Concerns about Windows server 8 and windows 8

benmark

So I've seen that the anticipated release date of server 8 (server 2012) will be about mid 2012. I just started studying for the windows server 2008 exams 70-640. Do you guys think it's worth going through the server 2008 Enterprise Admin certs or hold off till the server 8 release date? For my current upcoming job (just accepted an offer!) I probably wont be touching any servers apart from maybe basic troubleshooting and AD. I wanted to get the server certs to boost my Windows server knowledge and really learn AD. What do you guys think?

RTmarc

Don't waste your time waiting on a track that hasn't even really been announced yet.

joehalford01

I agree, learn whats out there now, I'm planning on pursuing MCITP as well, companies still use server 2003, so 2008R2 will be around a while. I'm sure there will be an upgrade path for server 8 and you'll get to build on what you've learned in the meantime.

bdub

Most companies are not going to be early adopters of the next server OS. In general companies don't upgrade servers for quite awhile. Its expensive not only because you have to purchase new licenses but everyone needs to learn the OS, write hardening standards etc... its a lot of time an expense. On top of that, its unlikely that MS's new server OS is going to provide a lot of meaningful features for the average business. I imagine the next OS is going to focus heavily on the cloud and virtualization and not whole lot else.

Where I work we are still running 90% Server 2003 and there is no real plan to "upgrade" more so slowly refreshing servers and building new ones on 2008 R2.

Everyone

To add on to what bdub said, you won't typically see a server OS upgrade unless it is time for a hardware refresh. When the hardware comes up for replacement, you MAY see the latest OS put on it. It also depends a lot on what the application running on that server supports. Until new versions of software come out that require a new server OS, you won't see it upgraded. Then there's support to consider too. If a software vendor doesn't support running their app on a new OS, don't expect to see an upgrade.

sherrill

I know people still using NT. Talk about legacy.

benmark

Thanks for the feedback guys. I'm going to keep plugging away at DNS then.

Hypntick

Also keep in mind that the more you learn about 08 r2, the easier it should be to learn 12.