In January, members of the Windows Server Insider Program started getting new builds that branded them as Windows Server 2025 for the first time. While Microsoft"s own changelogs for the Insider builds have not been very descriptive, the company did reveal a lot more about its plans for Windows Server 2025 during its recent online Windows Server streaming event.
Today, the company published a blog post that offers a summary of what was revealed during the event, concentrating on the new features and improvements that are planned for Windows Server 2025.
One big feature that will likely make users happy is the ability to get security updates for the server OS without the need to reboot it. Microsoft says this will be handled "by modifying in memory code without restarting the process." This will be available for every version of Windows Server 2025, including the standard and data center editions. Standard updates for the OS will still require a reboot.
Another big improvement for the new server OS will optimize the Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVME) for SSDs. Microsoft showed a demo of Windows Server 2022 versus Windows Server 2025 and showed a big 70 percent increase in Input/output operations (IOPs) with the 2025 edition.
Microsoft will also offer the OS in a new subscription-based business model, although it will still be offered with a perpetual one-time license as well.
Some of the other new additions and improvements coming to Windows Server 2025 include:
- New Arc integration wizard
- Wi-Fi support for edge scenarios
- Upgrade from Windows Server 2022 to 2025 with no downtime
Of course, the best way to check out these features before Windows Server 2025 reaches RTM status is by joining the Windows Server Insider Program. Microsoft usually releases new builds every two weeks or so (in fact, we are due to get a new build sometime this week).
As we mentioned, the published change logs may not include all of the new features that the company has added to the build. Microsoft will likely release the "final" version of Windows Server 2025 sometime later this year.