Supermicro Xeon: Win10 or WinServer2016?

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aag

Member
Jun 4, 2016
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I am about to order a Supermicro Xeon-based server. My intent is to run a Windows host system, and a number (5-6) of mostly Linux-based VMs (through Hyper-V) for asterisk, owncloud, nagios, and a home automation system called ip-symcon. Therefore, virtualization hand RAM will be significant, but it is going to be a relatively lightweight system in terms of network throughput.

I am debating with myself, however, whether I should run the host on Windows 10 Professional, or rather on Windows Server 2016. I am a university professor and I think that I can get a WinServer license for a relatively good price, around 300$. But money is not the overriding issue here. I find it difficult to forecast which advantages I would gain from a Windows Sever installation.

I would be grateful for any advice and pros/cons of Win10 versus WinServer2016 in this particular scenario.
 

Patrick

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Dec 21, 2010
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If I had access to education pricing, Win Server 2016 would be the direction I would go. At some point you are going to want directory services or some of the other features Win Server offers.

The other thought if you are just running all Linux VMs (or mostly Linux) is to just do ESXi or a KVM setup like Proxmox.
 

Blinky 42

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Aug 6, 2015
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I would second Patrick and say go for a "free" linux-based virt solution and put the money saved into more RAM unless you are comfortable with Windows Virt or want to gain experience on it.
 

aag

Member
Jun 4, 2016
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Thanks for your input. I have some relatively specialized hardware that will have to be attached to the host machine, and in general driver support for Windows is better than for Linux. Can I assume that hardware drivers working for Windows 10 64bit will also work for Windows Server?
 

aag

Member
Jun 4, 2016
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If I had access to education pricing, Win Server 2016 would be the direction I would go. At some point you are going to want directory services or some of the other features Win Server offers.

The other thought if you are just running all Linux VMs (or mostly Linux) is to just do ESXi or a KVM setup like Proxmox.
Thanks. I looked into the licenses, and it turns out that I can get Windows Server 2012 R2 for free, through the DreamSpark program! I guess that I will be able to upgrade to Win2016 when the time has come.

The question that I still have, however, is: are there any downsides that you can think of, which might speak in favor of a Win10 installation instead of server? Probably not, but this is going to be a big step and I want to be sure that I do not do anything that I might regret in the future.
 

Marsh

Moderator
May 12, 2013
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Yesterday, I want to post that when you works for in educational field, most likely you'll have Microsoft and Adobe software for free.

Regarding Win10 vs Windows Server , one advantage come to my mind.
If sleep function is something you care about.
I used Windows 8.1 with Hyper-v as my VM host, Windows 8.1 would sleep even with VMs running.

Windows 2016 server and Windows 10 has virus protection software ( not in Windows 2012 ).
 

pricklypunter

Well-Known Member
Nov 10, 2015
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I would say go with a Hypervisor like ESXi or KVM and deploy your Windows Server 2016 as a VM instead. At some point, you'll likely want to use VT-d for passing hardware directly to your VM's. A TDM card for example. It's something Hyper-V is still sorely lacking :)
 

KamiCrazy

New Member
Apr 13, 2013
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Server 2016 supports device passthrough. In my honest opinion for a single node setup, if you can get Windows Server for free through Dreamspark, Windows Server is a top notch choice for running a hypervisor.