Server Management Consulting and Support

Microsoft Windows Server 2019 is the perpetual-license release of Microsoft's flagship server operating system. Windows Server 2019 incorporates the updates to Windows Server 2016 previously offered exclusively via the Semi-Annual Channel. Windows Server 2019 offers important enhancements in capacity, throughput, manageability, cybersecurity, app compatibility, Linux co-existence, Kubernetes networking, and hybrid integration of on-premises and cloud resources.

Headline enhancements of Windows Server 2019 are Windows Admin Center for centralizing the management of hybrid on-premises/cloud-hosted deployments, System Insights for taking advantage of modern predictive analytics to control on-premises networks, Windows Defender ATP (Advanced Threat Protection) Exploit Guard for host-intrusion prevention, container orchestration with Kubernetes, Cluster Sets technology for creating and managing large non-stop scale-out clusters, and Storage Migration Service for simplifying the upgrade process from outdated versions of Windows Server.

Progent can help your organization to integrate Microsoft Windows Server 2019 with the latest versions of Microsoft's key applications by providing expert services that include Exchange Server consulting, SQL Server 2019 integration consulting, SQL Server 2017 migration services, Microsoft SharePoint 2019 planning and integration, and Microsoft 365 integration consulting. Progent's solution design, troubleshooting and education support for Windows Server 2019 are available remotely and Progent also provides on-premises services in metropolitan areas throughout the United States and Canada.

Hybrid Cloud Integration with Microsoft Windows Server 2019
Microsoft Windows Server 2019 makes the Azure stack available to businesses of any size for creating onsite data centers, private clouds, or hybrid systems that combine on-prem IT assets with infrastructure and services hosted on the cloud.

Most of modern companies deploy a combination of local and cloud-hosted IT assets to deliver the appropriate balance of control, affordability, performance, availability, and security they require. In some fields, regulatory compliance require that specific types of network resources and information be managed internally. In other instances, corporate standards or legacy applications require mission-critical software to be hosted from a local data center. Windows Server 2019 offers a cloud-aware solution that permits you to implement and administer powerful hybrid ecosystems that seamlessly utilize resources distributed across local data centers and the cloud.

Planning, creating and administering efficient hybrid environments with Microsoft Windows Server 2019 demands a wide array of skills. This can be beyond the comfort zone of typical in-house IT staffs maintained by smaller organizations. Progent's team of subject-matter experts (SMEs) offers on-demand access to the skills you need for any facet of hybrid network deployment and maintenance. Progent's Microsoft-certified and Cisco-certified consultants, project managers, and cybersecurity professionals can help your business to assess the advantages of Windows Server 2019 for your company and build a hybrid ecosystem based on Windows Server 2019 that delivers maximum return on investment.

A Good Time to Migrate
The introduction of Microsoft Windows Server 2019 was accompanied by the notification of End-of-Support (EOS) status for Microsoft's widely used Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2 platforms. The result is that there will be no additional security fixes on-premises, no other updates, no free support options, and no online technical content updates. Consequently, security issues will be increasingly challenging, management costs and effort may go up, and network stability may drop.

If your company wants guidance moving up to Microsoft Windows Server 2019 from Windows Server 2008 or another out-of-date release of Windows Server, Progent can provide the skills to make your migration efficient, affordable, and fast. Progent's Windows experts can help you:

• Identify and inventory your apps and server roles running on your existing servers
• Migrate your virtual machines to the Private Progent Cloud or upgrade to the latest version of self-hosted Windows Server or to Microsoft Azure
• Optimize your configuration to reduce costs, manage assets, and strengthen security and compliance across hybrid applications

Microsoft Windows Server 2019 has two installation alternatives: Server Core and Server with Desktop Experience. The Server Core option has a minimal footprint and no local interface but handles all role-based workloads. This "headless" mode is designed to be managed remotely, for example via Power Shell or Remote Server Administration Tools. Server with Desktop Experience alternative is a full installation and includes a rich graphical user interface for local management. Progent's consultants can help your organization to select the versions and installation options most appropriate for your situation, understand Microsoft's licensing rules, and pick an optimal onsite, cloud-based, or hybrid deployment architecture.

