Choose a Windows Server edition

  • 7 minutes

Contoso, Ltd. has its head office in Seattle. Throughout the rest of the world, there are major regional offices. There are also numerous smaller, branch offices in provincial cities. As part of the plan to move its compute environment from Windows Server 2016, a team is determining which editions of Windows Server 2019 should be used in head office datacenter, and at other regions.

Windows Server 2019 editions

The planning team at Contoso can choose one of the four editions of Windows Server 2019. These editions allow Contoso and other organizations to select a version of Windows Server 2019 that best meets their needs, rather than pay for features they don't require. When deploying a server for a specific role, system administrators can save by selecting the appropriate edition. There are four editions of Windows Server 2019:

  • Windows Server 2019 Essentials.
  • Windows Server 2019 Standard.
  • Windows Server 2019 Datacenter.
  • Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2019.

Each edition supports unique features. The following table describes the Windows Server 2019 editions:

Edition Description
Windows Server 2019 Essentials Similar to its predecessor, Windows Server 2019 Essentials edition is for small businesses. This edition allows up to 25 users and 50 devices. Users don't need Client Access Licenses (CALS) to connect to the server, but you can't increase the 25-user limit. It supports two processor cores and up to 64 gigabytes (GB) of random-access memory (RAM). It includes added support for Microsoft Entra ID through Microsoft Entra Connect. If configured as a domain controller, it must be the only domain controller, must run all Flexible Single Master Operations (FSMO) roles, and can't have two-way trusts with other Active Directory domains. Microsoft recommends that small businesses move to Microsoft 365 instead of deploying Windows Server 2019 Essentials. The Windows Server Essentials Experience role has been deprecated from Windows Server Essentials 2019.
Windows Server 2019 Standard edition Windows Server 2019 Standard edition is for physical server environments with little or no virtualization. It supplies most of the roles and features available for the Windows Server operating system. This edition supports up to 64 sockets and up to 4 terabytes (TB) of RAM. It includes licenses for up to two VMs running Windows Server. You can run two VMs on one physical host by using one standard license if the physical host is only used for hosting and managing the VMs. If the physical host is used to run other services such as DNS, you can only run one VM by using a standard license.
Windows Server 2019 Datacenter edition Windows Server 2019 Datacenter edition is for highly virtualized infrastructures, including private cloud and hybrid cloud environments. It supplies all the roles and features available for the Windows Server operating system. This edition supports up to 64 sockets, up to 640 processor cores, and up to 4 TB of RAM. It includes unlimited VM licenses based on Windows Server for VMs that run on the same hardware. It also includes features such as Storage Spaces Direct and Storage Replica, along with Shielded VMs and features for software-defined datacenter scenarios.
Hyper-V Server 2019 Acts as a standalone virtualization server for VMs, including all the new features around virtualization in Windows Server. The host operating system has no licensing cost, but you must license VMs separately. This edition supports up to 64 sockets and up to 4 TB of RAM. It supports domain joining, but it doesn't support Windows Server roles other than limited file service features. This edition has no GUI but does have a UI that displays a menu of configuration tasks. You can manage this edition remotely by using remote management tools.