Windows 2012 Server Edition Comparison Matrix and more...

Firewall.cx - Windows 2012 Server Foundation, Essential, Standard & Datacenter Edition Differences, Licensing & Supported Features.

Windows Server 2012 Editions

On the 1^st of August, 2012 Microsoft released Windows Server 2012– the sixth release of the Windows Server product family. On May 21^st 2013, Windows Server 2012 R2 was introduced and is now the latest version of Windows Server in the market.  Microsoft has released four different editions of Windows Server 2012 varying in cost, licensing and features. These four editions of Windows Server 2012 R2 are: Windows 2012 Foundation edition, Windows 2012 Essentials edition, Windows 2012 Standard edition and Windows 2012 Datacenter edition.

Let’s take a closer look at each Windows Server 2012 edition and what they have to offer.

Users can also download the free Windows Server 2012 R2 Licensing Datasheet in our Windows Server Datasheets & Useful Resources download section, which provides a detailed overview of the Licensing for Windows Server 2012 and contains extremely useful information on the various Windows Server 2012 edition, examples on how to calculate your licensing needs, Virtualization instances supported by every edition,  server roles, common questions & answers, plus much more.

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Windows Server 2012 Foundation edition...

Windows Server 2012 Essentials edition ...

Windows Server 2012 Standard edition ...

Windows Server 2012 Datacenter edition ...

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Windows  Server 2012 Licensing - Understanding Client Access License (CAL) and Device Access License (DAL) Licensing models ...

Windows Server 2012 Essentials Edition Licensing Model ...

Windows Server 2012 Essentials Edition Licensing Model ...

Windows Server 2012 Standard Edition and Datacenter Edition Licensing Model ...

Conclusion

Microsoft’s Windows Server 2012 is an attractive server-based product designed to meet the demands of small to large enterprises and has a very flexible licensing model. It is very important to fully understand the licensing options and supported features on each of the 4 available editions, before proceeding with your purchase – a tactic that will help ensure costs are kept well within the allocated budget while the company’s needs are fully met.

A co-worker shared this with me and while it might be cribbed from other resources, I still liked it. There's nothing like a little comparison matrix to be a "thousand words" multiplier...