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Microsoft Windows Server - license & software assurance - 1 user CAL

$24.99
Mfg # R18-00130-3-1 CDW # 2174562

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Windows Server system is a comprehensive, integrated, and interoperable server infrastructure designed to meet the demanding needs of developers and IT professionals, and to flexibly run the programs and solutions that enable information workers to reach, analyze, and share information quickly and easily.
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Microsoft Windows Server - license & software assurance - 1 user CAL

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Written by a user while visiting PeerSpot
Provides good support, and is quite reliable but has high costs

What is our primary use case? I use Windows Server primarily as an Infra Server and Active Directory domain controller. It acts as a domain controller, chain email server, application server, and file server. How has it helped my organization? Windows Server offers good operational benefits. It is quite sustained, provides good support, and is quite reliable. What is most valuable? All features are required for managing my data center. The domain controller is for Active Directory, and if you need to include an email server, you can't ask about features individually since all features are necessary. What needs improvement? The price is very expensive. It would be excellent if Microsoft could reduce the price. Also, the support team is getting worse in terms of expertise. No cost-saving benefits have been observed. For how long have I used the solution? I have been working with Windows Server for almost 20 years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? For stability, I rate Windows Server seven out of ten. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? Scalability is rated eight out of ten. How are customer service and support? The customer support team is not satisfactory. Their expertise has diminished. I rate them two out of ten. How would you rate customer service and support? Negative How was the initial setup? The setup is easy. I would rate it a nine out of ten. Deployment takes about five minutes per server. What about the implementation team? You need at least a team of two people for deployment to manage and support, especially when one person is unavailable. What was our ROI? There is no cost saving. I have not observed any cost-saving benefits. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? The price of Windows Server is very expensive. On a scale of one to ten, with ten being the most expensive, I rate it ten out of ten. What other advice do I have? It's better to have your own internal server capabilities. Do not rely on the support; you need your team to manage and support the server. I'd rate the solution seven out of ten. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

Written by a user while visiting PeerSpot
User-friendly platform streamlining client connectivity

What is our primary use case? We are using Windows Server to connect our client software. We use it to access client systems and work on SQL databases. How has it helped my organization? Rather than purchasing and setting up infrastructure, we are using Windows Server, which obviously saves some costs. What is most valuable? Windows Server is fulfilling our daily work-life purposes. We use it to connect to client systems and are happy with the performance and its features. Also, it has a user-friendly interface. Rather than purchasing and setting up infrastructure, we are using Windows Server, which obviously saves some costs. What needs improvement? Sometimes the performance goes down, which might be due to the stability zone or network issues. It can also depend on our network. For how long have I used the solution? I have been working with Windows Server for more than eight years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? Sometimes the performance goes down, so it may be due to the stability zone or network issues. It can also depend on our network. How are customer service and support? I had the opportunity to connect with Microsoft support. They resolved our problems within the defined SLA. I would rate my experience nine out of ten. How would you rate customer service and support? Positive How was the initial setup? I haven't done any initial setup on it. Whatever we are getting from our vendor, I'm using the same application. We don't have access to install and setup. Which other solutions did I evaluate? I am not an expert in Windows Server, however, am aware of using it alongside Azure virtual machines. What other advice do I have? I would rate Windows Server nine out of ten. It has a good user interface and is user-friendly. I would definitely recommend it. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? On-premises Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

Written by a user while visiting PeerSpot
Offers great virtualization capabilities to users

