Most servers operate at far below their capacities, with as much as 80 to 90 percent of their processing power unused, on average. With Hyper-V, the Windows Server 2008 virtualisation solution, a single physical server can host the workloads of multiple Line of Business servers. Hyper-V helps organisations to achieve optimal use of their hardware resources and provides the agility needed to adapt to changing IT needs. New management tools simplify the deployment process and allow IT departments to manage virtual servers with the same familiar tools that they use to manage the physical servers in the network.

Windows Server 2008 provides improvements and innovations to Terminal Services with solutions, like Terminal Services RemoteApp (TS RemoteApp), that allow users to access individual applications, instead of a computer desktop in a Terminal Server session. These applications run on the host computer and send only the application windows to the user, requiring fewer resources on the client side, and reducing administration and deployment costs.

Many network servers perform specific dedicated and mission-critical roles within the network. The new Server Core installation option provides a minimal environment for running specific server roles. This helps improve reliability and efficiency, giving the IT department the ability to better utilise existing hardware. It also simplifies ongoing administration and patch management requirements by reducing the need to update unneeded files and functionality.

For network servers that perform specific network infrastructure roles, the new Server Core installation option offers a highly reliable and efficient platform. Because Server Core loads the fewest operating system components required to run core infrastructure roles, patch requirements are reduced. This provides higher reliability and security for core network infrastructure roles.

As Web content gets richer and the Web becomes a viable platform for delivering business applications, the Web server is moving to the center of many networks. IIS 7.0 delivers solutions for today's demanding content, including streaming media and Web applications in Active Server Pages and PHP. With an updated interface that makes administration easier, the new modular design of IIS 7.0 enables administrators to minimise the attack surface of the Web server by installing only the needed components.

The efficient use of bandwidth has a direct impact on the productivity of users working in remote locations that rely on WAN connections to the organisation’s central servers. The redesigned “next generation” TCP/IP included in Windows Server 2008 provides vastly improved performance in a remote location scenario, offering faster throughput and more efficient routing of network traffic. Using the combination of Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista in a branch office scenario can provide as much as a threefold improvement in throughput over the WAN connection.

With the increasing number of mobile users and corporate partners that must connect to an organisation’s network, protecting the security of that network from outside threats is an ongoing challenge. Network Access Protection (NAP) in Windows Server 2008 helps prevent non-compliant computers from accessing an organisation’s network. NAP can verify the health of connecting computers and enforce compliance with an organisation’s security standards.

Windows Server 2008 provides increased scalability for the most demanding business solutions and helps keep businesses operating through unplanned downtime with high availability features. With support for failover clusters, Network Load Balancing, dynamic hardware partitioning, robust storage options, and advanced machine-check architecture, Windows Server 2008 helps safeguard against single-point-of-failure problems. Simplified deployment and management help organisations of all sizes take advantage of these features to improve availability and reliability.

Companies need to share information with partners and clients without losing control over that information. Rights Management Services enables organisations to control how documents are used—including who can view them, whether they can be printed, even whether they can be forwarded or deleted—both internally and externally.

Windows Server 2008 includes Subsystem for UNIX-based Applications (SUA), a multi-user UNIX environment that supports more than 300 UNIX commands, utilities, and shell scripts. Users can maintain one user name and password for Windows domains and UNIX systems, synchronising the credentials automatically when one changes. SUA runs on Windows-based servers without any emulation, providing for native UNIX performance and enabling UNIX applications to leverage Windows APIs and components.

Remote sites, such as branch offices, can be an IT challenge. Often, there is no local IT staff, making the deployment of software and security updates expensive and time-consuming. It can be difficult to enforce security and IP standards in a remote site. Windows Server 2008 enables remote management that's almost as good as being physically located onsite, allowing administrators to correct many problems using remote management. The new Read-Only Domain Controller provides a safer way to provide Active Domain administration in the remote infrastructure.

The Server Manager Console provides a single, unified console for managing a server’s configuration and system information, displaying server status, identifying problems with server role configuration, and managing all roles installed on the server. Built on the Service Modeling Language (SML) platform, Server Manager allows administrators to complete tasks with fewer clicks without having to navigate between multiple tools and interfaces. Windows PowerShell is an extensible command-line shell and associated scripting language that integrates with .NET Framework and provides an environment to perform administrative tasks. With more than 130 standard command-line tools, and consistent syntax and utilities, Windows PowerShell allows IT professionals to more easily control system administration and accelerate automation.