Is there any Reason to Upgrade VPS to Windows Server 2016 OS?

Windows Server 2016 is Microsoft’s latest server operating system (OS). On September 24th 2016, it was released. Wide array of prominent as well as new features have been introduced here. This is the reason why you should upgrade your VPS to the latest operating system – Windows Server 2016. Now, let’s check out what are so special about Windows Server 2016?

1. Internet Information Services 10.0

When you buy Windows Server 2016, the first thing that gets shipped with it is the Internet Information Services 10.0 or IIS 10.0, in short. There are multiple other features that come with the Windows’ latest OS, which can make your website lot faster. It will ultimately have far better user experience, thereby enhancing your business prospects.

2. HTTP/2 Protocol Support

When compared with the HTTP protocol of last decade, HTTP/2 Protocol is a major update. Connection reusability is one of the best things that the new Windows OS brings with itself. The new protocol helps in improving the load time of a web page. Now, let’s have a lok at the amazing features and facilities that this protocol brings with itself –

• Multiple requests can now be handled by a single connection. In case of older and more popular HTTP protocol, a request had to wait until and unless a new connection is being established. In fact, new requests could also had to wait till the existing connection gets idle. However, when you use HTTP/2 protocol, the waiting time for the request gets reduced. This ultimately lessens the page load time and opens a web page hosting faster.

• Data compression is a normal thing in case of older HTTP protocol. However, the header is not sent in a compressed manner. This is the reason why redundancy can be seen between requests. That’s why the browser is required to send smaller packets that will include headers. With the use of the newer HTTP/2 protocol, reduced redundancy between requests can be witnessed. This ensures that the first connection remains faster. This is yet another reason why you should upgrade to HTTP/2 protocol or upgrade to Windows Server 2016 OS.

• One important feature that you can get with the new and improved OS from Microsoft is the concept of PUSH. Let’s suppose that there are over hundred requests. In case, you browse some web page, you will get just a few (say, twenty) requests. When PUSH is available, all cache (which can be one hundred cache) can be stored because it is supposed that all cache will be requested. Therefore, latency benefits can be enjoyed by the users. With the stored cache, the owner can also reuse them on other web pages.

3. IIS 10.0 On Nano Server

When you buy Windows Server 2017, there will be the optional instalment requirement of the lightweight Nano Server. This also means that only a very small space is required by the hardware resources.

IIS 10.0 On Nano Server supports multiple technologies, thereby making it easier for users to work. Some of the workload supports available include PHP, Apache Tomcat, and ASP.NET Core.

4. Supports Wildcard Host Headers

Internet Information Services 10.0 now supports Wildcard Host Headers, which allows the former in supporting and serving a single site’s subdomain requests. An example will make it easier to understand.

Suppose, there is a website called XYZ.com. Now, let us assume that there are three subdomains of that site. The subdomains can be subdomain1.xyz.com, subdomain2.xyz.com, and subdomain3.xyz.com. Once Wildcard Host Header is supported by IIS 10.0, all these subdomains will be valid hosts for xyz.com.

While you are setting up the site in Internet Information Services manager, you can add the wildcard host header of *.xyz.com.

5. Windows Defender

By upgrading your VPS to Windows Server 2016, you will now get Windows Defender, which is a built-in anti-malware application. This application helps your system by protecting the same from all kinds of known malwares. It is also being kept updated through Windows.

One of the important aspects to note here is that the Windows Defender in Windows Server 2016 runs without any Graphical User Interface or GUI. This is a very essential trait because it comes with many benefits. Without the GUI, there is no excess consumption of server resources, which can be utilised elsewhere. Without any GUI, the chances of security vulnerabilities also decrease.

In case, a user needs Graphical User Interface, it can be installed in an easier manner through the use of Windows powershell by issuing some commands. However, for doing that the user must be the Administrator User.

What are the New features of Windows Server 2016’s Web Application Proxy?

There are many new features including HTTP Publishing, pre-authentication for HTTP Basic Application Publishing, HTTP to HTTPS Redirection, and other features that include RDP gateway apps publication, improved error handling facility, improved service log, and many more.

These are the reasons why you should upgrade your VPS to Windows Server 2016 OS.