Windows Server® 2008 Datacenter is optimized for large-scale virtualization on small to large server systems and for workloads that require the highest levels of scalability, reliability, and availability to support large, mission-critical applications.

With unlimited virtualization use rights and a hypervisor-based virtualization technology, Windows Server 2008 Datacenter provides the flexibility and cost savings to easily run large numbers of virtualized Windows Server® instances.

Windows Server 2008 Datacenter supports the memory and processing needs of large-scale, business-critical workloads such as ERP, databases, server consolidations, and custom and line-of-business applications.

Large-Scale Virtualization
Server virtualization technology lets you optimize system utilization and resources and realize significant infrastructure and management cost savings. Windows Server 2008 Datacenter provides an ideal platform for enterprise-scale virtualization.

Windows Server 2008 Datacenter features Hyper-V™, a flexible high-performance hypervisor-based virtualization technology.

In addition, Windows Server 2008 Datacenter licenses include unlimited virtualization rights, meaning that you have rights to run an unlimited number of Windows Server instances on servers licensed with Windows Server 2008 Datacenter. This gives you the benefits of virtualization while helping to reduce license management headaches and costs, thus helping you:

- Logically consolidate servers and streamline management.
- Reduce the cost associated with power, cooling, and data center space.
- Increase the availability of your systems. (The quick migration feature enables you to easily move running virtual machines between their physical hosts.)
- Reduce server sprawl by using multiple virtual machines hosted on a physical server.

Increased Scalability
As organizations rapidly grow and change, IT infrastructures must remain flexible and scalable to help support, manage, and secure expanded functionality, an influx of additional users and locations, and increasingly robust applications.
Windows Server 2008 Datacenter easily scales to adapt to the increased needs of data warehousing and transaction processing. This scalability also allows for improved resource planning. Windows Server 2008 Datacenter provides:

- Support for up to 64 processors and 2 terabytes of RAM.
- Support for a virtually unlimited number of virtual private network (VPN) connections.
- Authentication and authorization for a virtually unlimited number of network access service and network policy server connections.

High Availability
Succeeding in the global marketplace requires that remote employees and international customers and partners have around-the-clock access to information. A disruption in services can result in diminished productivity and lost opportunities.
Windows Server 2008 Datacenter offers features that enhance the availability of your applications and services, including failover clustering, dynamic hardware partitioning, and the Windows Server 2008 High Availability Program.

Failover Clustering
Windows Server 2008 Datacenter provides robust, rapid failover clustering that is easy to manage and automatically takes action in the event of a failed node, maintaining service so that users experience minimal disruption. Failover clustering in Windows Server 2008 Datacenter supports up to 16 nodes and provides:

- Dynamic failover for both planned and unplanned server downtime.
- Scalability by adding nodes as your needs increase.
- Geographically dispersed clustering.

High availability is also about avoiding downtime before it occurs. The risk of downtime due to driver issues has been decreased in Windows Server 2008 Datacenter, because nonessential functions have been removed by default. The result is a singularly productive operating system, optimized for running the most demanding data center workloads.