Skip to main content
TrustRadius
Windows Server

Windows Server

Overview

Recent Reviews

Windows Server

9 out of 10
June 04, 2021
Incentivized
Windows Server is used in our Information Technology department and most of our applications hosted on it. Our databases are also deployed …
Continue reading

Windows Server Review

9 out of 10
May 20, 2021
Incentivized
The most basic feature in Windows Server is obviously the Active Directory. This is basically a central place where you create, update, …
Continue reading

Windows Server Review

9 out of 10
May 19, 2021
Incentivized
We leverage Windows Server as the primary backbone for most of of the applications that the University runs. This includes deployments in …
Continue reading
Read all reviews

Awards

Products that are considered exceptional by their customers based on a variety of criteria win TrustRadius awards. Learn more about the types of TrustRadius awards to make the best purchase decision. More about TrustRadius Awards

Return to navigation

Product Demos

MIME type : How to add or configure in IIS 8 on Windows Server 2012

YouTube

Windows Server 2022 Demo!

YouTube

Multipoint Server 2012 Virtual Desktops demo

YouTube

How to Install and Configure VPN On Windows Server 2012 Full Step by Step

YouTube

Windows Server best practice you’ll want to implement today

YouTube
Return to navigation

Product Details

What is Windows Server?

Windows Server Technical Details

Operating SystemsUnspecified
Mobile ApplicationNo
Return to navigation

Comparisons

View all alternatives
Return to navigation

Reviews and Ratings

(830)

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-25 of 61)
Companies can't remove reviews or game the system. Here's why
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Almost all of our production systems run on Windows Server platforms. We tend to separate each server out as one role to host a single application or set of applications. All servers we run are virtualised and we utilise data centre licensing on our hosts. Most off-the-shelf applications require Windows Server, and we prefer centralised management of a single platform so it's really the only choice for us (apart from some virtual appliances).
  • Centralised management. Active directory and group policies make this quite easy.
  • Low resource use. We are able to deploy an increasing number of applications on server core.
  • Bundled services. More and more functionality is Bundled and can be added and removed as roles.
  • Some of the management tools are still lacking when it comes to remotely managing server core.
  • Some of the more advanced management is nuanced and poorly documented. Anything slightly complex or out of the norm requires a lot of searching.
  • Tech support. It is difficult to access Microsoft for support directly, software assurance should make that easy.
In most cases you don't have a choice, many commercial applications are built on the Windows server base. However the domains and active directory are good when you have large numbers of servers to manage en-masse.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We run AD, DHCP, DNS, RD Gateway, and printing services all through Windows Server. It's powerful and relatively simple to manage. It adds simplicity to our workflow using the power of Group Policy and adds security being able to securely encrypt remote RDP connections through the use of the RD Gateway.
  • It utilizes an intuitive, easy to use user interface.
  • It offers features far beyond even what we use it for.
  • It maintains continuity with the rest of our Windows environment.
  • Upgrading to new versions of Windows Server could be simpler.
  • Migrating features and services to a new Windows Server could be simpler.
Environments with lots of users can heavily benefit from Active Directory and Group Policy. Even smaller organizations can benefit from those, but the licensing costs may be prohibitive for smaller environments. Being able to have simple failover between two or more Windows Servers for things like AD authentication and DHCP is also very convenient.
Score 1 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
  • File support
  • Remote access
  • Whole organization
  • Support from Microsoft
  • Not able to use
  • User interface.
  • [In my experience,] not user friendly.
  • Actual support from Microsoft, as [I feel] they are terrible for customer support.
Suited for people extremely versed in Server. [In my experience,] not suited for anyone that isn't already versed in Server.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
It is being used across both at the departmental level and also across the whole organization. At the organization level, it is being used to centrally manage Active Directory, and also centrally manage other software that is deployed to different departments. This includes SCCM, which is installed locally on Windows Server. It addresses the problem of having a good server operating system that is easy to set up, use (as compared to other servers OS's), and doesn't require a whole lot of back-end support to manage.
  • It is really good for running services such as DHCP, DNS, and Active Directory. In most environments, these are main services that run every day and are services that server administrators and other IT folks rely on in their everyday work.
  • It is good for pushing down policies to endpoints and offers a robust group policy management tool for getting this accomplished.
  • One thing that can be improved upon is making the overall OS of Windows Server more stable, meaning to avoid shutdowns or crashes, or the often need of rebooting the server to bring it to a "refresh" state.
  • It can also improve in the bootup time of when the Windows Server OS starts and is online. It seems like in many cases it can take a while for all services, etc. to be brought online and ready to use. This also affects when endpoints can connect to server resources.
Windows Server is well suited for environments that want an easier to use and configure server OS, as compared to some others on the market, which involve more from a set-up standpoint, and also require more ongoing maintenance on the back-end. It is less appropriate for organizations that want more control over custom configuring and setup/use of their server OS. It is also less appropriate in environments that don't have a majority of Windows endpoints, in which case another server OS might be more beneficial.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Windows Server is being used for many applications across the organization. It is used as the operating system for all virtual machines. As we are using Windows Server for all systems, we also use most of the services that Windows Server offers. Including but not limited to; Active Directory, DHCP, DNS, Print Services, and more.
  • Active Directory is critical
  • Integration with DHCP and DNS
  • Runs basically everything
  • Cost for virtualization is becoming ridiculous
  • Interface updates have reduced functionaility
  • Many functions pushed to powershell only - powershell is an amazing tool but old functions should still be available in GUI
You really don't have much of a choice when it comes to enterprise class operating systems, particularly in the public sector. Fortunately, Windows Server gets the job done and it get it done well. Running it as the core of your environment or even for hosting a small application is always feasible, especially if you opt for datacenter licensing.
August 19, 2021