What is our primary use case? Windows Server has been idle for a while, but it is quite stable for running your application, specifically web-based applications, databases, or any front-end applications. And it's in the industry you are used to, along with Flex. Newer and enhanced versions are being introduced because Windows has recently started to design as per the cloud environment so that it can integrate well with Azure Cloud. If you are running the Windows Server and SQL on Azure, you will get the benefits of saving costs and licenses. Also, it can be tightly integrated with cloud services so that it can manage the patching, backup, and everything end to end if you talk about the life cycle of an operating system. What needs improvement? If Windows could make the OS part lighter, especially starting and restarting the Windows Server, which needs to be quick, then it would be great since this is an area where the tool lacks a bit. The tool should also offer more security. For how long have I used the solution? I have experience with Windows Server for more than ten years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten. Windows has had a long journey since it started off in 1998 and now it has been almost 22 years. From the last decade, the tool has improved a lot, and offers good stability. There are no errors, and problems coming up in the tool like how it used to come up in the initial days. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten. How was the initial setup? The product's initial setup phase is pretty straightforward and simple without any challenges. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? For the on-prem version, you need to go for a perpetual license. An organization can buy licenses in a bundle. If I am planning to run ten operating systems, I will buy a pack of ten licenses, which will be cost-effective for me. If one goes bad, I can get another one by just putting it to use the same license, meaning I can reuse the license if something goes bad on any of the PCs. When it goes to the cloud, I can purchase the monthly licenses from Windows. What other advice do I have? In terms of the product's abilities associated with virtualization, I would say that it is actually the biggest leap in technologies when, earlier, whatever applications you needed to run, you had to spin up a physical server. When the virtualization started happening, you could run multiple servers on one physical server. Multiple VMs can have different applications and tiers. Virtualization is the best thing that happened, and a lot of people and organizations use it. The best part of the security feature in the tool is the firewall because it is the first line of defense for the operating system since you can lock down your OS to a certain level and only allow one or two ports for whatever communication you want, and the rest can all be blocked for safety purposes. You keep getting security updates every month or every second Tuesday so that you can keep your environment up to date and safe from outside malicious activities. Microsoft is always on top of security updates, and the tool is very careful to keep the environment safe. Speaking about the benefits of AD in Windows Server, I would say that AD is actually the backbone of any organization. AD was, in fact, my first love. When I started working with technologies, I was baffled to see how strong and amazing the technology AD had, how it would let me spin up users, groups, and objects, and how you manage those objects because those are very important areas. In any organization, the most important thing is the security of your identity. For any user who is trying to access any of the computers in the organization, it is very important for the company to authenticate and authorize the user to ensure the identity of the person. He or she has to move with the proper way of writing a username and the right password. There are a lot of security features in the tool. If a person is trying to enter a system with some fake passwords, then there are lockouts. After three incorrect passwords, the account gets logged out, and in such a manner, you can secure that entity. The tool's integration feature with the existing IT ecosystem has been easy. The integrations are absolutely fine because Windows is designed to allow for easy integrations, even though Linux is also getting integrated easily these days. Mostly, Windows carries a GUI. For users, it is easier to maintain Windows Server than some other tools. I would just suggest others always try to use the latest OS or operating system for servers and laptops because the latest servers come with new features and security enhancements, which can keep one's environment safe. If one weak PC or one weak OS is there in your environment and if it is outdated and not getting security updates, then it can be hacked, or there could be some virus that can try to harm your network and infect other operating systems. It is very important that each and every operating system is up to date. I rate the overall tool a ten out of ten. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

Written by a user while visiting PeerSpot
Enables us to build and test applications directly on the server from scratch.

What is our primary use case? We use the solution for deployments, troubleshooting, Active Directory policies, and Windows patching. What is most valuable? We use Active Directory and IIS to host different kinds of web apps. We have also used the FTP feature for our FTP server. FTP functionality does not require additional payment because Windows Server already includes the feature, reducing the costs of these tools. Windows Server also includes IIS, a web server hosting applications. This allows us to build and test applications directly on the server from scratch. What needs improvement? Active Directory should have groups and policies. It could probably provide a better overview of how Active Directory is built. For how long have I used the solution? I have been using Windows Server as a consultant for ten years. We are using the 2022 version of the solution, as well as the 2008, 2016, and 2018 versions. What other advice do I have? We have various security measures, such as antivirus software and firewalls. Additionally, on the network side, we utilize different types of firewalls to manage and enhance the security of the infrastructure itself. Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.customer

Written by a user while visiting PeerSpot
Easy to use, it is easy to find applications and support, and the return on investment is pretty good

