Windows Server Resource Center

Run Windows Server on Raff, the right way.

Battle-tested guides, a software compatibility matrix, copy-paste PowerShell, and version comparisons. Everything you need to size, deploy and tune a Windows VPS.

72+

Expert guides & tutorials

Server versions compared

25+

PowerShell commands

Featured guides by topic

Start Where You Are

Curated reads in each area, with a link to the full catalogue.

Getting started

11 guides

Azure VM Alternative: Raff Windows VPS for Cost, Simplicity, and Fit Windows Server Standard vs Datacenter: Which Edition Should You Choose for a VPS?

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Remote Access & Licensing

6 guides

RDP Performance Tuning for Smooth Remote Desktop Multi-User RDP: 2 Admin Sessions vs RDS Session Host

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Licensing

3 guides

Windows Server Licensing on Raff: SPLA, BYOL, Evaluation, and RDS Microsoft 365 Apps with Shared Computer Activation

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Active Directory & Identity

3 guides

Active Directory Replication Topology for 2-DC Setups Active Directory Group Policy Setup from Scratch

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SQL Server & Databases

7 guides

Always On Availability Groups on Two Windows VPSes Configure TempDB for MSSQL Performance on a Windows VPS

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Web & Application Hosting

8 guides

ERP on Windows VPS: Hosting, Sizing, and Migration IIS Application Pool Tuning for Production on Windows Server

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Workloads & Use Cases

15 guides

MetaTrader VPS Setup for 24/7 EA Trading (Windows)Windows VPS for Accounting Firms: Remote Access, Apps, Files, and Backups

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Security & hardening

4 guides

Windows Server Patch Management: Production Update Strategy Configure Windows Firewall on a Windows VPS

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Storage & Backup

2 guides

Windows VPS Backup Strategy for Small Businesses Windows VPS as a Cloud File Server: What Small Businesses Should Know

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Migration

8 guides

How to Migrate Windows Server 2016 to 2025: Side-by-Side AD DS, File Shares, and SQL Guide Windows Server 2016 End of Life: Dates, Costs, and Options

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Performance & tuning

3 guides

Windows Server Performance Monitoring: CPU, RAM, Disk, and Network Windows Server Sizing by Workload: IIS, SQL Server, File Server, and Background Services

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PowerShell & automation

1 guide

25 PowerShell Commands Every Windows VPS Admin Needs

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comparisons

1 guide

Managed vs Unmanaged Windows VPS: Which Should You Choose?

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Version comparison

Which Windows Server version?

Pick the right version for stability, security, or legacy software. Dates verified against Microsoft Lifecycle.

Recommended

Feature	Windows Server 2025	Windows Server 2022	Windows Server 2019
Release & support
Released	November 2024	August 2021	November 2018
Mainstream support ends	November 13, 2029	October 13, 2026	Ended Jan 9, 2024
Extended support ends	November 14, 2034	October 14, 2031	January 9, 2029
Status	Recommended	Most popular	Legacy
Security defaults
TLS 1.3 (LDAP)
Kerberos RC4 TGT blocked
SMB authentication rate limiter
SMB over QUIC	Standard + Datacenter	Datacenter Azure Edition only
Hotpatching
Hotpatch eligibility	Azure / Azure Arc subscription	Datacenter Azure Edition Core only
Runtime defaults
.NET Framework	4.8.1	4.8	4.7.2
PowerShell	5.1	5.1	5.1
Microsoft 365 Apps support			Ended Oct 2025
Recommendation
Recommended for	New deployments in 2026, longest support runway, modern security defaults	Production workloads with certified vendor compatibility (QuickBooks, Sage, MetaQuotes)	Legacy LOB software with hard 2019 dependency only
Avoid if	Your software vendor has not certified 2025 yet	Starting fresh mid-2026 or later, short mainstream window	Starting fresh, 5-year shorter support vs 2025

Server 2025

Recommended

Server 2022

Server 2019

Release & support

Released

Server 2025November 2024

Server 2022August 2021

Server 2019November 2018

Mainstream support ends

Server 2025November 13, 2029

Server 2022October 13, 2026

Server 2019Ended Jan 9, 2024

Extended support ends

Server 2025November 14, 2034

Server 2022October 14, 2031

Server 2019January 9, 2029

Status

Server 2025Recommended

Server 2022Most popular

Server 2019Legacy

Security defaults

TLS 1.3 (LDAP)

