Windows 10 Pro for Workstations: New High-End Edition for Power Users

Good news for power users! After announcing Windows 10 S edition, Microsoft has announced yet another edition for Windows 10 which will be known as “Windows 10 Pro for Workstations“. This new Windows 10 edition has been introduced specially for advanced Windows users who want to increase the performance and reliability of their high-end PCs.

Windows 10 Pro for Workstations edition is based on Windows 10 Pro which will come with unique support for server grade PC hardware. According to Microsoft, the decision to launch this new Windows 10 edition has been take after getting feedback through the Windows Insider Program.

Windows 10 Pro for Workstations has been designed to meet the needs of advanced computer users deploying their Workstation PCs in demanding and mission-critical scenarios. This new Windows 10 edition will enable Windows users to maximize every aspect of their high-performance device. It introduces new features to leverage the power of high-end PC hardware.

Following are some key features of this new Windows 10 edition:

ReFS (Resilient File System): ReFS provides cloud-grade resiliency for data on fault-tolerant storage spaces and manages very large volumes with ease. ReFS is designed to be resilient to data corruption, optimized for handling large data volumes, auto-correcting and more. It protects users data with integrity streams on mirrored storage spaces. Using its integrity streams, ReFS detects when data becomes corrupt on one of the mirrored drives and uses a healthy copy of the data on the other drive to correct and protect users precious data.
Persistent Memory: Windows 10 Pro for Workstations provides the most demanding apps and data with the performance they require with non-volatile memory modules (NVDIMM-N) hardware. NVDIMM-N enables users to read and write their files with the fastest speed possible, the speed of the computer’s main memory. Because NVDIMM-N is non-volatile memory, users files will still be there, even when they switch their workstation off.
Faster File Sharing: Windows 10 Pro for Workstations includes a feature called SMB Direct, which supports the use of network adapters that have Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) capability. Network adapters that have RDMA can function at full speed with very low latency, while using very little CPU. For applications that access large datasets on remote SMB file shares, this feature enables:
Increased throughput: Leverages the full throughput of high speed networks where the network adapters coordinate the transfer of large amounts of data at line speed.
Low latency: Provides extremely fast responses to network requests, and, as a result, makes remote file storage feel as if it is directly attached storage.
Low CPU utilization: Uses fewer CPU cycles when transferring data over the network, which leaves more power available to other applications running on the system.

Expanded Hardware Support: One of the top complaints reported by Windows users is the limits on taking advantage of the raw power of their machine. Hence, Microsoft is expanding hardware support in Windows 10 Pro for Workstations. Users will now be able to run Windows 10 Pro for Workstations on devices with high performance configurations including server grade Intel Xeon or AMD Opteron processors, with up to 4 CPUs (today limited to 2 CPUs) and add massive memory up to 6TB (today limited to 2TB).

The architectural changes in the Windows kernel of “Windows 10 Pro for Workstations” take full advantage of high-end processors families, such as Intel Xeon or AMD Opteron, that package a high number of cores in single or multi-processor configurations.

Windows 10 Pro for Workstations will be delivered as part of Windows 10 Fall Creators Update (Redstone 3) which will be released in September 2017.

Microsoft Announces Windows 10 Fall Creators Update Coming in September 2017

Microsoft has removed and deprecated some features in Windows 10 Fall Creators Update. You can learn more about these features in following topic:

List of Deprecated and Removed Features in Windows 10 Fall Creators Update

Also check out following exclusive topic to learn about all new features and changes introduced in Windows 10 Fall Creators Update:

Windows 10 Fall Creators Update (Redstone 3) Builds Changelog

A little late to the party here but I just purchased the workstation upgrade for Windows 10 pro. I wasn’t able to transfer my license from my free update from several years ago to my new Ryzen hardware. I didn’t know I would need to unlink my account from the old hardware so the key got left attached to the original hardware. For the first time I was faced with having to pay for this expensive OS but couldn’t justify paying 200 dollars for the software. At first I tried the script, and that activated it for the time being, but MS didn’t take long to see this tampering and reacted to it by corrupting and basically blocking Windows feature and security updates. I tried all kinds of steps, even going as far as reinstalling Windows 10 pro again and trying the same processes, attempting legal activation with my original key and all that. Failed. So last night while staring at the activation section of settings I seen a link that said update your version of Windows and I was like, “upgrade it to what exactly it’s already at the top with Pro right?” Well the store offered me Windows Pro Workstation for a more affordable price and it stated that it explicitly comes with a single license for one PC. Just what I needed and it was sold by the MS store for $120 USD. So I jumped on that offer while I had the money to buy it.