Centralized Management

Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We manage Windows Server for a few of our clients who need it for computer lab deployments or data sharing among office staff. In a Windows environment, it's the only way to go to get good control over devices and easily provide access to shared resources like drives and printers over the network.
  • Manage accounts
  • Share printers
  • Organize files
  • User friendly interfaces
  • GUI tools for common tasks currently relegated to Powershell
  • Licensing can be incredibly difficult
If you run a Windows or mixed environment and want to share resources, Windows Server is the way to do it. It can do quite a bit, but because of that, it is a very complex set of tools, so be prepared to invest a lot in getting it set up and maintaining things.
Michael Craven | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
ResellerIncentivized
We are using Windows Server at our business for multiple uses. First, it is being used as a File Server - allowing us to have a large repository of data without upgrading individual workstations. Second, we are using Windows Server 2016 do to it's ability to perform workstation backups - reliably. The backup function supports Bare-Metal Restore (and has been put the test multiple times and works great!) and also supports deduplication - it only stores 1 copy of each duplicate file from All of our workstations (why take space to store Windows 10 files, etc. multiple times).
They have deprecated that function in Windows Server 2019.
  • Backup of workstations & itself - reliably, consistently, with Bare-Metal Restore and deduplication
  • File management and Security on a per file/folder/user basis is simple and fully done through an easy GUI
  • DNS, DHCP server functions are easy to configure using the built-in GUI
  • Windows Server 2019 has deprecated one of the best and most reliable feature of Server 2016 - workstation backups.
  • Windows Server 2019 works great with Azure for cloud functionality, but could use more options to work with out cloud providers.
If you have one user or 1000's of users (especially using Windows), Windows Server is a no-brainer! The only reason I would suggest going with a Linux server is if you have old hardware (Windows Server is more process intensive than Linux).
But, Linux is open-source, so anyone can publish updates/security updates, but on the flip side, malicious people also have full access to Linux's codebase allowing for much easier writing of exploitations/viruses/malware/ransomware.
Zakarieya Abderoef | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I have been supporting Windows Servers for many years and the product has evolved significantly over the past years. The product is used throughout the enterprise for running the smallest applications to running large business-critical applications. The product is being used as an operating system either on a bare metal server or within a virtual machine running on top of VMware, Hyper-V, or Nutanix. We use the product to authenticate users on our domain via an active directory. It is also used to provide DHCP and DNS services. On one project we used it for configuring virtual desktops using terminal services and we could provision desktop clients in a browser. Previously we also used it for VPN access but then switched to a FortiGate firewall as it is more secure.
  • Easy to use due to its intuitive graphical user interface.
  • Very popular and makes integration easier.
  • Lots of software drivers available.
  • Has many functionalities such as Active Directory, DNS, DHCP, VPN, RDP, VDI server, etc.
  • Many patches and updates available. Maybe abit too much too often.
  • Cost effective and with budget.
  • Remote desktop feature simplifies remote access to this server.
  • It has a built in VPN and ssl certificate feature.
  • Event viewer is available for alerts, although it seems too cumbersome to go through the logs.
  • If you got too many Windows systems to manage, then SCCM is an option.
  • Microsoft needs to minimize the update frequency by making the product more secure. It can become very exhausting trying to keep updated if you don't have a dedicated support team. It can become challenging where the business is unable to allow downtime for reboots as part of the update process.
  • Prone to security and audit vulnerabilities.
  • The operating system needs more CPU and memory resources compared to other options such as Linux.
  • Understanding the licensing model can be abit confusing.
  • Comes with a standard firewall, but not the most secured one available. Would suggest using a more secured firewall as part of your antivirus software.
  • Due to the number of vulnerabilities and the operating system being a target for hackers, anti-virus software is a must.
It can be basically deployed in any environment from the smallest branch or home office to running your mission-critical applications in large data centers. Its basic features are very easy to deploy and manage by even a junior engineer who understands Microsoft Operating Systems. The advanced features can be easily learned as there are many training options and support forums to assist.
June 04, 2021