What is our primary use case? I used the solution for my file server, music server, and document management system. What is most valuable? The solution is quite stable. It's very common, so finding applications and support is easy. The security is fine. The single sign-on makes it easy for the users, and the ability to automatically deploy software to everybody is good. What needs improvement? The administration interface should be more user-friendly. Some parts of the administration interface have been upgraded, while others are old-fashioned. The vendor must update everything with the same user interface and make it more modern. For how long have I used the solution? I have been using the solution for 25 years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? I rate the tool’s stability a 10 out of 10. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? The tool’s scalability is fine. How was the initial setup? The initial setup is pretty straightforward. Due to the Windows updates, it always takes me two days to install Windows Server. What about the implementation team? I can do the deployment myself. I just had one server. What was our ROI? It's easy to get support. It's well known, so we can find answers anywhere. The tool supports many applications. It’s simple. It’s not cheap, but it works. The ROI is pretty good. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? We had an annual license. The product was quite expensive. Which other solutions did I evaluate? I have also used Linux servers. Windows has better application compatibility, availability, and ease of use. What other advice do I have? I have never used Microsoft's virtualization features. Windows is one of the most common operating systems. Many applications are available for it, so it's hard to go wrong if we have the money to pay for it. Overall, I rate the product a 9 out of 10. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? On-premises Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

Written by a user while visiting PeerSpot
IP directory is the most valuable feature

What is our primary use case? We use it for infrastructure. What is most valuable? The capabilities and beta securities are important features. The IP directory is the most valuable feature. What needs improvement? The user interface needs improvement. For how long have I used the solution? I have been using Windows Server for 20 years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? The stability of the solution is improving. I rate the stability a 9 out of 10. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? Three thousand users are using the solution at present. How was the initial setup? The setup installation takes time and the first time to create the image. It might take you a day or so. But once you have the image, hard end, it's easy to deploy because now it's built to own. What other advice do I have? I rate the overall product a 9 out of 10. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

Written by a user while visiting PeerSpot
Is simple to use

What is our primary use case? It is used for day to day purposes. What is most valuable? The simplicity of the solution is the most valuable aspect. What needs improvement? They could make it more company-specific to some of the tools that we use. For how long have I used the solution? I have experience using Windows Server. What do I think about the stability of the solution? The stability is very high. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? Close to a thousand users are using the solution. How was the initial setup? The initial setup is straightforward. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? It is an expensive solution. What other advice do I have? Overall, I would rate the solution an eight out of ten. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? Public Cloud Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

Written by a user while visiting PeerSpot
Good for tasks that are closely related to Windows environments

What is our primary use case? We mainly worked with Windows Server 2003, 2008, 2012, and 2016 as they were the go-to operating systems for applications like Excel Server and various other software. We occasionally used Linux servers, especially for databases and specific applications, but most of our work was on Windows servers. What is most valuable? When we deploy this operating system, we're primarily focused on managing virtual environments. There are different parts like the directory, data storage, and CPU usage which are really useful. We also compare it to other parts like group policy, all of which are related to users. Currently, I find that users are very involved when it comes to these applications or servers on the two other links. What needs improvement? I believe that Windows Server can be somewhat vulnerable compared to other options, but its security can be improved. I also think that the setup process can be somewhat complex, depending on the applications involved. Regarding the security features of Windows Server, while it offers some built-in security measures, it's not sufficient to solely rely on them. Additional external devices such as firewalls may be needed for comprehensive protection. Deploying antivirus and firewall software on the server is advisable, but having an external firewall adds an extra layer of security. When migrating to Windows Server from previous versions or other platforms, noticeable improvements were observed, particularly in the utilization of graphical interfaces. Windows offers robust graphical guidance, especially compared to Linux or other systems like Acronis, making it easier to navigate and manage various functionalities. For how long have I used the solution? I have used Windows Server for a couple of months. How are customer service and support? I found it somewhat lacking in responsiveness at times. How was the initial setup? Maintenance also requires a team to handle day-to-day activities.When it comes to deploying Windows Server for managing virtual environments, we use VMware. Deployment can require involvement from managers, administrators, and technicians, and it may involve consulting external experts. When it comes to deploying Windows Server, there's a policy in place for CR (change request) management. Typically, consulting with experts is necessary to design the system, taking into account factors like the number of users, required robustness, and specific functionalities such as messaging or email systems. What other advice do I have? On a scale of 1 to 10, I rate Windows Server around a 5 or 6. When it comes to recommending Windows Server to others, it depends on the critical applications being used. If you're installing an Oracle database, for example, I wouldn't recommend Windows Server. In such cases, Linux or similar platforms might be more suitable. However, for tasks closely related to Windows environments, like utilizing Microsoft products extensively, Windows Server could be a faster and more compatible option, especially when it comes to firewall capabilities. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

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