Windows Server 2025 and System Center 2025 have entered general availability

Windows Server 2025 is now generally available. Microsoft announced that the latest version of the Server operating system is also a long-term servicing channel (LTSC) release. It will be supported for 10 years until October 2034.

The company says Windows Server 2025 delivers security advancements and new hybrid cloud capabilities in a high-performing, AI-capable platform.

Some other noteworthy Windows Server 2025 features and improvements include:

• GPU virtualization improvements, including support for Multi-Instance GPU, which is now generally available
• Improvements to the performance of virtualized SQL Server instances through the use of Persistent Memory
• Improvements to the performance of hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) systems using the Windows Admin Center
• Enhanced security for Linux guests running on Windows Server 2025 Hyper-V hosts
• Enhancements to the Windows Admin Center management tool
• Support for the next-generation Intel Ice Lake processors

Like Windows 11 24H2, Server 2025 will receive updates via checkpoint cumulative, a new way to deliver the latest updates.

Microsoft has confirmed three known issues that customers should be aware of. An English language-related bug during installation, a problem affecting CPUs with more than 256 threads/logical processors, and a ‘boot device inaccessible’ startup error in iSCSI (Internet Small Computer Systems Interface) environments.

Microsoft says users can work around the high core count issue for the CPU issue simply by limiting the number of cores to 256 or below.

Windows Server 2025 is now available to download from the Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC). The Evaluation Center offers a free 180-day trial to try the server release.

Microsoft has also published a complete list of compatible CPUs for Windows Server 2025. The list includes modern Xeons, but it’s worth noting that you won’t necessarily need a server-grade CPU to run Server 2025. Many modern Pentium, Core, and Athlon CPUs should do just fine.