To answer the first commenters question, no you do not have to update reinstall Windows to get the update installed. It was pretty much an instant unlock, I basically paid the licensing fee so I could have a digital license linked to my MS account. It didn’t fix my Win updates issues by just buying the software. So I ended up making a new boot flash drive and doing the in place upgrade to the workstation build and that corrected all the small outstanding problems caused by the activation tampering.

Now in the future if I should have to or feel the need to install a fresh copy of Windows I won’t be stopped by activation issues. This version is like Windows 7 Pro X64 but with the Windows 10 interface. It is fast but I just upgraded my PC to the Ryzen 3700x on an Aorus X570 MB w/ NVMe Samsung SSD so I can’t tell the difference, the system is extremely fast anyway. That hardware update is what got me stuck in an inactivated state. I been wanting to buy a legal copy of Windows 10 for almost 2 months now, and while it caused me to lose money I didn’t want to spend, in the end it was worth it to get this out of the way, hopefully for years to come.

Comments

NOTE: Older comments have been removed to reduce database overhead.

billstelling says:

August 11, 2017 at 10:47 pm

I like hearing this. I do wonder if my pro version will be upgradeable to it or if we will have to buy an upgrade though..
VG says:

August 12, 2017 at 12:03 pm

^^ Lets wait for the Fall Creators Update release.
Dattesh says:

August 23, 2017 at 12:09 pm

Dear Vishal, i’m following up since 5 years or more, i need your advice & guidance like i have Dell Lattitude E7270 2016 model & its having LTE Sim SLOT, whether it can use in india with sim or can you advice me what is for?

If you have any WhatsApp news group please add me, i keen to get news everyday from you.

Thanks Regards,
Dattesh
VG says:

August 23, 2017 at 1:13 pm

^^ This model comes with LTE/4G modem but I’m not sure whether it supports Indian operators. You can try yourself.
Britton says:

April 16, 2020 at 6:12 pm

A little late to the party here but I just purchased the workstation upgrade for Windows 10 pro. I wasn’t able to transfer my license from my free update from several years ago to my new Ryzen hardware. I didn’t know I would need to unlink my account from the old hardware so the key got left attached to the original hardware. For the first time I was faced with having to pay for this expensive OS but couldn’t justify paying 200 dollars for the software. At first I tried the script, and that activated it for the time being, but MS didn’t take long to see this tampering and reacted to it by corrupting and basically blocking Windows feature and security updates. I tried all kinds of steps, even going as far as reinstalling Windows 10 pro again and trying the same processes, attempting legal activation with my original key and all that. Failed. So last night while staring at the activation section of settings I seen a link that said update your version of Windows and I was like, “upgrade it to what exactly it’s already at the top with Pro right?” Well the store offered me Windows Pro Workstation for a more affordable price and it stated that it explicitly comes with a single license for one PC. Just what I needed and it was sold by the MS store for $120 USD. So I jumped on that offer while I had the money to buy it.

To answer the first commenters question, no you do not have to update reinstall Windows to get the update installed. It was pretty much an instant unlock, I basically paid the licensing fee so I could have a digital license linked to my MS account. It didn’t fix my Win updates issues by just buying the software. So I ended up making a new boot flash drive and doing the in place upgrade to the workstation build and that corrected all the small outstanding problems caused by the activation tampering.

Now in the future if I should have to or feel the need to install a fresh copy of Windows I won’t be stopped by activation issues. This version is like Windows 7 Pro X64 but with the Windows 10 interface. It is fast but I just upgraded my PC to the Ryzen 3700x on an Aorus X570 MB w/ NVMe Samsung SSD so I can’t tell the difference, the system is extremely fast anyway. That hardware update is what got me stuck in an inactivated state. I been wanting to buy a legal copy of Windows 10 for almost 2 months now, and while it caused me to lose money I didn’t want to spend, in the end it was worth it to get this out of the way, hopefully for years to come.

Comments

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