In this article, I am going to give an introduction to Windows Server 8 and where to get the pre release version of it called "Windows Server 8 developer preview" including the .ISO image, but let us give some background on the Windows versioning. The naming of Windows operating system was a mess in the past. They have interchangeably used serial version numbers and the year based version number for both client and server version of their Windows operating system. Take a look at the version numbers of previous versions of Windows:

Windows 95 - client operating system
Windows NT - Server
Windows 98 - client
Windows ME - client
Windows 2000 - server
Windows XP - client
Windows 2003 - server
Windows Vista - client
Windows 2008 - server
Windows 8 - client
Windows Server 8 - server

If you look at the versions prior to Windows 8, you can get easily confused on what is a client version and what is a server version. In most cases, the server version is named after the year it was released.

The naming Windows 8 appears to be an attempt by Microsoft to get away from this confusion and give a meaningful sequence numbering to Windows versions. As part of this attempt, Microsoft has named the upcoming versions of Windows (both client and server) with a sequential number "8".

So, the next release of Windows client is named Windows 8 and the upcoming release of Windows Server is named "Windows Server 8".

NOTE: Microsoft never officially announced the names for the upcoming Windows. Instead, the industry analysts and bloggers assumed the name "Windows 8" from various hints appeared in various Microsoft and non-Microsoft websites and documents. Even when the developer preview version was announced, Microsoft stated the pre-release version of Windows is code named "Windows 8", but they did not talk anything about the official name. However, since everyone including Microsoft authorities use the name "Windows 8", it is pretty safe to assume the final release also will be called Windows 8 and Windows Server 8.

Download link for Windows Server 8 ISO image

Even though Microsoft showcased Windows Server 8 in the BUILD Windows conference, they decided not to share the developer preview installer with the public. If you are a lucky MSDN Subscriber, now you can take a peek at the Windows Server 8 developer preview edition. Many others who do not have an MSDN subscription goes to the torrents and other sites that share leaked software. Downloading from such sites are dangerous and illegal and it is not different from using pirated software.

Follow the below steps to download and install Windows 8 Server from MSDN:

1. Go to MSDN Downloads

2. Click on "Subscriber Downloads"

3. Login using your Windows Live account, which is associated with MSDN Subscription.

4. Search for "Windows Server developer preview" in the field for Product search. (If you search for 'Windows Server 8', you will not find this since in the MSDN downloads, it is not named Windows Server 8.)

You will see 2 different flavors as shown below:

Windows Server Developer Preview with Hyper-V Virtual Machine (x64) - (English)

Windows Server Developer Preview (x64) - DVD (English)

The first one is an .EXE file which you can install on your existing Windows computer. The second file is an .ISO image for Windows Server 8, which is more suitable to copy to a DVD and install on virtual machines or other computers. I suggest you download the .ISO image of Windows Server 8 and install on a virtual machine.

Product keys for Windows Server 8
Both of the editions that can be downloaded from MSDN do not require any product keys. They are developer preview editions and cannot be used for any production purposes.

You can find step by step instructions to install Windows 8 on VMWare Workstation.

What is the difference between Windows Server 8 and Windows 8

Windows 8 is the client version of Window, which means it is ideal for desktop computers, laptops, ultrabooks, netbooks and so on. The latest Windows 8 comes with a lot of "touch features", which make it an ideal candidate for Table PC devices. However, it may not be a good option for those who need Server based capabilities.

Windows Server 8 is the server version of the upcoming Windows operating system. Even though both Windows 8 and Windows Server 8 share the name, there are lot of differences in the architecture of both OS. The Windows Server 8 is coming with a lot of Server based features including native support for cloud computing, Hyper-V virtualization support, new ReFS file system and so on. I will write more details on the new features in Windows Server 8 in another article.

Did you download and install Windows Server? Share you experience here.

Download Windows Server 8 .ISO image

Download link for Windows Server 8 ISO image

What is the difference between Windows Server 8 and Windows 8

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