Server 2025

Server 2022

Server 2019

Kerberos RC4 TGT blocked

Server 2025

Server 2022

Server 2019

SMB authentication rate limiter

Server 2025

Server 2022

Server 2019

SMB over QUIC

Server 2025Standard + Datacenter

Server 2022Datacenter Azure Edition only

Server 2019

Hotpatching

Hotpatch eligibility

Server 2025Azure / Azure Arc subscription

Server 2022Datacenter Azure Edition Core only

Server 2019

Runtime defaults

.NET Framework

Server 20254.8.1

Server 20224.8

Server 20194.7.2

PowerShell

Server 20255.1

Server 20225.1

Server 20195.1

Microsoft 365 Apps support

Server 2025

Server 2022

Server 2019Ended Oct 2025

Recommendation

Recommended for

Server 2025New deployments in 2026, longest support runway, modern security defaults

Server 2022Production workloads with certified vendor compatibility (QuickBooks, Sage, MetaQuotes)

Server 2019Legacy LOB software with hard 2019 dependency only

Avoid if

Server 2025Your software vendor has not certified 2025 yet

Server 2022Starting fresh mid-2026 or later, short mainstream window

Server 2019Starting fresh, 5-year shorter support vs 2025

Sources: Microsoft Lifecycle 2025 · 2022 · 2019 · full comparison article →

Software compatibility

Tested & recommended sizing

Real-world VPS specs for common business software. Filter by category, or select any row for the full sizing guide.

Copy-paste commands

The commands you reach for most on a fresh Windows Server, ready to paste into an elevated PowerShell.

diagnostics logging

Get-ComputerInfo — OS + hardware overview

Show OS name, version, build, hardware abstraction layer, total RAM, CPU count.

PS>

Get-ComputerInfo | Select-Object CsName, OsName, OsVersion, OsBuildNumber, OsHardwareAbstractionLayer, CsTotalPhysicalMemory, CsNumberOfLogicalProcessors

networking firewall

New-NetFirewallRule — add firewall rule

Add an inbound TCP allow rule. Optionally restrict by source IP.

PS>

New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName 'Custom App TCP 8080' -Direction Inbound -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 8080 -Action Allow -Profile Any

networking firewall

Test-NetConnection — test remote port

Test if a remote TCP port is reachable. PowerShell equivalent of nc -zv.

PS>Test-NetConnection -ComputerName 'google.com' -Port 443

services processes

Get-Service — list services

List Windows services with status and startup type. Filter by name pattern.

PS>Get-Service | Select-Object Name, DisplayName, Status, StartType | Format-Table -AutoSize

storage disks

Get-Volume — show volume free space

List drives with size, free space, and used percentage.

PS>

Get-Volume | Where-Object DriveLetter | Select-Object DriveLetter, FileSystemLabel, @{N='SizeGB';E={[math]::Round($_.Size/1GB,1)}}, @{N='FreeGB';E={[math]::Round($_.SizeRemaining/1GB,1)}}, @{N='UsedPct';E={[math]::Round((1-$_.SizeRemaining/$_.Size)*100,1)}}

updates patching

PSWindowsUpdate — install updates from PowerShell

Install + run Windows Updates from PowerShell using the PSWindowsUpdate module.

PS>Install-Module -Name PSWindowsUpdate -Force -Scope AllUsers; Get-WindowsUpdate -Install -AcceptAll -AutoReboot

users accounts

Add-LocalGroupMember — grant group access

Add a user to a local group like Remote Desktop Users or Administrators.

PS>Add-LocalGroupMember -Group 'Remote Desktop Users' -Member 'jane.doe'

diagnostics logging

Get-Counter — live performance counters

Sample CPU and memory counters every 2 seconds, 10 times.

PS>Get-Counter -Counter '\Processor(_Total)\% Processor Time', '\Memory\Available MBytes' -SampleInterval 2 -MaxSamples 10

diagnostics logging

Get-WinEvent — read Event Log

Read the 50 most recent System log errors using the modern event log API.

