Author / Matt Seaton

by Matt Seaton

Everything You Need to Know About Microsoft Windows Server 2012

The launch of Microsoft’s new Server operating system is upon us, presenting server administrators with some rather exciting developments going forward into 2013, with a particular emphasis on virtualisation and the control system admins have over each virtual machine. This short guide will help you understand the various new developments on offer, introducing you to a new way of  interacting with your services.

User Interface

Windows Server 2012 UIThe first thing you’re going to notice is the interface. This is the first major departure Microsoft has made from its trusted desktop environment for its server operating system, adopting the new tile layout (Metro) first seen in Windows 8 earlier this year. You can opt to stick to a more traditional desktop environment if you wish, but we certainly feel this will add some variation to how administrators control their machines. This new user interface has been said to make it far easier to manage multiple servers more quickly and efficiently.

Server Core

Server Core is a new function of the Windows Server operating system. It is a command line only version of the OS, perfect for more advanced users who have no need for the advanced graphical user interface. The most important function of Server Core is that it can be enabled/disabled without a reinstall.

New Editions

Microsoft have reinvented their range of editions for this new release, scrapping Enterprise, Small Business Server, Web and HPC versions in favour of a more concise 4-edition setup. The new versions are Foundation, Essentials, Standard, and Datacenter (listed here in order of price/feature set, lowest to highest).

Licencing Changes

Linked to this is a new way of licencing the operating system – Server 2012 is now licensed per server as usual for the lower end Foundation and Essentials editions, and per CPU for Standard and Datacenter. The Datacenter edition becomes more cost effective as the number of instances grow. Standard and Datacenter editions of Server 2012 have advanced virtualisation options;

The New Home of Hyper-V

Hyper-VOne of the key features of Server 2012 is its in-built server virtualisation functionality. While the two entry level editions have very limited virtualisation options (as they are designed primarily for basic single server deployments), Standard and Datacenter both have powerful Hyper-V functionality built right into the core, meaning the base operating system can form the basis of a virtual cloud server setup.

The Cloud OS

Having already been dubbed as Microsoft’s ‘Cloud OS’, Windows Server 2012 Datacenter can support very large virtual environments, supporting up to 1024 virtual machines per host server. Each virtual machine in this version of Hyper-V can access up to 32 virtual processors, up to 512 gigabytes of random-access memory, and up to 16 terabytes of virtual disk space per virtual hard disk.

IIS 8.0 is Here

Microsoft’s latest version of Internet Information Services supports a range of new features, including per-site CPU capping – another indication of the shift towards shared cloud computing.

Impressive Scale for the Data Centre Environment

Windows Server 2012 supports 640 logical processors, 4TB of RAM, and can work inside a cluster of up to 64 nodes.

Optimised for the Cloud

System Center 2012This latest version of the Microsoft Server operating system has been built from the ground up to support cloud platforms. As such, it is perfectly suited to those looking to host virtual machines, databases, applications (SaaS), web hosting, and even desktop hosting. Microsoft’s in-built System Center 2012 handles much of the cloud service management, managing the computing, storage, and network components of the server.

 

There is no doubt that Microsoft have made giant leaps forward in releasing this new server operating system. Is is perfect for dedicated server operators, cloud service providers, multi-use clusters, and general data centre operations. The user experience has been drastically simplified, despite the number of features within the OS growing dramatically.

Netwise Hosting will be rolling out Windows Server 2012 in both Standard and Datacenter guises shortly. If you would like to know more about our implementation of this new operating system, please feel free to contact a member of the team.

by Matt Seaton

Freemium Backup Now Available

With the launch of our new online backup service a resounding success, the time is right to give out a little more information about our exclusive Freemium backup accounts.

Our Freemium service is a 1GB account based on our Office Backup package, free for you to use for life. The idea behind this service is to present users with a real, fully featured working version of our service to try for as long as desired before upgrading to a package with more space.

We have cut no features from the Freemium package – it is essentially our Office Backup service with a 1GB storage allowance, perfect for getting to grips with the system, or for keeping as a small backup location for a limited amount of data.

You can apply for your Freemium account today by clicking here. Use your new free backup service as and when you please; you can even keep all of your existing backups if you choose to upgrade to a larger storage allowance!

We also offer a world-class Enterprise Backup service, perfect for those with more demanding backup requirements, including server-side service backups of Exchange servers and databases.

by Matt Seaton

New Online Backup Service Launch a Success

The 22nd of August 2012 marked the launch of Netwise Hosting’s brand new online backup services, designed to cater for working business environments that require multiple workstations and servers to be secured against local threats to data integrity.

The new system, which completed primary testing in early July, is now fully operational and on sale through the Netwise Hosting website. Office packages enjoy easy-to-manage desktop environment backups for an unlimited number of Windows, Mac and Linux machines, while the premium Enterprise packages also add server backups into the mix, including live MSSQL and MySQL database and MS Exchange server services.

Matthew Butt, Managing Director at Netwise Hosting, explained why this new system has been put into action; “We initially identified a strong need to build a new backup solution for our own dedicated server and colocation clients – the one we had in place wasn’t working hard enough for us, particularly for those with multiple services. We opted to develop our own system that would not only appeal to our own clients, but also those with primary services elsewhere, or for those with office environments that simply wish to back up their information off-site.”

Read the full story here.

by Matt Seaton

Business Show 2012 Article

For those who still haven’t seen our exclusive company profile and interview in the Business Show magazine, please click here to view a copy of our page in your browser.

The article covers a day spent with us here at the Netwise Hosting facility in South London, giving readers a glimpse at how things are done here at Netwise HQ. It is an interesting read, and certainly went down very well with visitors to our stand at the show. It also briefly covers what a data centre is, making the subject a little more approachable for new readers to this particular topic.

by Matt Seaton

New Business/Enterprise Backup Service Coming Soon

Never ones to settle down and halt service development plans, the team here at Netwise Hosting have almost completed the augmentation process of our new Enterprise Level Online Backup service. Our new backup system has been in development with a selection of our European partners in both Germany and the Netherlands, giving excellent cross-site and cross-border redundancy. WSYG4VX9XQCW

This business-class solution will provide users with server backup options, including live database backups (MySQL, MSSQL etc), Exchange, Apache/IIS and much more. The new service will allow customers with servers here in the Netwise Hosting South facility – as well as those looking for stand-alone server backup – to enjoy this added layer of data protection.

Part of this service refresh will also see changes made to our Home and Home+ backup services – these will be overhauled to provide users with a far more user friendly experience (at a software level), and added redundancy at the backend thanks to new partnerships that ensure data is replicated more robustly. We hope these changes will add to the value of our services, and continue to push Netwise Hosting forward as a leader in the field of unified hosting and data security.