Windows Server 2012 R2 Overview

Windows Server 2012 R2 captures Microsoft’s experience of delivering global-scale cloud services to provide an enterprise class server and cloud platform.

• It lets you optimize performance for your most important workloads and helps protect against service outages with robust recovery options.
• It reduces complexity and cost with comprehensive automation plus storage and networking virtualization solutions based on industry-standard hardware.
• It lets you build, run, and scale applications that can move between your datacenter and the cloud, and it allows you to provide your users with flexible remote access from virtually anywhere and any device while helping protect corporate information. 

Edition Overview

The Windows Server 2012 R2 product is streamlined and simple, making it easy for customers to choose the edition that is right for their needs.

• Datacenter edition for highly virtualized private cloud environments.
• Standard edition for non-virtualized or lightly virtualized environments.
• Essentials edition for small businesses with up to 25 users running on servers with up to two processors.
• Foundation edition for small businesses with up to 15 users running on single processor servers.

Licensing Overview 

The packaging and licensing structure for Windows Server 2012 R2 editions remain unchanged. Datacenter and Standard editions provide:

 Differentiation only by virtualization rights: Two virtual instances for Standard edition and unlimited virtual instances for Datacenter edition.

 A consistent processor-based licensing model that covers up to two physical processors on a server.

Essentials and Foundation editions provide:

 A server-based licensing model: Foundation is for single processor servers and Essentials is for either one or two processor servers.

 CALs not required for access: Foundation comes with 15 user accounts and Essentials comes with 25 user accounts.

Client Access License (CAL)

Windows Server Standard and Datacenter editions will continue to require Windows Server CALs for every user or device accessing a server. Some additional or advanced functionality will continue to require the purchase of an additive CAL.

These are CALs that you need in addition to the Windows Server CAL to access functionality, such as Remote Desktop Services or Active Directory Rights Management Services. Note: Windows Server 2012 CALs are used to access Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2.