What is Windows Server and how it differs from Windows?

Difference between Windows & Windows Server

The Windows operating system accounts for a sizeable share of the operating system's market share. As such, it can be considered one of the most popular operating systems. It offers the operating system in 2 main variants namely,

  1. Windows for the office
  2. Windows Server

Microsoft Windows Server 2021 is the latest server edition of Windows 10. It is important that you know that both serve different purposes. So, let's understand what is Windows Server and how does this differ from Windows?

Difference between Windows and Windows Server

Microsoft Windows Server 2021 is the latest server edition of Windows 10. It is aimed at businesses and supports high-end hardware. If you use the same button in the task view and the same Start menu, it's hard to tell the difference between the two brothers. But some important differences can help us define their nature.

  1. Storage, control and network
  2. Less accessibility
  3. Kernel support
  4. Memory support
  5. Network connections
  6. Support for Microsoft Store or Edge Browser
  7. Windows updates
  8. Price for deployment.

1) Storage, control and network

While Windows for Desktop is used for computing and other daily tasks in offices or schools, the Windows server is primarily used to perform the services that users use on a certain network. It can be considered as a series of enterprise class server operating systems designed to share services with multiple users and have extensive administrative control over data storage, applications and networks. ;business.

2) less accessibility

If you are on Windows Server, you can not sign in to a Microsoft account. This greatly limits the scope of accessibility because you can not use the account, access the settings of another PC, and use your Microsoft account to upload important files / documents / folders via OneDrive or Office applications. You can only sign in with a domain account.

3) Kernel support

In terms of cores, 32-bit Windows 10 can only support 32 cores; However, 64-bit systems can handle larger sizes (256 cores). In addition, Windows Server can support an infinite number of cores.

4) Memory support

Both support different memory sizes. A Windows computer running Windows 10 Enterprise has a memory limit of 4 GB on an x86 and a limit of 2 TB on an X64. These numbers multiply by many when you upgrade to the Windows Server version. You can see them. This Microsoft document describes memory limits for supported Windows and Windows Server versions.

5) network connections

If you want a large number of network connections, Windows for Desktop will not meet your expectations. It only limits 20 connections. Its counterpart, that is Windows Server, can offer as many network connections as you want, provided it has sufficient hardware capacity.

6) Microsoft Store or Edge Browser Support

Windows for Desktop manages to surpass Windows Server in this area. Features such as the Windows subsystem, progressive web applications, and your phone for Linux are available on the Microsoft Store. Windows Server does not support Microsoft Store. Likewise, if you want Edge to run on Windows Server, you'll be disappointed. Unlike Windows 10, Windows Server uses Internet Explorer (Internet Explorer) and can not be used for web browsing. In addition, if you want to try Google Chrome, you must relax the exceptions for all Google URLs in order to complete the download.

7) Windows Updates

Another area where Windows for Desktop takes over on Windows Server. Windows updates are faster for Windows for Desktop than for Windows Server. In addition, it includes a scenario, not visible on Windows Server.

8) Deployment price

Finally, a very important factor to take into account: the price! Windows Server 2021 licenses are relatively expensive. For example, if you have a business, then, depending on your size and needs, a single license can cost between $ 500 and $ 6,200. For this reason, most buyers opt for a volume licensing route instead. Windows Server is designed primarily for businesses. Its price is adapted. It is therefore advisable to choose the system that suits you best, according to your needs and your selection, taking into account the need to restore, repair or migrate.

Recent Windows Server iterations provide more flexibility because they can be deployed on a cloud platform such as Microsoft Azure or on hardware in a company's data center. In addition, the addition of new features such as Server Manager and Active Directory makes Windows Server a good alternative. While the former is a utility for administering server roles and making configuration changes to local computers, it later facilitates the automation of user data management.

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