14 DAY TRIAL // The latest Windows server and client platforms from Microsoft are nothing short of joined at the hip, although Windows Server 2008 R2 preceded Windows 7 to the market by over a month. The two operating systems were built in parallel, and even released to manufacturing concomitantly, but Microsoft made the successor of Windows Server 2008 available to customers ahead of Windows 7. Still, the software giant continued to underline that Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 were “better togethet,” an aspect that by no means changed with the general availability of the newest Windows client release.
Windows 7 “sports the closest relationship with Windows Server since Windows 2000. Put Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 on the same set of network cables and all kinds of new abilities are suddenly yours to command, including uber-flexible desktop and application virtualization with Remote Desktop Services, seamless remote productivity with DirectAccess, smiling branch office workers with BranchCache and happier desktop administrators who get loads of new options for managing desktops right down to the bare metal on each and every desk,” revealed Oliver Rist, technical product manager, Windows Server 20008 R2.
Microsoft released Windows Server 2008 R2 into the retail channel on September 14th. Following Windows 7’s October 22nd GA, customers can now fully take advantage of the intimate integration between the two platforms. Fact is that technologies including BranchCache and DirectAccess can only be leveraged by customers running Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 in tandem.
“For our part, Windows Server 2008 R2 has been available through partners and OEMs, like Dell and Fujitsu, for several weeks. Our server experts have done a great job of describing Windows Server 2008 R2's many new and improved features over the past several months, but with the full availability of Windows 7 now upon us, customers and partners will be able to see all the power that a desktop-to-server Microsoft solution can have in the enterprise,” Rist added.
A 180-day trial version of Windows Server 2008 R2 is available for download here.
Microsoft Windows 7 90-Day Eval VHD is available for download here.
Another Windows 7 RTM Enterprise 90-Day Evaluation is available for download here.