Many Google Cloud Platform customers deploy and operate diverse sets of technologies in mixed Linux and Windows environments to serve the needs of their users. Making sure Google Cloud Platform is the best place to run your workloads is our top priority, so we’re happy that today Windows Server on Google Compute Engine graduates to General Availability, joining the growing list of OSes we support. We’re also introducing several enhancements for Windows Server users.





Compute Engine offers Windows Server 2012 R2 and Windows Server 2008 R2 customers benefits of rapid deployments, increased uptime due to transparent maintenance , cheap and predictable block storage , and best in class Google Cloud Storage Nearline backup . Sharepoint, SQL and Exchange Server, and other Microsoft applications are also available to Compute Engine customers via the Microsoft License Mobility program.





Since the Windows Server on Compute Engine beta announcement , we have made several Windows-specific improvements to the Compute Engine virtualization stack in order to bring the full benefits of Google network to Windows Server users. With multi queue (MQ) and generic receive offload (GRO) support, Windows Server running on Compute Engine can reach up to 7.5Gbps of throughput. This reduces the number of Windows Server instances required to serve web based applications and helps our customers more effectively contain their infrastructure and operational costs.





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 Google Cloud Platform using VPN .





Finally, customers who purchase Google Cloud Platform support packages can get architectural and operational support for their Windows Server deployments on Compute Engine.





Several Windows ISVs are already using Google Compute Engine to deliver business critical applications around the globe:





“ Act! Premium Cloud is our fastest growing offering running on Google Cloud Platform. We feel very confident in scaling and globalizing this service thanks to the Google Cloud Platform's tools, global presence, cutting edge big data services, and performance of the Windows offering on Compute Engine. ”

- Allen Duet, CTO, SwiftPage





“ nGenx has been very pleased not only with the performance of the Google Compute Engine Windows offering but also with the support we've received in the rare occurrences there have been questions. The ability to turn up systems in under one or two minutes is amazing and keeps our team working instead of waiting on systems. This power also improves our end customers' overall user-experience. With other platforms, we were used to waiting 45 minutes to an hour to accomplish the same tasks .”





“The IndependenceIT team has found Google Compute Engine to be a robust cloud platform capable of scaling to address the needs of workspace enabled applications. As our engineering team worked closely with Google Compute Engine during the beta phase of Windows support, we were pleased by the depth of functionality available from the platform, the rapid deployment of virtual machines, and the high end workspace performance delivered directly to the end user. While Cloud Workspace Suite has been the test platform for scaling on Google Compute Engine, the solution’s general availability allows our partners to build a global workspace, application or DaaS business on the Google Cloud Platform."

- Seth Bostock, CEO, IndependenceIT





We are also working closely with Microsoft to bring the upcoming Windows Server 2016 and Nano Server to Google Compute Engine. To get started with Windows Server, visit Google Cloud Launcher and check out the documentation . We welcome feedback, you can connect with us via regular channels .





- Posted by Alex Gaysinsky, Product Manager