Google Cloud Now Supports Windows Server

Google has extended its cloud support for Windows OS, announcing that Windows Server support on the company’s Compute Engine is now in general availability.

This means that users who want to run Windows Server 2012 R2 and Windows Server 2008 R2 are now protected by Google’s Compute Engine SLA if running on Google’s Cloud Engine.

“We have made several Windows-specific improvements to the Compute Engine virtualisation stack in order to bring the full benefits of Google network to Windows Server users,” wrote Alex Gaysinsky, cloud product manager, on the Google Cloud blog.

Compute Engine SLA

“With its graduation to General Availability, Windows Server instances are now covered by the Compute Engine SLA. Windows Server users can now easily deploy a server running Active Directory or ASP.NET using the Cloud Launcher, and can securely extend their existing infrastructure into Cloud Platform using VPN.”

Customers who buy Cloud Platform support packages will also get the benefit of architectural and operational support for their Windows Server deployments on Google.

The cloud power play, much like Microsoft’s Fanatical Support deal with Rackspace earlier this week, highlights Google’s attempts to compete with rival clouds Azure and AWS. Showing support for Windows Server will likely win over much needed enterprise customers for Google Cloud.

“We are also working closely with Microsoft to bring the upcoming Windows Server 2016 and Nano Server to Google Compute Engine,” wrote Gaysinsky.

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