Windows Server 2012: Up and Running

Chapter 10. Troubleshooting, Securing, and Monitoring

Having tested Windows Server 2012 for quite some time now, I have had two things become abundantly clear to me: this is Microsoft’s most evolved server product, and it is still an ongoing project that will most likely not be fully mature until the first Service Pack. On a simple note, I had no driver issues, and not just when installing a simple USB external drive, but even when adding a high-end graphics card with only Windows 7 drivers available.

Windows Server 2012 also feels like the most streamlined Windows Server ever. Installation is quick and peppy, whether you are doing a Core or full GUI install. Performance moving between screens and apps is, to borrow a favorite phrase of Microsoft’s, “fast and fluid.”

However, there are still some issues that need to be addressed. I find some services slow to load on reboot, with some of them remaining in a suspended state until forced to start. Inexplicable errors crop up periodically in the event viewer, such as one pesky Netlogon error I kept receiving that pointed to a problem in DNS. However, there was no discernible problem with the DNS Server, and that same error would get flushed out with another reboot.

Of course, other issues will surface as more users, system administrators, and organizations deploy Server 2012. Many of these issues will surround specific hardware of certain types or unique configurations that a particular infrastructure may have. We see this all the time ...