Essential Guide

Browse Sections

Editor's note

With each ensuing version of Windows Server, Microsoft adds more functionality to the virtualization technologies that combine to form the software-defined data center. Administrators might not realize their investment in this server OS consolidates hardware resources -- servers, networking devices and storage -- to form a scalable virtualized infrastructure.

The IT operations team benefits from the added control through new tools, such as the Windows Admin Center that Microsoft tailored for managing and deploying hyper-converged clusters. This guide helps administrators get up to speed with the virtualized components in Windows Server 2019 that combine to form the Microsoft SDDC.

1Windows Server 2019 SDN brings speed and automation

The network binds devices, applications and users. Software-defined networking (SDN) upends traditional administration and deployment methods through virtualization to speed along infrastructure changes and boost security with a few configuration changes.

2Software-defined storage maximizes hardware investments

A key feature in the Microsoft SDDC is Storage Spaces Direct, which gathers drive space across hardware on the network to create a pool of storage for virtual machines to use. Windows Server 2019 added cluster sets for enterprises that require more cloud-like resiliency for demanding workloads.

3Compute layer relies on Hyper-V

The latest hypervisor and virtual machine features create the Microsoft SDDC foundation to deliver services to members of the organization without requiring help from IT. Newer server virtualization features in Hyper-V approximate the functionality used by cloud providers to improve performance and avoid downtime.

4How to manage software-defined features

Administrators have a number of tools at their disposal to manage and monitor the multiple virtualization layers in a Windows-based software-defined data center. IT workers must also build their familiarity with all aspects of Microsoft's virtualization technology to keep the system working reliably.