Chapter 1. What's New in Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2

As explained in the introduction, Microsoft had to delay Server 2008's appearance by years because of the change in the network security environment...a change for the worse. But once delivered, Server 2008 offered some very nice upgrades, and its "surprise" little sibling, Server 2008 R2, brought even more. Now, explaining all of those features would take much more than a chapter (which is, of course, why we wrote a book!), but let's use these first few pages to give you the lay of the land. Now, we realize that some reading this book are just getting started with Microsoft networking, and so for them, everything is new, but many others of you reading this already know tons about Windows networking, and would just like a summary of what's new in Server—this chapter summarizes that and where to find it in the book.

By now, I've sat through about a zillion Microsoft presentations on Windows Server 2008 and then R2, and they all start the same way, so apparently I'm required by law (or at least by custom) to present the following as the first heading when doing a 2008/R2 overview.