Microsoft releases preview version of Windows Server 2012 R2
Microsoft has released the preview software for Windows Server 2012 R2, System Center 2012 R2 and SQL Server 2014 at its TechEd Europe 2013 conference in Madrid. The preview software offerings are designed to blur the boundaries between customers’ own datacentres and the Windows Azure public cloud for a hybrid IT infrastructure. “These products are going to have a massive impact on companies around the world – and IT pros are going to see the traditional boundaries between datacentres vanish and a true hybrid cloud emerge,” wrote Brad Anderson, corporate vice-president of Windows Server & System Center at Microsoft, on the company blog.The update to the server, management and SQL products forms part of Microsoft’s “cloud-first design principles” and its Cloud OS strategy, according to Anderson.