Windows Server

Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Windows Server is used in our Information Technology department and most of our applications hosted on it. Our databases are also deployed on the windows server platform. We have deployed our applications and databases as well as our virtualization of physical servers using windows server technology. We have virtualized our servers.
  • Easy to Use
  • User community is strong
  • Frequent Updates
  • Security updates are frequent
  • Hardware independent
  • Slow Processing
  • Slow Multitasking
  • Frequent crash of software
  • Resource intensive
  • High Graphics software's may frequent crash
Easy to configure and install, even an internee can use it and understand it, whenever you are stuck in anything you just have to read the Microsoft articles and will get the solution for any condition.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use Windows server for all server related functions including DC, DNS, DHCP, File, Print, etc..
  • File Sharing
  • Print management
  • Active Directory
  • DNS, DHCP
  • [I believe you should ] stay far away from Windows Server 2016. The update process is horrible on it.
  • Licensing is expensive and complicated. Multiple different types of licenses needed.
I feel that Windows Server is the best server OS to run a small to medium business on. Yes, there are other cheaper options out there, but they require much more in depth knowledge and offer limited support. Ease of use plus customization and comfort will always make Windows Server OS my first choice.
Taha Hussain | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Windows Server is the backbone for our organization which runs web and desktop applications to support end users in managing their daily tasks and assignments. One of the best features is that it is a part of Microsoft Eco System so if you are using other Microsoft Services i.e. Active Directory, SQL Server and Power BI so they can easily be integrated.
  • Integration with other Microsoft products and services.
  • Failover management.
  • Web server management IIS.
  • Network management.
  • Firewall.
  • Web hosting tool.
  • Networking management tool.
  • Vulnerability and threat analysis tool.
Overall experience was good bundle of managing features that could make monitoring a lot easier whole in one package to support and integrate with other applications of Microsoft i.e. Software Center, Active Directory, SQL Server, IIS and many more. UI can be made much simpler and with upcoming advancement in threats there is always a space for enhancement.
Irfan Ahmed | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Windows Server is being used by my organization for managing All AD (Active Directory), users in the domain, and all related servers and services Company wide. All servers are Microsoft windows based i.e Microsoft Exchange server for managing users' corporate email to worldwide, and azure and other servers are providing service to cloud users globally.

Windows Server addresses the following business problems:
Management of all users in a single domain.
Due to this solution, we can implement Policies as per requirements or whenever we need them.
  • Users management is very simple & quick with all required policies.
  • Windows Servers secures users data & privacy.
  • Reporting and bind monitoring is very easy.
  • Load management must be more efficient.
  • User AI for managing data especially in storage server duplication of data).
  • Logs & reports can be export/extract in an easy way( finding error/issues is not easy ).
  • Resolve hanging issues (suddenly hung & auto run after hanging during query).
Windows server is well suited in:
  • Large scale organizations where the number of users is high and management of policies must be required to handle users.
  • Critical data environment.
  • Minimum downtime areas with low cost with smooth services.

