Microsoft Windows Server 2025 Datacenter (24 Core)

Microsoft Windows Server 2025 Datacenter 24 Core

Microsoft Windows Server 2025 Datacenter is the most advanced edition of the next-generation 2025 server operating system, designed for intensive virtualization environments, private clouds, and data centers. It allows an unlimited number of Windows Server virtual machines on the covered physical server and includes all exclusive Datacenter features, enhanced by the major innovations of Windows Server 2025: native Zero Trust, Hotpatching via Azure Arc, and next-generation Shielded VMs.

Datacenter 2025 vs Datacenter 2022 — what's new?

In addition to the exclusive features of the Datacenter edition (unlimited VMs, Shielded VMs, Storage Replica, advanced SDN), Windows Server 2025 brings key improvements compared to 2022: Hotpatching via Azure Arc available in all editions (previously reserved for the Azure edition), Zero Trust with Credential Guard enabled by default, native SMB over QUIC, and a next-generation Active Directory with a 32 KB database. For environments with moderate virtualization needs, Windows Server 2025 Standard 24 Core offers a more cost-effective alternative, available as a digital license on Licence24.ch.

Who is it for?

Windows Server 2025 Datacenter 24 Core is aimed at large organizations, advanced IT teams, data centers, and hosting providers managing heavily virtualized infrastructures on 24-core physical servers. It is the reference solution for organizations that want to combine maximum virtual machine density with the next-generation Zero Trust protections of Windows Server 2025.

ℹ️ Windows Server 2025 CALs are required for each user or device connecting to the server. For environments requiring Remote Desktop access, check out Windows Server 2025 RDS 50 Device CAL, available on Licence24.ch.

Main features

• Unlimited Windows Server virtual machines per license (exclusive Datacenter benefit)
• Integrated Zero Trust architecture with multi-factor authentication and default conditional access policies
• Credential Guard enabled by default to protect credentials
• Shielded VMs — protection of virtual machines against unauthorized hypervisor-level access
• Storage Replica — synchronous or asynchronous storage replication between servers or clusters
• Advanced Software-Defined Networking (SDN) for large-scale network virtualization
• Hotpatching via Azure Arc — security updates without server reboot
• Native SMB over QUIC — access shared files over the Internet without VPN
• Enhanced Hyper-V with vGPU support for virtual machines
• Next-generation Active Directory with 32 KB database and mandatory encrypted LDAP
• Native Azure Arc integration with default installation and simplified assistant interface
• Centralized management of Windows and Linux from a single dashboard

Compatibility and requirements

• License model: per core (Per Core) — covers up to 24 physical cores on 1 server
• Virtual machines: unlimited under Windows Server on the covered physical host
• Processor: x64, minimum 1.4 GHz, with NX, DEP, CMPXCHG16b, SSE4.2, and EPT/NPT virtualization support
• RAM: minimum 512 MB (32 GB recommended for virtualized environments)
• Disk space: minimum 32 GB
• Network: recommended PCIe Gigabit Ethernet adapter
• ⚠️ Windows Server 2025 CALs are required for each user or device connecting to the server
• Direct upgrade possible from Windows Server 2012 R2 and later versions
• Activation via Microsoft servers
• Microsoft support guaranteed until 2034