Now, you should be looking at that any saying,
yeah, right, like that will work.
Two gigabytes of memory is only enough
to run Windows itself, and barely that.
Always consider the roles that you're going to install
and the load that you're going to put on the server,
and make sure you have enough horsepower for those needs,
and it might be more than what you're used to.
Similarly, when you read that the storage requirement
is 32 gig or more of hard drive space
on a compatible controller, understand that it will
require a lot more.
32 gig is enough to run Windows
and possibly several months' worth of updates,
but it's by no means a recommended threshold.
You also need to make sure that your network controllers
support the PCI Express architecture
and that they support at least one gigabit per second
of throughput.
And even after you look at all of these requirements,
if you're upgrading a network,
you need to consider the roles like ADFS
or Certificate Services, or even more common,
Active Directory.
These roles involve multiple servers working together,
and upgrading them requires some planning.
Whether you're going to take the ADFS farm
or the functional level of the role for the entire network
and try to bring that up to the enhanced versions
in Windows Server 2019, planning the upgrade
or the introduction of a new Windows Server 2019 system
into your network will require you
to take a look at your entire infrastructure,
not just that one server, as you decided
to upgrade specific services.
These types of roles require their own unique methods
for upgrading, and the service
or migration of the responsibilities has
to be echoed across multiple machines.
Bottom line, there's a lot to consider.
As we go through this course,
we're going to take a look at new
as well as traditional roles performed by Windows Server
and what's involved in bringing Windows Server 2019
into your mix.