Expectations are increasing for this server software version. Observers see Windows Server 2012 as a major update. According to Microsoft, up to now, pre-release versions of the operating system have been downloaded more than 500,000 times.
Microsoft has added some key features since the last major release of Windows Server 2008 Release 2. Improved access to files and processes. Now, many machines running Windows Server 2012 can be managed as a group, from a single console.
Embedded versions of Microsoft Hyper-V virtualization software can now work in multi-tenant configurations. And the new file system ReFS (Resilient File System) is designed to provide better scalability and reliability.
As with Windows 8, Windows Server 2012 will have a Metro user interface.