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Heartland Community College

Migrating to Windows Server 2012

Cost Verses Benefit

Daniel Phillips NETW167 Joy Lucht 11/28/2012

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Daniel Phillips Joy Lucht NETW167 28 November 2012 Migrating to Windows Server 2012 Cost verses Benefit Microsoft Windows Server 2012 has been released and offers new features and improvements on existing technologies, but for many the cost to migrate their servers and upgrading of their clients operating systems may not justify the expense. Being cutting edge in technology is extremely expensive to the average person, especially during a recession. For Microsoft, there is no choice but to continue innovating. There could be a pay off in the end for all, with the exception of their competitors. An upgrade may reduce costs through improved virtualization and cloud storage. Microsoft claims 2012 will help you deliver and manage a cost-effective IT infrastructure- both physical and virtual (Microsoft, 2012b). Virtualization is a method of running multiple independent virtual operating systems on a single physical computer (Ou, 2006). Microsofts very own virtualization software is called Hyper-V. It is a very powerful tool which allows multiple workloads on the same server. This increases server utilization and in turn reduces the total number of physical servers required. Virtualization makes a smaller footprint in the office while also using less electricity (White Paper Hyper-V). Many in the IT world use VMware, a virtualization platform predating Hyper-V. Microsoft has been gaining ground and many IT pros now believe it has surpassed its rival in many key areas. Hyper-V Replica is a

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new feature that logs changes to the disks in a VM and uses compression to save on bandwidth before moving the snap shots to a replica server (Shinder 2012). Hyper -V improves efficiency and allows virtual machines (VM) to be replicated to different locations for greater protection and availability (Microsoft, 2012a). Virtualization allows for the use of more than one network interface card (NIC), or NIC Teaming. This increases resilience to hardware failures as well as load balancing and aggregation of bandwidth. Hyper-V makes it possible to keep track and report the amount of data that is transferred per IP address or virtual machine, this will help manage bandwidth usage and costs (Microsoft, 2012a). With touch screen devices growing in popularity and numbers, it was only natural for Microsoft to adapt this technology into its latest operating systems. The new tilebased interface featured in Windows 8 and Server 2012 hasnt received the best response, but many have admitted that the designs implementation in the new Server Manager is excellent. This is important to the IT department since most of their time is spent here. The new Server Manager allows you to control multiple physical and virtual servers in one window (Shinder, 2012). This is a vast improvement from earlier days of using remote desktop to reach each individual machine. Cost of ownership is a major concern for most companies, and employing administrators can be expensive. Spending money for new features during a recession might seem frivolous and wasteful, but for IT professionals, and certainly for Microsoft, planning for the future is the key to success. The initial investment in hardware and software can be pricey, but they tend to have staying power. Microsoft has improved efficiency over the years, while higher end hardware keeps getting better and

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affordable. It doesnt take much to build a Windows server. The minimum hardware requires for Windows Server 2012 Essentials are: 1.3 GHz (64-bit processor) or faster for multi-core, 1.4GHz for a single core, 2 GB of RAM, 160 GB hard disk with a 60 GB system partition, but the real catch is your client operating systems must be Windows 7, 8, or Macintosh OS X version 10.5 to 10.8 (Microsoft Corporation, 2012). Many people are still clinging to their Windows XP machines; roughly 30% of PCs are still using the decade old operating system (StatCounter.com). That statistic might suggest an overall love /hate attachment to something familiar or, more likely, an unwillingness to spend money on an upgrade. If it aint broke dont fix it, right? Not exactly, it could end up costing less in the long run if you upgrade now. Some of the latest hardware is focusing on being more energy efficient. Building a new system could save you hundreds and upwards of thousands of dollars a year depending on how many machines you are running. The annual hardware maintenance costs alone on the old server hardware along with the saved energy would be enough to pay for all the new hardware (Ou 2006). The most expensive part of owning a server is employing a systems administrator whose salaries start at $50,000 and can range well over $80,000 annually (McGuire, 2011). Luckily, Windows has made great strides to make their operating systems user friendly. Possibly the next most expensive thing is data storage and upkeep. The expensive and difficult task of setting up storage area networks (SANs) and network attached storage (NAS) may be less of an issue with Storage Spaces. Its a new feature that manages disk storage automatically. You can add new disks any time and have extra drives waiting in case of a failure. It allows for 2 - or 3-way

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mirroring or parity as well as hot standby drives, in other words if one hard drive fails a second identical drive takes over seamlessly (Shinder 2012). Windows 8 and Server 2012 are both built with cloud computing in mind. With resources as services, usage can be metered so that you and your customers pay for only the resources that are actually consumed (Microsoft 2012a). In conclusion, Windows Server 2012 offers more than its predecessor. The improvements to Hyper-V alone are reason enough to upgrade from Server 2008. The build in storage management will help many who may not have the money or time to build a SANs or NAS setup. Many are still on fence about an upgrade because they already have their networks built in spite of the obvious improvements. Perhaps its also a marketing issue. Its possible there has been so much fuss about the tile -based UI and the possible security risks of using cloud storage, that the true benefits are being over looked.

Phillips 6 Works Cited Alexander Haislip (2012). Windows Azure Quietly Puts Its Pieces Into Place. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.wired.com/insights/2012/07/windows-azure/. [Last Accessed 20 Nov 2012]. James Maguire (2011). The 2012 IT Salary Guide. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.datamation.com/careers/the-2012-it-salary-guide-9.html. [Last Accessed 20 Nov 2012]. Microsoft Corporation (2012a). Server Virtualization: Windows Server 2012. [ONLINE] Available at: http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/D/B/5DB1C7BF-6286-4431A244-438D4605DB1D/WS%202012%20White%20Paper_Hyper-V.pdf. [Last Accessed 20 November 2012]. Microsoft Corporation (2012b). System Requirements for Windows Server 2012 Essentials. [ONLINE] Available at: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj200132.aspx. [Last Accessed 20 Nov 2012]. George Ou (2006). Introduction to server virtualization. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.techrepublic.com/article/introduction-to-server-virtualization/6074941. [Last Accessed 20 November 2012]. Debra Littlejohn Shinder (2012). 10 compelling reasons to upgrade to Windows Server 2012. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/10things/10-compellingreasons-to-upgrade-to-windows-server-2012/3397. [Last Accessed 20 Nov 2012]. StatCounter (2012). Global Stats Top 5 Operating Systems from June 2011 to June 2012. [ONLINE] Available at: http://gs.statcounter.com/#os-ww-monthly-201106-201206. [Last Accessed 20 Nov 2012].