Okie doke, well, the main point being that Microsoft usually doesn't just want you to buy one thing and call it a day. Ya gotta buy the server-class license fo

Okie doke, well, the main point being that Microsoft usually doesn't just want you to buy one thing and call it a day. Ya gotta buy the server-class license for the OS. And then ya gotta buy a quantity of client licenses for the Professional/Business version of the OS. And then they all need some applications, and then those applications need some non-OS-application server software. And then those application servers need isolation, so each one needs a server OS license of its own, and then, and then, and then... Setting up windows servers takes time. Not because it's particularly difficult, or technical, but because you are not in control of the process. The software distribution is in control, and will try to phone home. You will wait while the software tries to contact the Microsoft mothership, and the software will not ask you whether such activities are even possible. It will time-out network connections, and possibly refuse to work, before even prompting you about skipping steps. You may need to make phone calls. These are facts about using Microsoft as part of enterprise infrastructure in a business environment. The entry-level prices for what you seek are here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/cloud-platform/windows-server-2012-r2-pricing https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/cloud-platform/windows-serve... You will spend more than that. By the time you feel comfortable with your configuration, it will be time to upgrade, introducing forced changes to your process, and you will spend more money. You will spend more money on more Microsoft products, and also on peripheral costs which may not be expected but will likely be driven by compatibility choices. And by the way, Windows 7? They will not even sell you that anymore. Mocrosoft's goal in life is to retire that version of their operating system, and require migration to newer versions. More to the point, though, all of this was their old business model, more than a decade ago. They are no long interested in this sort of sales pitch, unless you are The Government, or a Financial Institution. Nowadays, they want your servers on their cloud (Azure). It may be cheaper doing that. If you are an addict, already hooked on Microsoft, and there's no going back, consider exploring those options. If you must be in possession of physical hardware, and if you must run stand-alone systems for the purposes of testing and developing your latest thing, Microsoft gets very expensive very fast, in terms of both time and money.