Windows server is less appropriate in:
  • Small offices.
  • No need for domain work, it can be managed in workgroups.
  • No need to deploy policies on users.
Umair Ali Khan | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Windows Server has been in the industry for many years and it has been available in different flavors with multiple use cases over the years. it has been one of the favorites of [the] system and network administrators in terms of ease of use. In our organization, it is being mainly used for active directory services and it is also our domain controller and NTP server.
  • Simple to setup
  • Not all services are required you can enable selected services
  • Any service can be enabled with a few clicks
  • Support for high availability with clustering
  • Wide user base
  • Highly scalable
  • Some services require restart which is difficult in production environment
  • Some windows updates breaks previously working services
  • Licensing cost
  • Security bugs
Windows Server has a lot of features built-in and it has been getting new features and feature updates with every new release. it can be used as [a] domain controller, NTP server, web server, radius server, NAC server, etc. it also supports virtualization and has its own hypervisor, therefore a full blown virtual infrastructure can be made on Windows Server.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
The most basic feature in Windows Server is obviously the Active Directory. This is basically a central place where you create, update, block, and cancel user accounts. Those accounts enable every worker of the company to log on to any computer (unless you configure it not to) and to each receive everywhere their personal authorization. As this implies you can also configure what each user can do, use, and access.
  • Active Directory
  • Shared folders and printers
  • DNS
  • GPO according to groups
  • More intuitive backup
Once you have four or more computers it is appropriate to move the maintenance to a central location rather [than] looking after each computer separately. Especially if you have several branches at different physical locations it makes sense to not only access everything from one location but also easily connect between them and allow [users] to work at either branch.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We leverage Windows Server as the primary backbone for most of of the applications that the University runs. This includes deployments in Azure as well for applications we choose to live in the cloud. The use of Windows Servers give our department level admins a familiar interface to be able to manage their applications.
  • Ease of use GUI
  • Driver compatibility
  • Update Frequency
  • Logging could be a bit easier to navigate
  • Remote Application deployments are difficult to manage
  • Additional Cert functionality / .pem
If they are looking for a product that will be easy for them to configure and use then I don't really believe there is a better option available. If this was an app that they are looking to configure once then never touch it again I could see possibly pushing them toward a Linux solution but unlikely.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Windows Server is being used at our organization as our main DNS, DHCP, AD, print and file servers. Everything we do is handled by Windows Servers. It allows us to manage users, security and push out policy as needed. Windows Server has been very stable on the latest versions which means productivity and efficiency for us.
  • security
  • file print
  • file storage
  • no real cons
Windows Server is best for medium to large businesses where security is a top concern. Having the ability to use group policy for security, mapped drives, printers and automation is key. It is also easy to manage users using active directory. Exchange integration with Azure is also great.
Rob Battaglia | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Windows Server 2019 Standard is being used by our company as a main file server as well as a SQL server for accounting and estimating programs. All of our desktop and laptop computers are connected to it and it also serves as our DNS server. Off-site users can access the data via a VPN connection. Server 2019 solves the problem of giving secure access to data to all of our staff.
  • File Server
  • VPN Server
  • SQL Host Server
  • DNS Server
  • DHCP Server could be better - we use the router for DHCP Routing
  • Print Server - not a fan of using the server as a print server since you have to license it. Direct access to printers via IP addresses is a much more efficient way to go
  • Better backup program - we utilize a third-party program that gives us more flexibility when restoring individual files.
Best suited as a domain controller, file server, SQL server, VPN server and DNS server. You would be better off allowing your router to control DHCP processes. And direct access to printers via IP address is better than having the server be used as a printer server. Having the router work as a DHCP server will also keep the server out of the loop when it comes to direct access to the internet.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Windows Server is the [backend] server platform for all of our of our servers. It is used to run all of our virtual machines. We use it to run all of our critical services such as Active Directory, Domain Name Services, Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft Sharepoint, Remote Desktop Services, Print Servers, File Servers, etc
  • Easy to use
  • GUI or CLI
  • Lots of available roles
  • High Up time
  • Typically reliable security patches
  • Windows 2016 in particular is slow at applying windows updates
  • Occasional release of updates that cause things to break
  • Sometimes confusing user interface where they have the classic vs modern interfaces
Anyone working in IT will typically have to deal with Windows Server at some point in their career. I have found that it typically works well for any role you put it into. There are typically smaller niche products that sometimes do a better job at a specific task that Windows Server does. But I find using these products can at times get confusing and be very time consuming. Getting a standard education in Windows Server really does let you be a jack of most all trades
April 27, 2021

