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System Requirements for Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials

 

Updated: November 1, 2013

Applies To: Windows Server 2012 Essentials, Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials

This topic applies to a server running Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials, or to a server running Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard or Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter with the Windows Server Essentials Experience role installed.

Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials server software is a 64-bit only operating system. Table 1 defines the recommended minimum hardware requirements for Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials. Table 2 defines additional hardware and software requirements for the server.

Note

Are you looking for system requirements for Windows Server 2012 R2? If so, go to System Requirements and Installation Information for Windows Server 2012 R2 in the Windows Server TechNet Library.

Table 1. System requirements for Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials

Component Minimum Recommended* Maximum
CPU socket 1.4 GHz (64-bit processor) or faster for single core

1.3 GHz (64-bit processor) or faster for multi-core
3.1 GHz (64-bit processor) or faster multi-core 2 sockets
Memory (RAM) 2 GB

4 GB if you deploy Windows Server Essentials as a virtual machine
16 GB 64 GB
Hard disks and available storage space 160-GB hard disk with a 60-GB system partition No limit

*The recommended hardware requirements support maximum user and device limits.

Table 2. Additional hardware and software requirements for Windows Server 2012 Essentials

Component Description
Network adapter Gigabit Ethernet adapter (10/100/1000baseT PHY/MAC)
Internet Some functionality may require Internet access (fees may apply) or a Microsoft account
Supported Client operating systems Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7, Macintosh OS X versions 10.5 to 10.8.

 Note: Some features require professional or higher editions.

1 GB of available hard drive space (a portion of this disk will be freed after installation)
Router A router or firewall that supports IPv4 NAT or IPv6
Additional requirements DVD-ROM drive

Actual requirements will vary based on your system configuration and the applications and features you choose to install. Processor performance depends not only on the clock frequency of the processor, but also on the number of cores and the size of the processor cache. Storage space requirements for the system partition are approximate. Additional available storage space may be required if you are installing over a network.

For more information about the hardware requirements, see the Windows Server Catalog.

All server hardware should meet the requirements established for the Windows Server 2012 R2 Logo Program for Systems. For more information, see Windows Logo Program.

See also