Windows Server, just do it.
March 02, 2016

Windows Server, just do it.

Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Windows Server

Both Windows and Linux were used by the organization. Windows for most end users and many of the servers but Linux was used for many of the web servers and when Oracle was being used.

Pros

  • Ease of installation because it's easy to script/automate.
  • It's familiar/recognizable to many people because it's familiar to anyone who uses an end-user version of Windows on their personal machine.
  • It's the only OS that SQL Server runs on so it's extremely important to me because I'm a SQL Server DBA.

Cons

  • I really don't know because it does everything I've ever needed and I have no experience with other OSes.
  • I used SQL Server and there's no choice. If you want to run SQL Server, you have to install Windows Server, end of story.
The only other server level OS I've ever used was OS/2, and there's really no point in trying to compare against it anymore.
Specifically, if you want to use Microsoft SQL Server, and I do, you must install it on Windows Server. Well, you can also install some editions on the end-user versions of Windows, but I wouldn't recommend that for production systems.

Using Windows Server

Global IT and application development teams
5 - Extremely technical and self-motivated so they can keep up on the latest information.
  • SQL Servers
  • SharePoint Servers
  • Application Servers
Because I'm a SQL Server DBA and SQL Server only runs on Windows Server.

Evaluating Windows Server and Competitors

  • Prior Experience with the Product
  • Existing Relationship with the Vendor
SQL Server only runs on Windows Server and SQL Server was required so Windows Server was required.
Until/unless Microsoft supports some other operating system with SQL Server, there's no chance of me choosing a different OS.

Windows Server Implementation

Nope, wasn't around for the first installations.
  • I'm not aware of any issues at all, keeping in mind that it was implemented before I joined the company and there is a dedicated Windows OS team at the company.

Windows Server Support

Because I haven't used Windows Support personally so can only pass along what I've heard. I haven't heard anything bad, but nothing tremendously good either.
ProsCons
Quick Resolution
Good followup
Knowledgeable team
Problems get solved
Kept well informed
Immediate help available
Support cares about my success
Quick Initial Response
None
Yes - If our servers go down they can have a severe impact on our business so we need really good support immediately.

Using Windows Server

It's relatively easy to do anything I've ever tried to accomplish in Windows.
ProsCons
Like to use
Relatively simple
Easy to use
Technical support not required
Well integrated
Consistent
Quick to learn
Convenient
Feel confident using
Familiar
None
  • Installation of SQL Server is easy and that's really all I'm concerned about.
  • I did find it relatively easy to install and configure Hyper-V as well. In fact, easy enough that I set up a failover cluster in Hyper-V on my home machine.
  • It can be a bit tricky to set up a domain, but there are numerous resources available online to guide you through it.

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