Windows Server 2012 is a significant breakthrough for Cloud Computing
Everyone has been waiting for a more standardized “plug-and-play OS sort of approach” to setting up a cloud datacenter. Well to make a long story short, it looks like we have a contender. Windows Server 2012 is basically a great piece of cloud software which allows hardware to take better advantage of cloud technologies (in a more streamlined way). There’s also much reference to its ability to easily allocate 64 VM’s through Hyper-V 3.0 and of course, the use of up to 4 terabytes of RAM (*fun fact: 4 terabytes of space roughly translates to 1200 hours of video). Quite simply, we’re talking about software that can certainly get the job done.
Microsoft has also included direct interoperability between Server 2012 (WS2012) and its flagship cloud solution, Azure. This is a very significant pairing because you can do pretty much anything with Azure, including:
- Running cloud services
- Hosting sites
- Creating a backend for mobile app services
- Using Virtual Machines (VM’s)
- Host Media content (audio, video, images, documents, sharing, etc…)
- Conventional Storage
- Setting up a Private Cloud
That last possibility in particular, setting up a private cloud, is something that most businesses should get excited about. What we’re looking at here is essentially Microsoft placing an extraordinary amount of technological power directly into the hands of businesses. It could be argued that WS2012 offers a much more direct, affordable and user-friendly way of setting up a dedicated private cloud infrastructure; nearly anyone should be able to see the inherent value in that. This is very obtainable IaaS we’re talking about here folks, in all actuality.
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Rest assured, this is not rabid, unwarranted approval – Windows Server 2012 really is an attempt to develop a more accessible approach for (any and all types of) businesses when it comes to directly implementing any type of cloud computing infrastructure.
In all honesty, the sky’s the limit with regards to what you can do with a service like Azure. Likewise, the fact that Windows Server 2012 is now able to seamlessly leverage the power of a cloud service is also sort of ground-breaking. Perhaps some organizations might even elect to use their Azure compatibility strictly for storage backup solutions and so forth?
However, the larger issue here in terms of the connection between Windows Server 2012 and Azure is that we might actually be looking at the first bona-fide cloud OS. If this is the case, then it would not be an understatement to say that the inherent power of something like Server 2012 is indeed boundless. Because the cloud is (by its very nature) seeking to create the demand for increasingly inexhaustible resources and storage space, it would seem that WS2012 is definitely loaded with infinite potential.
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Since this new piece of software seems to have been designed to make it easier for anyone (or group) to implement a cloud computing solution, isn’t it safe to assume that it will also create a new development platform / movement as well? In other words, won’t this lead to the formation of a cloud community surrounding Windows Server 2012?
As we are already aware, Microsoft’s major software releases always tend to create proliferating trends and circles. Over time, these communities often help to incubate new ideas inside of and beyond the scope of the systems facilitating the interaction. The point is, the emergence of Windows Server 2012 will greatly simplify everyone’s ability to use and develop concepts and components for use in cloud computing scenarios. In short, we may soon see an explosion of activity emerging from MS’s cloud enterprise.
It’s also worth noting that Microsoft isn’t alone in pushing their new amazing cloud OS. Major companies like Rackspace and Dell are also backing Windows Server 2012 in big ways. For example, Dell are bundling the software along with their latest (12th generation) PowerEdge servers, and Rackspace is integrating it directly into one of its PaaS products. It’s entirely within reason to assume that these organizations will soon have plenty of company as more and more corporations begin to see the value of Server 2012 and start adopting it themselves.