MICROSOFT SOLUTIONS

  • Partnership

    Overview

    The Lenovo and Microsoft partnership has been forged over many years. One of the goals of that partnership is to ensure that the latest Microsoft technologies are a perfect fit with Lenovo servers. Built with proven Lenovo innovation around industry-standard components, Lenovo servers help enhance and extend Microsoft's operating systems, virtualization technologies, and infrastructure platforms so you can build a highly productive IT environment that can help your business achieve true innovation.

    Windows Server 2016 from Lenovo

    Pair your Lenovo server with trusted operating system solutions from Microsoft such as Windows Server® 2016—tested and proven for compatibility. Whether you're a fast-growing small business or a demanding large enterprise, Lenovo offers the Windows Server operating system, factory preloaded or as Reseller Option Kit (ROK).

    Microsoft Solutions From Lenovo

    From virtual desktops to enterprise-class virtualization and cloud to data management, Lenovo and Microsoft deliver highly flexible and resilient server solutions that can help transform your IT infrastructure.

    Azure Stack

    Microsoft Azure Stack is a new hybrid cloud solution that enables your organization to deliver Azure services, from your own datacenter, so you can achieve more with less. 

    Lenovo DCG and Microsoft are working closely together to co-engineer an integrated Azure Stack solution on Lenovo hardware.  Microsoft Azure Stack will be generally available in mid-2017. 

    Get the power of cloud, yet maintain control of your datacenter, for true hybrid cloud agility. Please click on our Microsoft solutions Tab or the following links for more Information:

    SQL Server – Setting World Records with Lenovo

    SQL Server 2016 delivers unparalleled performance and security to power your most mission critical transactional systems and data warehouses. Blazing-fast performance is key to ensuring you can deliver a flawless transactional experience while at the same time supporting  real-time operational analytics of in-flight data.   Integrated business intelligence and advanced analytics solutions are leveraged for building intelligent applications. 

    Recently, Lenovo announced the number one TPC-H 10TB benchmark world record using SQL Server 2016 and Windows Server 2016 on Lenovo System x3850 X6 using the latest the latest Intel Xeon E7 processor technology. In May 2016, Lenovo also published a new number one TPC-H 30TB world record using SQL Server 2016 and Windows Server 2016 on Lenovo System x3950 X6. These results, in addition to recent benchmarks by software and hardware partners, as well as key applications, show that SQL Server 2016 is the fastest in-memory database on the planet for your applications.

    Storage Spaced Direct (S2D)

    The high demand for enterprise storage continues to accelerate. To meet this demand Lenovo and Microsoft have teamed up to craft a software-defined storage solution leveraging the advanced feature set of Windows Server 2016 and the flexibility of the Lenovo System x3650 M5 rack server and RackSwitch G8272 switch.

    This solution provides a solid foundation for customers looking to consolidate both storage and compute capabilities on a single hardware platform, or for those enterprises that wish to have distinct storage and compute environments. In both situations, this solution provides outstanding performance, high availability protection and effortless scale out growth potential to accommodate evolving business needs.

     

  • Windows Server 2016

    Overview

    With Microsoft Windows Server 2016, organizations leverage best in class Lenovo Servers to build an agile IT infrastructure that is efficient, reliable and secure.

    Windows Server 2016 is the cloud-ready operating system that supports your current workloads while introducing new technologies that make it easy to transition to cloud computing when you are ready.  It delivers powerful new layers of security along with Azure-inspired innovation for the applications and infrastructure that power your business.

    Security

    Security is consistently rated as a top priority for IT organizations. Companies are in the news for security breaches and failing to protect their customer and employee information. The operating system lives and works at a strategic layer in your environment, making it an ideal location to introduce new capabilities for security and control.  Windows Server 2016 gives you new capabilities to prevent attacks and detect suspicious activity with features to control privileged access, protect virtual machines and harden the platform against emerging threats. Windows Server 2016 brings new capabilities through Shielded VMs, Credential Guard, Code Integrity, Distributed Firewall, Host Guardian Service, and in-box Windows Defender anti-malware. 

