Google Cloud Platform warms up more to Microsoft Windows Server
Google Cloud Platform is pushing support for Microsoft Windows Server into full general availability.
Windows Server 2012 R2 and Windows Server 2008 R2 are joining a small and steadily growing list of operating systems supported on Compute Engine, including SUSE, Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Ubuntu.
With general availability now in place, Windows Server users are promised to be able to deploy servers running Active Directory or ASP.NET, Microsoft's server-side Web-development framework, using the Cloud Launcher and extend existing infrastructures into Google Cloud Platform via VPN.
Alex Gaysinsky, a product manager for Google Cloud Platform, explained in a blog post on Tuesday that such updates will reduce "the number of Windows Server instances required to serve web based applications and helps our customers more effectively contain their infrastructure and operational costs."
Google Cloud customers can also opt for operational support for Windows Server deployments on Compute Engine.
Google also piped up about Windows Server 2003 reaching end of life with tips for using Compute Engine for targeting and migrating applications.
There is also a special trial period available to new customers seeking help for migrations from Windows Server environments to Google Cloud Platform.
Aside from a deep dive into all the different migration options, Miles Ward and Evan Brown, global head of solutions and a solutions architect at Google Cloud Platform respectively, quipped in a blog post that "if you're running software circa 2003, it's probably worth taking a close look at exactly what's available today."