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Learn how the Windows Server 2025 editions differ
See what's been gained -- and lost -- in Microsoft's latest version of its server OS before you plan a migration from your existing workloads.
Microsoft released Windows Server 2025 in November 2024, introducing various new features. Before planning an upgrade to Windows Server 2025, it's worth examining how this version differs from previous releases.
Windows Server 2025 arrived with plenty of updates to appeal to enterprises, including enhanced AD functionality, hot patching and improvements in security. Before switching from an older Windows Server, admins should start with a look at the various editions to find the best fit. It's also important to see what's been removed and what might not make it to the next version so you can plan accordingly.
Compare the Windows Server 2025 editions
Microsoft offers several editions of Windows Server 2025, including Essentials, Standard, Datacenter and Datacenter Azure.
Smaller organizations with limited IT needs might find Windows Server Essentials the right choice for their workloads. Licenses are not available directly from Microsoft and can only be purchased from a hardware OEM, preinstalled on server hardware. Windows Server Essentials is only available on servers with a single CPU with less than 10 cores.
The Standard and Datacenter editions are similar with a few key differences. The main one is the Standard edition only licenses Hyper-V for up to two VMs. There is no limit for the Datacenter edition. Likewise, the Standard edition supports the disaster recovery feature Storage Replica but only allows a single partnership and one resource group. A partnership executes replication between two servers or clusters. There is also a volume size limit of 2 TB. The Datacenter edition does not have these limits.
Microsoft said it optimized the Windows Server Datacenter Azure edition for use on its cloud platform. Unlike the Standard and Enterprise editions, the Azure edition does not run on physical hardware and can only be installed in a VM. The main difference between Datacenter and Datacenter Azure is the delivery of product updates. The Windows Server Standard and Datacenter editions receive updated features as a part of new releases, which happen every couple of years. In contrast, the Windows Server Datacenter Azure edition gets new features through Windows Update annually. Microsoft offers two "major updates" for the Azure edition in the first three years.
Understand the Windows Server 2025 hardware requirements
Windows Server 2025 requires a 64-bit CPU running at 1.4 GHz at minimum. The CPU must support the following instructions: NX, DEP, CMPXCHG16b, LAHF/SAHF, PrefetchW, Second Level Address Translation (EPT or NPT), POPCNT and SSE4.2. Windows Server 2025 allows for up to 2,048 logical processors.
The minimum memory requirement for Windows Server 2025 is 512 MB. However, at least 2 GB of RAM is required to use Desktop Experience, although Microsoft recommends at least 4 GB. If you are installing Windows Server 2025 onto a physical host, then it needs error correction code RAM.
Windows Server 2025 supports up to 4 petabytes of RAM on servers with five-level paging; with four-level paging, the limit is 256 TB. Organizations using servers with newer Intel processors benefit from the five-level paging to maximize the amount of RAM for more demanding workloads.
Windows Server 2025 can be installed on a system with 32 GB of storage, but Microsoft stresses that this is an absolute minimum. If the machine has 16 GB or more of RAM, then the system will use additional storage space to accommodate paging, hibernation and memory dumps. Microsoft recommends 64 GB or more storage space for best performance, particularly when running Desktop Experience.
Microsoft said improved support for non-volatile memory express (NVMe) storage in Windows Server 2025 delivers up to 90% more IOPS. Hyper-V VMs can also be hosted on NVMe over Fabrics storage.
The minimum networking requirements for Windows Server 2025 include a Gigabit Ethernet adapter that is PCIe-compliant.
Deprecated features in Windows Server 2025
There are a number of features that Microsoft has deprecated in Windows Server 2025. Deprecated does not mean unavailable or unsupported -- just that these features are on notice, will not receive any further enhancements and will likely be removed in the next Windows Server version. Workloads that depend on one or more deprecated features can run on Windows Server 2025, but customers should look for alternatives to avoid upgrade issues with the next Windows Server release.
The deprecated features include the following:
- Computer Browser.
- Failover Clustering Cluster Sets.
- L2TP and PPTP (in the Routing and Remote Access Services).
- Network Load Balancing.
- NTLM.
- TLS 1.0 and 1.1.
- WebDAV Redirector service.
- Windows Internal Database.
- Windows Management Instrumentation Command-line.
- VBScript.
- Windows Server Update Services.
Microsoft removed several features in Windows Server 2025, including the following:
- IIS 6 Management Console.
- NTLMv1.
- Wordpad.
- SMTP Server.
- Windows PowerShell 2.0 Engine.
Windows Server 2025 migration planning
Migrating to a new Windows Server OS is not a task to be taken lightly. Even so, migrations are often worthwhile if the organization wants to take advantage of new features and support for the latest hardware.
Before an organization can migrate to Windows Server 2025, it must verify that its existing hardware meets the minimum requirements. It is also worth considering the type of migration that is required.
If you are running Windows Server 2012 R2 or higher, then you can perform an in-place upgrade to Windows Server 2025. Customers who move to Windows Server 2025 are able to use Windows Update to upgrade to future Windows Server versions. Older server versions must first upgrade to at least Windows Server 2012 R2 to then upgrade to Server 2025.
It is extremely important to test the migration in a lab environment prior to attempting to migrate a production server. Testing should not only ensure that the migration process works, but also verify that workloads and applications continue to function properly on Windows Server 2025.
When you are ready to move forward with the migration, you should perform a full backup of the servers. That way, you have a way to roll back if serious problems occur. It's also a good idea to test your backup to make sure that it functions as intended before you begin the migration.
Brien Posey is a former 22-time Microsoft MVP and a commercial astronaut candidate. In his more than 30 years in IT, he has served as a lead network engineer for the U.S. Department of Defense and a network administrator for some of the largest insurance companies in America.