    Efficiency

    Windows Server 2016 delivers capabilities to help you create a more flexible and cost-efficient datacenter using software-defined compute, storage, and network. Reduce your datacenter footprint, increase availability, and reduce resource usage with “just enough OS” using the Nano Server deployment option, with an image that is 25x smaller than Windows Server 2016 with the full desktop experience. 

    Reliability

    Microsoft offers an industry leading portfolio for building on-premise cloud infrastructure. Windows Server 2016 supports hyper-converged infrastructure with Storage Spaces Direct. This solution is fault-tolerant to disk, enclosure and node failures. It scales pools to a large number of drives with simple and fine grained expansion available. The storage area is no longer necessary with a software service acting as a storage controller. 

    Storage Spaces Direct (S2D) enables service providers and enterprises to use industry standard servers with local storage to build highly available and scalable software defined storage. Using servers with local storage decreases complexity, increases scalability, and enables use of storage devices that were not previously possible, such as SATA solid state disks for lower cost flash storage, or NVMe solid state disks for better performance. Storage Spaces Direct removes the need for a shared SAS fabric, simplifying deployment and configuration. Instead it uses the network as a storage fabric, leveraging our investments in SMB3 and SMB Direct (RDMA) for high speed and low latency storage. To scale out, simply add more servers to increase storage capacity and IO performance. Storage Spaces Direct supports both converged and hyper-converged deployment modes enabling customer choice. 

    Windows Server 2016 Downgrade Kit Offerings

    If you're not ready to run the latest operating system from Microsoft, Lenovo offers downgrade kits from Windows Server 2016 to Windows Server 2012 R2. This allows you future access to the latest software features of Windows Server 2016, while letting you run your familiar Windows Server 2012 R2. The Windows Server 2016 downgrade kits include both Media and Activation Keys. When downgrading from Windows Server 2016 to Windows Server 2012 R2, the licensing rights of the Windows Server 2016 product are maintained.

    Editions Description Licensing Model CAL Requirements
    Windows Server 2016 Datacenter For highly virtualized datacenter and cloud environements Core Based
    		 WS CAL
    Windows Server 2016 Standard For physical or minimally virtualized environements Core Based
    		 WS CAL
    Windows Server 2016 Essentials For small businesses with up to 25 usres and 50 devices Processor Based
    		 No CAL required
    Windows Server 2016 Multipoint Premium Server For Volume Licensing customers in Academic segments only Processor Based
    		 WS CAL + RDS CAL
    Windows Storage Server 2016 Standard and Workgroup editions available in the OEM channel only Processor Based
    		 No CAL required
    Windows Hyper-V Server 2016 Free hypervisor download NA
    		 NA

    Feature Datacenter Edition Standard Edition
    Core Functionality of Windows Server ✔ ✔
    OSEs / Hyper-V Containers Unlimited
    		 2
    Windows Server Containers Unlimited
    		 Unlimited
    Host Guardian Service ✔ ✔
    Nano Server* ✔ ✔
    Storage Features Including Storage Spaces Direct and Storage Replica ✔
    Shielded Virtual Machines ✔
    Network Stack ✔
  • Windows Server 2012 R2
  • Solutions

    Flexible & Resilient Solutions

    From virtual desktops to enterprise-class virtualization and cloud to data and systems management, Lenovo Server and Microsoft deliver highly flexible and resilient solutions that can help transform your IT infrastructure.

    Systems Management Solutions

    Expand Microsoft System Center capabilities for management of physical and virtual environments to reduce the time and effort required for routine system administration.

    Explore Lenovo Solutions for Microsoft System Center.

    Cloud Computing Solutions

    Transform your data center into a highly responsive and efficient IT environment.

    Explore Lenovo Cloud Solutions.

    Data Management Solutions

    Manage data reliably and economically with proven solutions optimized to deliver fast performance and high availability.

    Explore Lenovo Data Management Solutions.

    Desktop Virtualization Solutions

    Increase business flexibility and staff productivity while reducing IT complexity and simplifying security and compliance with virtual desktop solutions.

    Explore Lenovo Virtualization & Infrastructure Solutions.

    Email & Collaboration Solutions

    Achieve state-of-the-art mail and collaboration capability with the System x Solution for Microsoft Exchange Server 2013.

    Explore Lenovo mail and collaboration solutions.