How to install Windows Server 2022

In Windows Server 2022, Microsoft in­tro­duced numerous practical in­nov­a­tions for remote functions, Azure hybrid in­teg­ra­tion, and server pro­tec­tion. Assuming you meet the hardware re­quire­ments, in­stalling Windows Server 2022 is really straight­for­ward.

What is Windows Server 2022?

Windows Server 2022 is the successor to Windows Server 2019. It includes new features for Microsoft’s server operating system. In addition to known Standard and Data­cen­ter editions, there is a new Data­cen­ter Azure Edition for Azure Hybrid In­teg­ra­tion.

Windows Server 2022 offers a wide range of features for shared, cross-device use of ap­plic­a­tions and services with multiple users via dedicated servers. One of the most important functions of the operating system includes the use and man­age­ment of data stores, networks and ap­plic­a­tions via ad­min­is­trat­ive remote services.

The most important com­pon­ents of Windows Server 2022 are:

• Active Directory for automated man­age­ment of user data, security functions, and resource dis­tri­bu­tion.
• Server Manager as a console for managing server roles and for pro­vi­sion­ing and con­fig­ur­ing local machines
• Remote access for remote access to linked local machines
• RSAT Tools as a free suite for in­stalling, running and modifying tools and ap­plic­a­tions, as well as role man­age­ment, upgrades and more

Re­quire­ments to install Windows Server 2022

To ensure the proper util­isa­tion of Windows Server 2022, specific minimum re­quire­ments need to be con­sidered. Microsoft em­phas­ises that due to the diverse range of de­ploy­ment options available, it’s chal­len­ging to provide a one-size-fits-all statement regarding hardware re­quire­ments. However, the following in­form­a­tion is based on the official re­com­mend­a­tions for Windows Server 2022, which generally apply to the Standard, Data­cen­ter, and Azure editions.

Processor

• 1.4 GHz (64-bit) processor per­form­ance
• Com­pat­ib­il­ity with x64 in­struc­tion set

RAM

For servers equipped with a graphical user interface, Microsoft re­com­mends a minimum of 2 GB RAM. It’s also advisable to utilise RAM with ECC (Error Cor­rect­ing Code) func­tion­al­ity. This has an ad­di­tion­al chip that can detect and rectify errors in real-time, mit­ig­at­ing the risk of data loss or system crashes.

Hard disk space

Microsoft re­com­mends 32 GB of free disk space as an absolute minimum.

Network and storage con­trol­ler

To guarantee optimal trans­mis­sion per­form­ance with Windows Server 2022, network cards should have at least the following features:

• Ethernet adapter with at least 1 GB per second through­put per­form­ance
• Memory adapter compliant with Express Ar­chi­tec­ture spe­cific­a­tion PCI

If per­sist­ent storage devices are used as hard disk drives on servers, they must not be PATA drives.

Other re­quire­ments

The following re­com­mend­a­tions and re­quire­ments also apply:

• USB port for in­stalling the system via USB stick
• DVD drive for in­stalling the system via DVD
• TPM 2.0 is re­com­men­ded, but not necessary

How to install Windows Server 2022

If you’re in­stalling Windows Server 2022 from a USB stick, proceed as follows:

Step 1: Create a backup of your system or important data on an external hard drive, in the cloud, or on another in­de­pend­ent storage medium.

Step 2: Download the ISO file of Windows Server 2022 from the Microsoft Eval­u­ation Center and transfer it to the connected USB stick.

Step 3: Reboot and press the BIOS key during the boot process (varies depending on the computer and system). Al­tern­at­ively, as of Windows 8, you can use the Boot Options menu to launch the BIOS. You can find it via the system settings under ‘Recovery’ or in Windows 10 under ‘Update & Security’ and in Windows 11 in ‘System’.

Step 4: In the BIOS menu, set the boot order so that the system boots from the USB stick first. Save the changes before closing the BIOS menu.

Step 5: Your system will now boot from the USB and run the Windows Server 2022 ISO. Select your desired language and go to ‘Next’.

Step 6: Start the in­stall­a­tion by clicking on ‘Install Now’. Then select the desired operating system or edition. Note, if you’re upgrading from Windows Server 2019 to 2022, the same edition is required if you don’t want to purchase a new license key.

Step 7: Accept the license agreement, click ‘Next’ and decide on an in­stall­a­tion type. For a new in­stall­a­tion, select ‘Custom: Install Windows Server Operating System Only (Advanced)’. For an upgrade, select ‘Upgrade: Install Windows Server Operating System and Keep Files, Settings, and Ap­plic­a­tions’.

Step 8: Specify the hard disk where you want to install Windows Server 2022 and confirm your selection with ‘Next’. Windows will start in­stalling auto­mat­ic­ally. As soon as the in­stall­a­tion process ends, press ’Restart now ‘ to restart your system and complete the in­stall­a­tion. Once you restart, Windows Server 2022 will be available.