Windows Server Review

Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Windows Server is the primary server operating system at our corporation. It is used for file servers, print servers, mail servers, web servers, and application servers. There are currently various versions deployed with a current movement to standardize on Windows Server 2019 Standard. Over 95% of our current installed server base is virtualized and running on VMware's hypervisor product.
  • Windows Server is a very stable platform.
  • Windows Server is extremely versatile and can be used for a variety of roles.
  • Windows Server is easy to administer and install.
  • Windows Server still has room to improve on security.
  • Windows Server has some elements in the UI that do not work properly.
  • Windows Server requires constant patching to remain secure.
In my opinion, Windows Server is the easiest server platform to use for things like print servers, file servers and web servers. It is also well suited to act as a platform for a variety of third party platforms. I would not use some of its more specific networking functions like routing or VPN as there are fair more efficient dedicated solutions for these uses.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use Windows Server for our primary server operating system. It's primary used for our hypervisor as well as VM's. We use various Windows Server roles and functions such as AD, DNS, DHCP, file server, printing, web, and more. This allows us to have an easy to manage operating system that is centrally managed.
  • Hypervisor
  • Active Directory
  • DHCP
  • Ease of Deployment
  • Security Updates
  • Lengthy update times
  • DoH DNS Forwarders
  • More thorough update vetting
If you're a Windows shop, or heavily use O365 and Office, Windows Server fits in nicely with its ability to manage Windows clients using Active Directory. Likewise, Active Directory and Exchange integrate well with O365. If you are primarily a Mac client enterprise, Windows Server is less appropriate. Using Windows Server as a hypervisor, regardless of workstation OS, is also a great use case.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use Windows Servers like domain controllers, file servers, and RDS servers.
  • Great Price Performance Ratio
  • easy to maintain
  • integration into o365/azure
  • server migration is a convoluted process
  • memory usage under RDS is really bad
  • CPU management under RDS is really bad
To run any small to enterprise size environment Windows Server scales to size and demand.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We are currently using Windows Server on multiple machines to manage our active directory and other services as well as for hosting some virtual machines for specific tasks to aid in the performance and reporting for our customer service team to improve the experience that our customers receive upon each phone call.
  • Windows Server is very stable and reliable.
  • Windows Server has a wide range of functions that can be completed on the system.
  • Windows Server can handle our workloads.
  • It is not always easy to understand how to set up different services within Windows Server.
  • I would like to see Windows Server integrate with Microsoft Power Automate natively.
  • I would like to see less system resources being used by Windows Server.
If you want a reliable system with a Windows interface, then Windows Server is your best choice. If you want a server system that can run on very minimal hardware, then Linux would be the better choice. However, Windows Server is far superior to Linux in the vast amount of software that can be installed and ran as well as is supported natively.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Windows Server is our organizations primary server operating system. It's used to support needs across the entire organization, from authentication, file and print to database, application and web servers.
  • Easy to manage
  • Wide Application Compatibility
  • Stable operating system environment
  • Flexible, suitable for a number of different roles
  • Security, always room for improvement there
  • UI driven platform makes doing things from the CLI difficult at times.
  • Patching process can turn into a nightmare with the way security updates are bundled and documented
Window Server is well suited for internal infrastructure functions like authentication, DHCP, DNS and file and print services via Active Directory. Highly recommend for application server roles as well, web server via IIS assuming the correct security is put in place or for internal use, Database via SQL Server or 1,000's of third party applications. We tend to avoid placing Windows servers directly on the internet but assuming you have the correct security place in it's a great platform.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Windows Server is the backbone of our server infrastructure. It handles our User Identity management via Active Directory, File and Storage management for tens of thousands of users across 100 sites, Print services, Software Assignment via App-V management. Without Windows Server our entire infrastructure would be unable to function as it is run 100% on it.
  • Identity Management
  • File and Directory Services
  • Print Server
  • Increased support for Powershell (always growing)
  • Optimized Memory usage
  • Nested settings windows and drilling down to find what you need.
Windows Server is the best base to do most forms of infrastructure building on. It is stable, well-designed, and allows flexibility without requiring tremendous commitment for specific configurations. You can select to access it via the GUI, or via command-line/Powershell, enabling you to reduce the footprint based on how you want to interact with it.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I have been using and implementing Windows Server since NT 4.0 version and have upgraded and migrated my clients all the way up to the current version of Windows Server 2019. I use Windows Server to manage user security across the whole network. Using Active Directory within Windows Server allows you to manage users and their permissions and control their access to all the areas of the network, from one central place.
  • Manages user accounts.
  • Controls access to different areas of the network.
  • Has a robust GUI that Windows users are already familiar with.
  • Constant updates that move where things live within Windows can be frustrating.
  • It is the most widely used server platform, so it's the targeted system type for most hackers.
  • In the last few years, updates seem to cause more problems than they fix.
  • Server hardware requirements keep going up and up with each new version.
Windows Server is great for environments where sometimes more capable end users have to do some tasks in the system. Because it is built to look like and work like a regular windows workstation, it isn't that difficult to train end users to do some day to day tasks in it, like checking backups or adding new users.

Once you get into powershell scripting, things can get complicated though, and there is lots to learn about scripting commands and capabilities and even syntax, but luckily there are lots of resources available online to help out.
Return to navigation