Various features were added or improved over Windows Server 2008 R2 (with many placing an emphasis on cloud computing), such as an updated version of Hyper-V, an IP address management role, a new version of Windows Task Manager, and ReFS, a new file system. Windows Server 2012 removed support for Itanium and processors without PAE, SSE2 and NX. Windows Server 2012 is eligible for the paid Extended Security Updates (ESU) program, which offers continued security updates until October 13, 2026.

Mainstream support for Windows Server 2012 ended on October 9, 2018, and extended support will end on October 10, 2023. It was succeeded by Windows Server 2012 R2 in 2013. The software was officially launched on September 4, 2012, which was the month before the release of Windows 8. Two pre-release versions, a developer preview and a beta version, were released during development. It is the server version of Windows based on Windows 8 and succeeds Windows Server 2008 R2, which is derived from the Windows 7 codebase, released nearly three years earlier. Windows Server 2012, codenamed 'Windows Server 8', is the sixth version of the Windows Server operating system by Microsoft, as part of the Windows NT family of operating systems. Paid support via the Extended Security Updates program until October 13, 2026, only for volume licensed editions.

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