PS>

Get-WinEvent -FilterHashtable @{LogName='System'; Level=2} -MaxEvents 50 | Format-Table TimeCreated, Id, ProviderName, Message -AutoSize -Wrap

networking firewall

Get-NetFirewallRule — list firewall rules

List enabled inbound allow firewall rules with port info.

PS>

Get-NetFirewallRule -Direction Inbound -Action Allow -Enabled True | Sort-Object DisplayName | Select-Object DisplayName, Profile, @{N='Port';E={(Get-NetFirewallPortFilter -AssociatedNetFirewallRule $_).LocalPort}}

networking firewall

Get-NetIPAddress — list IP addresses

List all IPv4 addresses with interface name and prefix.

PS>

Get-NetIPAddress | Where-Object AddressFamily -eq 'IPv4' | Select-Object InterfaceAlias, IPAddress, PrefixLength, AddressState

services processes

Get-Process — list running processes

List running processes sorted by RAM usage.

PS>

Get-Process | Sort-Object WorkingSet64 -Descending | Select-Object -First 20 Name, Id, CPU, @{N='MB';E={[math]::Round($_.WorkingSet64/1MB,1)}}

See all 25 commands

RDP tuning

Make Remote Desktop feel local

A few settings turn a laggy session into a snappy one. If the server is undersized, though, tuning only hides the problem, so check CPU and RAM first.

Browse Remote Access guides

Set the right experience level

Match visual quality to bandwidth: disable the desktop background and font smoothing on slow links.

Enable UDP transport

RDP over UDP smooths high-latency connections. Confirm the firewall allows 3389/UDP.

Cap resolution & colour depth

Lower colour depth and a sensible resolution cut bandwidth dramatically for multi-monitor sessions.

Right-size before you tune

Browser-heavy or trading workloads are memory-hungry, so add RAM rather than fighting the symptoms.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Windows Server hosting on Raff.

How is Windows licensed on a Raff server?

Your Raff Windows Server runs a genuine Windows licence billed monthly through Microsoft's SPLA program, about $15/month per VM, with no upfront licence to buy, and we handle the Microsoft compliance. Prefer to use your own licence? Bring-your-own (BYOL) is supported if you have Software Assurance with License Mobility. Your server runs the same either way; only the licensing model differs.

What is the major difference between Windows Server 2022 and 2025?

Windows Server 2025 brings SMB over QUIC to the Standard edition (2022 restricted it to Azure Edition), adds Active Directory performance improvements including the optional 32k database page size, enables Credential Guard by default, and offers hotpatching as a paid subscription. Server 2022 counters with four extra years of third-party software validation.

Can I keep running Windows Server 2016 after January 2027?

Yes, it will keep working. It will not receive security updates, which makes it a growing liability for internet-facing roles, compliance audits, and cyber-insurance renewals. Air-gapped or isolated systems carry less risk but still fail supported-OS requirements.

What is the difference between end of life and end of support?

For Windows Server they are used interchangeably: both mean the end of extended support, when free security updates stop. The earlier milestone, end of mainstream support, only stops feature updates and non-security fixes.

How much does a cheap Windows VPS really cost?

A realistic floor is $20 to $30 per month with the Windows licence included. Raff's entry Windows VM is $10.99/month compute plus the $15.00/month Standard licence; a typical small-business size (2 vCPU / 4 GB) is $21.99 plus the licence.

What does a remote desktop server do?

It runs Windows desktop sessions and applications centrally, so users connect from any device and work inside the server instead of on local machines. The business gets one environment to secure, back up, and support, and the apps stay next to their data.

What is an RDP VPS?

An RDP VPS is a cloud-hosted Windows Server that you use through Remote Desktop Protocol: the server runs the Windows environment and applications, and your local device is the screen and keyboard. On Raff it is a Windows VM with full administrator RDP access.

What is a Remote Desktop Gateway?

RD Gateway is a Windows Server role that brokers encrypted Remote Desktop connections through one controlled HTTPS entry point, instead of exposing each server's RDP port directly to the internet. Users connect to the gateway, and the gateway connects them to the right desktop resource.

Browse all FAQs

Latest revisions to the docs

Authors & engineers

Written by the people who run it

Serdar Tekin

Co-Founder & CTO

Batuhan Esirger

Co-Founder

Aybars Altınyay

Platform Engineer & Technical Writer

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