Top New Features of Windows Server 2019
Windows Server 2019 features improved expandability, performance, manageability, virtualization, data security, hybrid deployment support, availability, orchestration, Linux support, and other major enhancements. Versions of Windows Server 2019 licensed under Microsoft's SAC release model are updated two times annually, making enhancements available more quickly than under Microsoft's Long-Term Servicing Channel program.

Microsoft Windows Server 2019 offers substantial improvements in scale vs. Microsoft Windows Server 2016:

Additional headline improvements in Windows Server 2019 include:

• Cluster Sets is a technology that allows dramatic expansion in cluster node count in a Software Defined Data Center (SDDC) by grouping multiple smaller Failover Clusters into one large, centrally controlled interconnected topology. Network managers can seamlessly move virtual machines throughout the Cluster Set fabric and control every facet of a Failover Cluster from initial deployment to decommissioning. Clusters joined within a Cluster Set can take advantage of added disk storage and memory in another cluster without requiring you to buy more equipment. Compute and storage resources do not have to be identical, and resiliency matches or exceeds ordinary Failover Clusters.
  
  Prior to Microsoft Windows Server 2019, multiple Hyper-V clusters for virtual machines were difficult to manage and scale
  
  Windows Server 2019 features Cluster Sets for centralized control of failover clusters

• Storage Replica has been included in the Standard version of Windows Server 2019. Storage Replica offers advanced disaster recovery capability and is described in Windows Server 2016 Storage Replica configuration. Novel features of Storage Replica are a test failover option that enables managers to put a destination volume online temporally for verification and backup. Also, you can now control Storage Replica with Microsoft Windows Admin Center, which provides a GUI tool for managing operations like server-to-server and cluster-to-cluster replication.
• Storage Spaces Direct improvements include duplicate elimination and compression for ReFS volumes, integrated support for persistent memory (PMem), support for using a consumer flash drive to act as a witness with dual-server clusters, greater expandability (as high as 4 PB per cluster), double the throughput for mirror-accelerated parity volumes and storage tiers, outlier detection for disk latency, and the ability to increase availability by manually delimiting volume allocation. Windows Server's Storage Spaces Direct features are described in Microsoft Windows Storage Spaces Direct consultants.
• Storage Migration Service streamlines the process of migrating the volume data from legacy servers to current releases of Windows Server. You can utilize Storage Migration Service to migrate to current physical devices or to virtual machines. The tool automatically inventories multiple servers and their data; relocates files, shares, and policy settings to their intended hosts; and allows new hosts to take over the identity of your source servers so users and applications can have access to existing data without changing anything. Windows Admin Center's graphical interface can manage many simultaneous migration processes.
• Broader Linux support enables you to run Ubuntu, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server on shielded virtual machines. Microsoft's Shielded Virtual Machines technology is described in Microsoft Windows Server 2016 Shielded VMs consulting.
• Windows Admin Center is a new browser-based application installed locally for managing servers, clusters, hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) running Storage Spaces Direct, Windows 10 devices, and Azure-based virtual machines. Windows Admin Center can be utilized to manage Windows Server 2012 and later. Windows Admin Center is an "in-box" utility and so can be utilized to manage servers on private networks disconnected from the public Internet. By posting the Windows Admin Center gateway server to the public Internet, you can administer your servers securely from any location.
  
