Free Windows Server 2008 R2 Evaluation (180 days) Installation ISO and VHD for Hyper-V Official Download

Windows Server 2008 R2 is the next iteration of Windows Server operating system, which has been RTMed with build version 6.1.7600.16385 together with Windows 7. Microsoft is now officially releasing the ISO image for Windows Server 2008 R2 Trial Software, which allowing administrators and users to install Windows Server 2008 R2 to evaluate the new operating system for 180 days for free.

Windows Server 2008 R2 builds on the foundation of Windows Server 2008 to expand existing technology and add new features to enable organizations to increase the reliability and flexibility of their server infrastructures. In fact, the evaluation version of Windows Server 2008 R2 RTM has been released ahead of schedule.

Windows Server 2008 R2 Trial for evaluation is available in ISO disc image format in single consolidated file download for Windows Server 2008 R2 Web, Standard, Enterprise and Datacenter editions, available for English, German, Japanese, French, Spanish and Chinese. Another ISO is available for Windows server 2008 R2 Itanium for English, German, Japanese and French.

Note: Windows Server 2008 R2 is available in 64-bit (x86) versions ONLY.

The download of Windows Server 2008 R2 Trial ISO can be initiated from official Windows Server 2008 R2 Trial Software homepage for IT professionals and developers via TechNet or MSDN. However, registration is required for a guided experience through Microsoft CARE, in which registrants will receive periodic information on adoption, migration, and deployment to assist the evaluation experience. Remember to download the big ISO file with Download Manager to ensure 100% completion rate, and accelerate download times on slower links.

Download Windows Server 2008 R2 (Web, Standard, Enterprise and Datacenter) Evaluation ISO

Microsoft Download Center: Link 1 or Link 2 (Registration required)

Direct Download Links:

English (7600.16385.090713-1255_x64fre_server_eval_en-us-GRMSXEVAL_EN_DVD.iso)
Simplified Chinese (7600.16385.090713-1255_x64fre_server_eval_zh-cn-GRMSXEVAL_CN_DVD.iso)
French (7600.16385.090713-1255_x64fre_server_eval_fr-fr-GRMSXEVAL_FR_DVD.iso)
German (7600.16385.090713-1255_x64fre_server_eval_de-de-GRMSXEVAL_DE_DVD.iso)
Japanese (7600.16385.090713-1255_x64fre_server_eval_ja-jp-GRMSXEVAL_JA_DVD.iso)
Spanish (7600.16385.090713-1255_x64fre_server_eval_es-es-GRMSXEVAL_ES_DVD.iso)

English version checksum:
Size: 2,997,100,544 bytes
SHA1: 799BF8DA077A3E842AA97C990E468B3AA7BDA4EB
MD5: 134F607CF4C633EF11D2576D1C635D08

Download Windows Server 2008 R2 for Itanium-Based Systems Evaluation ISO

via Microsoft Download Center (Registration required)

Direct Download Links:

English: 7600.16385.090713-1255_ia64fre_serverenterpriseia64_eval_en-us-GRMSIAiEVAL_EN_DVD.iso
French: 7600.16385.090713-1255_ia64fre_serverenterpriseia64_eval_fr-fr-GRMSIAiEVAL_FR_DVD.iso
German: 7600.16385.090713-1255_ia64fre_serverenterpriseia64_eval_de-de-GRMSIAiEVAL_DE_DVD.iso
Japanese: 7600.16385.090713-1255_ia64fre_serverenterpriseia64_eval_ja-jp-GRMSIAiEVAL_JA_DVD.iso

English version checksum:
SIZE: 2,489,485,312 bytes
SHA1: BDB67D194F4742FB2BA7213F22C9DE4EEC518CEE
MD5: 232F92BCD90D6CED98D9EA4B5384054A
CRC: 4B288F08

For quick deployment of the evaluation system, Microsoft also provides free Windows Server 2008 R2 Trial Software VHD images for Hyper-V, the preinstalled operating system that can be mounted on Hyper-V for instant running. VHD is virtualization file format for Hyper-V. The VHD release is available in English only and is for evaluation and testing purposes. However, user must have a base install of Windows Server 2008 (64-bit edition) or Windows Server 2008 R2, running Hyper-V in order to load and make use of the VHD image as running virtual machine.

Both Windows Server 2008 R2 Trial Software VHD virtual machines provided by Microsoft are running Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Edition Evaluation, without any anti-virus installed. One is the default full installation, and the other has been configured as a default Core installation.

Download Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Evaluation (Full Edition) VHD

Single Image: Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Evaluation (Full Edition).exe

Multi-part Image

1. Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Evaluation (Full Edition).part01.exe
2. Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Evaluation (Full Edition).part02.rar
3. Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Evaluation (Full Edition).part03.rar
4. Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Evaluation (Full Edition).part04.rar
5. Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Evaluation (Full Edition).part05.rar

Download Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Evaluation (Server Core) VHD

Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Evaluation (Server Core).exe

Microsoft Download Center also provides instruction on how to use the Windows Server 2008 R2 VHD with Hyper-V:

1. On your computer, install Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2 and Microsoft Hyper-V.
2. Download the files required from links above
3. When you have installed Hyper-V and extracted the VHD files, copy the VHD file to a pre-selected location (recommended default location C:\Users\Public\Documents\Microsoft Hyper-V\Virtual Hard Disks)
4. Open Hyper-V Manager. Click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Hyper-V Manager.
5. From the Action pane, click New, and then click Virtual Machine.
6. From the New Virtual Machine Wizard, click Next.
7. On the Specify Name and Location page, specify what you want to name the virtual machine and where you want to store it. (you can keep this as default location for ease).
8. On the Memory page, specify enough memory to run the guest operating system you want to use on the virtual machine (Recommendation at least 2Gb).
9. On the Networking page, connect the network adapter to an existing virtual network if you want to establish network connectivity at this point.
10. On the Connect Virtual Hard Disk page, select “Use and existing virtual hard disk”, and browse to the location you copied the VHD file to in step 3 above.
11. Select finish (you can also start the VHD at this time, however we recommend you create a snapshot before you start the VHD for the first time).
12. To logon to the machine, use the following credentials: Username: administrator, password: Pass@word1 (Administrator account)

Evaluating any version of Windows Server 2008 R2 software does not require entering a product key, however will require activation within 10 days. Failing to activate the evaluation will cause the licensing service to shut the machine down every hour (The 10 day activation period can be reset five (5) times by using the rearm command, which is the same with how to rearm Windows 7). Once activated, the evaluation will run for 180 days. After this time, user will need to uninstall the software or upgrade to a fully-licensed version of Windows Server 2008 R2.

Update: Download Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP1 Integrated