windows 2008 R1 or windows 2012

[swiftysw1]

Hi,

School Environment.

 

I currently have 4 * Windows 2008 R1 Servers.

 

I am looking at replacing but go from 4 to 3 Servers and to migrate ALL servers to Server 2012.

 

(One of the servers is for Sims. BUT Shortly I need to upgrade the SQL to 2012..)

 

I was hoping to migrage ALL servers to Server 2012 etc. But works out quite pricey.

 

What are your thoughts. ???

 

Or Do I stick with 2* 2008 servers and 1*2012 Server?

[3s-gtech]

My thoughts mainly consist of - don't install Server 2012 on anything (it's old hat!) What you're looking for is Server 2012 R2. They're almost as distinct as 2008 R1 and R2.

[jdell]

If you are running 2008 R1 64-bit then an upgrade will be slightly easier to 2012 R2 but ideally a fresh install would be your best move and 2014 SQL would be a better idea than 2012.

[Michael]

I'd agree - 2008 R1 is essentially Vista Server, but more to the point, are your server installs 32Bit or 64Bit?

 

2008 R2 or later is 64Bit only, which can initially create a lot of work if you're still using 32Bit servers. Either way, a fresh start is the way to go.

[Oaktech]

Does educational licensing from MS not work out cheaper for you? if it hasn't done before, it might be about to!

 

If you get the EES subscription from microsoft you license a server OS and you get to choose whether it's a 2008, 2008r2, 2012 or 2012r2 box.

 

Personally I would go 2012r2 everytime.

[jdell]

The bigger question is why are you buying 3 or 4 servers! Why not buy one decent server and install Hyper -V Server on it, Buy 1 x 2012 R2 Datacentre licence and install unlimited virtual servers on it. Thats the best idea

[Oaktech]

The bigger question is why are you buying 3 or 4 servers! Why not buy one decent server and install Hyper -V Server on it, Buy 1 x 2012 R2 Datacentre licence and install unlimited virtual servers on it. Thats the best idea

 

I'm willing to be corrected here, but I thought 2012 r2 datacentre only gave you the right to put unlimted numbers of virtual servers on a machine, but you still had to licence each OS that you actually deployed?

 

If i'm right, it might well end up more expensive to go down the virtual route with data centre.

[Michael]

The bigger question is why are you buying 3 or 4 servers! Why not buy one decent server and install Hyper -V Server on it, Buy 1 x 2012 R2 Datacentre licence and install unlimited virtual servers on it. Thats the best idea

 

Hyper-V isn't the solution to everything you know. It could be the servers are in physically different locations, or you want to implement FRS - which sometimes can be appropriate for two physical servers if the load or numbers of users are high.

[jdell]

Not really, a high end server you can get for 10k or less depending on the spec you need, 2012 R2 Datacentre once is cheaper than a Standard Licence for every time you buy a server. As a school as well you should contact someone about getting onto the campus agreement as desktop licencing and server licensing is far cheaper done that way plus you get allot of other add on's rolled into it like 365 Pro Plus for staff and students etc. It would be worth looking into. Also from a TCO point of view virtual systems are always going to be better value as reduce running costs and licencing etc.

[jdell]

Hyper-V isn't the solution to everything you know. It could be the servers are in physically different locations, or you want to implement FRS - which sometimes can be appropriate for two physical servers if the load or numbers of users are high.

 

I am not saying it is but on a single site or small school, hyper-v is a better option than 4 servers!

[Michael]

Not really, a high end server you can get for 10k or less depending on the spec you need, 2012 R2 Datacentre once is cheaper than a Standard Licence for every time you buy a server. As a school as well you should contact someone about getting onto the campus agreement as desktop licencing and server licensing is far cheaper done that way plus you get allot of other add on's rolled into it like 365 Pro Plus for staff and students etc. It would be worth looking into. Also from a TCO point of view virtual systems are always going to be better value as reduce running costs and licencing etc.

 

So you'd support 5000+ users from one physical server with say 10 virtual instances? Not very realistic is it? It's not impossible, but sometimes physical still has its place and sometimes makes sense too.

 

If you're operating a main building with satellite sites all linked, a physical instance (even a basic server) is still recommended at each site. Hyper-V is useless in these kind of scenarios, due to comparatively slow WAN links we have in the UK.

 

- - - Updated - - -

 

I am not saying it is but on a single site or small school, hyper-v is a better option than 4 servers!

 

Yes, I'd probably agree with that - plus you save space.

[Roberto]

I'm willing to be corrected here, but I thought 2012 r2 datacentre only gave you the right to put unlimted numbers of virtual servers on a machine, but you still had to licence each OS that you actually deployed?

 

If i'm right, it might well end up more expensive to go down the virtual route with data centre.

 

As far as I know, that's not the case. Properly licensing 2012r2 DataCentre for the host, say, allows you to deploy 2012 r2 guests with impunity.

[localzuk]

I'm willing to be corrected here, but I thought 2012 r2 datacentre only gave you the right to put unlimted numbers of virtual servers on a machine, but you still had to licence each OS that you actually deployed?

 

If i'm right, it might well end up more expensive to go down the virtual route with data centre.

 

Nope, you're wrong there. Datacenter comes with the right to install as many Windows server guest VMs on top of it as you desire. Hyper-V allows you to install as many VMS without any license anyway, and that's free.

[Roberto]

I am not saying it is but on a single site or small school, hyper-v is a better option than 4 servers!

 

Sometimes, yes. Maybe even the majority of the time. But just like any other technology platform, it's a tool, no more and no less, not a magic bullet. And sometimes a tool might be a superb tool in its own right, but still not the tool you need to do the job you're faced with.

[swiftysw1]

Thanks for the Replies. It is of the 2008 R1\32bit Variety...

 

And we have the Microsoft ESS licence..

[localzuk]

Do you have your servers licensed under EES, or just the desktops/CALs?

 

If the prior, then the cost for upgrading to 2012 R2 is, well, zero - you're already covered.

 

If the latter, standard license costs are minimal to add.

[Michael]

Thanks for the Replies. It is of the 2008 R1\32bit Variety...

 

And we have the Microsoft ESS licence..

 

Well in the context of SIMS, physical or virtual for the OS and SQL - 64Bit is going to speed things up enormously.

[swiftysw1]

Do you have your servers licensed under EES, or just the desktops/CALs?

 

If the prior, then the cost for upgrading to 2012 R2 is, well, zero - you're already covered.

 

If the latter, standard license costs are minimal to add.

 

YEs.. Servers too

[localzuk]

YEs.. Servers too

 

There's no cost to you then to upgrade - its included in your EES license you're already paying.

[SHimmer45]

im going to say that if your servers can support 2012 / R2 then moving to them makes sense, but there isnt anything wrong with running 2008 and gradually upgrading as you have funding.

if you have a server running SIMS it must go onto a 64bit platform otherwise you might have performance issues if you have a high number of users in SIMS.

[localzuk]

Hardware replacement costs really depends on what you want to do with them, and what spec your current servers are.

[swiftysw1]

Upgrade for warranty purposes really...

[localzuk]

What spec are the servers you've got, how heavily utilised are the resources (ie. does the CPU sit at 3% usage at all times, or are they maxed out), how long do you want the new ones to last? How much data are you wanting to store, how many PCs are you supporting with those servers? Need some details really!