  
  Microsoft Windows Admin Center enables you to manage on-premises and Azure-hosted VMs from a centralized console

• Container networking with Kubernetes, the popular management system for Docker containers, offers improved capability such as the ability to use embedded security tooling to guard Windows and Linux services. For a discussion of containers on Windows Server, visit Windows Server containers expertise.
• Deduplication and Data Compression for ReFS Volumes allows 10 times more data on a specified ReFS volume. Microsoft's ReFS file system, first released in Windows Server 2012, combines RAM-level high-performance tiers for hot data along with HDD/SDD high-capacity tiers to provide volume and fault tolerance.
• Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection is included with Microsoft Windows Server 2019 as a built-in capability that needs no special license and no agent installation.
• Encrypted Networks is a function that encrypts data traveling between VMs communicating inside subnets designated as Encryption Enabled. Datagram Transport Layer Security (DTLS) on the virtual subnet blocks anyone accessing the physical network from looking at, altering, or spoofing network data. Traffic between encrypted subnets is not encrypted.
• A USB Flash Drive connected to your router can be assigned as a witness in two-server clusters under Storage Spaces Direct. Using this affordable, no-hassle solution, if a server fails and then returns to operation, the USB drive cluster can say which server has the fresher data.
  
  
  Windows Server 2019 permits a USB Flash drive to server as a witness in two-server clusters

• LEDBAT automatically avoids network congestion by taking up bandwidth only when the network is being sparingly utilized. This enables an organization to send large, important updates throughout an enterprise network without impacting the performance of business-critical services.
• System Insights uses advanced analytics and machine learning to inform capacity planning. System Insights operates locally on each Windows Server 2019 instance and looks at performance counters and system events to predict capacity needs in important areas including usage for volumes, storage capacity, processing, and networking.
• Windows Time Service works with the new time synchronization method known as Precision Time Protocol (PTP) and provides accurate time during a leap second. Microsoft Windows Server 2019 also offers software time-stamping and clock source stability. These features deliver greater accuracy and precision, allow compliance with UTC and other standards like as Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and meet the requirements of various time-critical applications. Because network configuration is challenging to support the PTP protocol, the older Network Time Protocol remains the default time synchronization technique for Microsoft Windows Server 2019.

Progent's cybersecurity experts can assist your company to follow leading practices to create an up-to-date information security solution that is consistent across local and cloud-based resources and mobile end points. Progent can help your company to configure centralized and proactive security monitoring and management using an effective mix of security solutions from Microsoft as well as third-party providers. Progent also offers security assessments to confirm that your network meets government and industry data security mandates like SOX, ISO 27001, and PCI DSS 3.2.

Progent's team of Cisco-certified CCIE infrastructure experts is one of the biggest of any independent IT services company in the U.S. Progent can help your business to plan, deploy and maintain a resilient and affordable hybrid network architecture that incorporates the modern HA and disaster recovery technologies built into Microsoft Windows Server 2019. Progent's disaster recovery and business continuity (DR/BC) planning experts can assist your organization create and test a comprehensive solution for rebounding rapidly from any foreseen catastrophe.

To help your organization to support your Microsoft Windows Server 2019 and Windows Hyper-V environment, Progent offers a range of services like Windows Admin Center consulting, PowerShell programming, System Center Virtual Machine Manager hybrid on-prem/cloud management expertise, and System Center Operations Manager (SCOM) experts. Progent also offers the ProSight family of remote monitoring and management (RMM) outsourcing packages that provide small and middle-size businesses (SMBs) an affordable and effective solution for server and endpoint management.

Download the Datasheet for Progent's Windows Server 2019 Consulting Expertise
To download the datasheet about Progent's consulting services for Windows Server 2019, select:
Progent's consulting services for Windows Server 2019. (PDF - 319 KB)

Progent's Remote Consulting Support and Troubleshooting Services
Progent has 20 years of experience providing rapid, high-level online IT consulting and troubleshooting expertise and has provided online support to businesses in every state in the US and throughout Canada. (View Progent's Client Testimonials.) Progent also provides on-premises support in most U.S. metropolitan areas. Progent offers as-needed expertise to help you to resolve challenging technical problems or comprehensive project management outsourcing help.

If you are in need of urgent remote technical support from a Microsoft-certified consultant, refer to Progent's Online Technical Support.

Contact Progent for Help with Microsoft Windows Server 2019
To find out more about Progent's consulting support and troubleshooting services for Windows Server 2019, phone 1-800-993-9400 or visit Contact Progent.