What is the difference between Win Server 2012 and Win Server 2016?

1. Nano Server
2. UEFI Secure Boot
3. The Resilient File System (ReFS)
4. Server & Hyper V Container
5. Nested Virtualization
6. Hyper V Hot-Add Virtual Hardware, to add any hardware into VM while its runing
7. Shielded VMs
8. PowerShell direct to the Hyper V host 

Windows server 2016 as compared to the previous version focuses more on cloud and virtualization. The top 10 features of 2016 version are as follows:

1.       Windows Nano Server

Nano Server is a pared down headless version ( no local login) of Windows Server. Nano Server will have a 93% smaller VHD size, 92% fewer critical bulletins and 80% fewer required reboots. Nano Server is a Windows Server installation options and it’s completely headless – there’s no GUI and no command prompt. Nano Server is designed to run Hyper-V, Hyper-V cluster, and Scale-Out File Servers (SOFSs) and cloud service applications.

 

2.       Windows Server Containers and Hyper-V Containers

The next biggest change in Windows Server 2016 will be support for containers. Containers enable you to isolate your applications from the underlying OS improving the deployment and reliability of those applications. Windows Server 2016 will provide two kinds of native containers: Windows Server Containers and Hyper-V Containers.  Windows Server Containers are isolated from each other but they run directly on the Windows Server 2016 OS. Hyper-V Containers provide enhanced isolation by running the containers from a Hyper-V VM.

 

3.       Docker Support

Docker is an open-source engine that’s used for building, running and managing containers. Docker containers were originally built for Linux but the next version of Windows Server will provide built-in support for the Docker engine as well. A new open-source Docker engine project has been built for Windows Server with Microsoft participating as an active open source community member. You can use Docker to manage Windows Server and Hyper-V Containers.

 

4.       Rolling upgrades for Hyper-V and Storage clusters

One of the biggest new changes for Hyper-V in Windows Server 2016 is rolling upgrades for Hyper-V clusters. The new rolling upgrades feature allows you to add a new Windows Server 2016 node to a Hyper-V cluster with nodes that are running Windows Server 2012 R2. The cluster will continue to run at the Windows Server 2012 R2 functional level until all of the cluster nodes have been upgraded to Windows Server 2016. When the cluster has mixed level nodes the management must be done from Windows Server 2016 or Windows 10. New VMs on a mixed cluster will be compatible with the Windows Server 2012 R2 feature set.

 

5.       Hot add & remove of virtual memory network adapters

Another great new feature in Windows Server 2016 Hyper-V is the ability to add and remove virtual memory and virtual network adapters while the virtual machine is running. In previous releases you need to use dynamic memory to change the minimum and maximum RAM settings of a VM that is running. Windows Server 2016 enables you to change the allocated RAM while the VM is active even if the VM is using static memory. Likewise, you add and remove network adapters while VM is running.

 

6.       Nested virtualization

Added primarily for the new container support, Windows Server 2016’s nested virtualization capabilities will also be a handy addition for training and lab scenarios. With this new feature you are no longer limited to running the Hyper-V role on a physical server. Nested virtualization enables you to run Hyper-V within a Hyper-V virtual machine.

 

7.       PowerShell Direct

PowerShell is a great management automation tool but it can be complicated to get it to run remotely against your VMs. You need to worry about security policies, firewall configurations and your host networking configuration. PowerShell Direct enables you to run PowerShell commands in the guest OS of a VM without needing to go through the network layers. Like VMConnect (the remote console support provided by the Hyper-V Manager) it requires zero configuration it connects directly to the guest VM and all you need are authentication credentials for the VM’s guest OS.

 

8.       Linux Secure Boot

Another new feature in Windows Server 2016 Hyper-V is the ability to enable secure boot for VMs with Linux guest operating systems. Secure Boot is a feature of the UEFI firmware specification incorporated in Generation 2 VMs that protects the VM’s hardware kernel mode code from being attacked by root kits and other boot-time malware. Previously, Generation 2 VMs supported Secure Boot for Windows 8/8.1 and Windows Server 2012 VMs but not VM’s running Linux.

 

9.       New Host Guardian Service and Shielded VMs

The Host Guardian Service is a new role in Windows Server 2016 that enables shielded virtual machines and protects the data on them from unauthorized access – even from Hyper-V administrators. Shielded VMs can be created using the Azure Management Pack Portal. Standard VMs can also be converted to Shielded VMs. With Shielded VMs Hyper-V virtual disks can be encrypted with BitLocker.

 

10.   Storage Spaces Direct

Windows Server 2016 also has a number of storage system improvements one of the most important is the new Storage Spaces Direct feature. Storage Spaces Direct is the evolution of the previous Storage Spaces technology found in Windows Server 2012 R2. Windows Server 2016 Storage Spaces Direct allows a cluster to access JBOD storage in an external enclosure like Windows Server 2012 R2 or it can also allow access to JBOD and SAS disks that are internal to the cluster nodes. Like the previous release Store Spaces form the basis for Storage Pools and they support both SSD and HDD disks and data tiering.

 

2016 is the latest sever edition from Microsoft. The important comparison points are explained below

 

Performance and scalability

 Windows Server 2012/2012 R2 Standard and DatacenterWindows Server 2016 Standard and Datacenter

Physical (host) memory support

Up to 4 TB per physical server Up to 24 TB per physical server (6x)

Physical (host) logical processor support

Up to 320 LPs Up to 512 LPs

Virtual machine memory support

Up to 1 TB per virtual machine Up to 12 TB per virtual machine (12x)

Virtual machine virtual processor support

Up to 64 VPs per virtual machine Up to 240 VPs per virtual machine (3.75x)

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/cloud-platform/windows-server-comparison

Windows Server 2016 will come up in two releases. Standard and Datacenter. The standard edition will however not contain some features that the Datacenter will provide. This wasn’t the case of the current Windows Server 2012R2 where Standard and Datacenter editions provided the same features, but the only difference was in the possibilities to virtualize two virtual OSE (Operating System Environment) on the standard and unlimited on the Datacenter edition.

 

So windows server 2012

Windows Server 2012, codenamed "Windows Server 8",[4] is the sixth release of Windows Server. It is the server version of Windows 8 and succeeds Windows Server 2008 R2. Two pre-release versions, a developer preview and a beta version, were released during development. The software was generally available to customers starting on September 4, 2012.[5]

Unlike its predecessor, Windows Server 2012 has no support for Itanium-based computers,[6] and has four editions. Various features were added or improved over Windows Server 2008 R2 (with many placing an emphasis on cloud computing), such as an updated version of Hyper-V, an IP address management role, a new version of Windows Task Manager, and ReFS, a new file system. Windows Server 2012 received generally good reviews in spite of having included the same controversial Metro-based user interface seen in Windows 8

A big difference is of Nano Server. Windows server 2016 presents Nano server.

It focuses more on cloud and virtualization

that link might help you properly. if not i will explain it to you. 

 

http://www.vladan.fr/windows-server-2016-what-is-the-difference-between-standard-and-datacenter-edition/