26100
Windows Server 2025 build
Windows Server 2025 VPS, or 2022, with full admin RDP.
A KVM VPS running Windows Server 2025 or 2022 Standard with the Desktop Experience, reached over Remote Desktop as the built-in Administrator. We ship Microsoft’s evaluation image and you activate it with your own Windows Server key, so there is no licence in the price. From €10.99/mo for 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM and 60 GB SSD, up to 8 vCPU and 32 GB, with unmetered traffic and 100 Gbps DDoS protection. One location: Ashburn, Virginia, in the United States. Need Linux instead? See our KVM VPS.
Administrator: Command Prompt
1C:\> DISM /online /Get-CurrentEdition
2Current Edition : ServerStandardEval
3C:\> DISM /online /Set-Edition:ServerStandard /ProductKey:<your key> /AcceptEula
4Restart Windows to complete this operation.
5C:\> cscript //nologo %windir%\system32\slmgr.vbs /dlv
6License Status: Licensed
2025 · build 261002022 · build 20348Ashburn, US
2029
2025 mainstream support runs to 13 Nov
180 days
evaluation, until you add your key
3389
Remote Desktop as Administrator
01 · 2025 or 2022
Two versions, one build recipe.
Both images come from Microsoft’s evaluation media, Standard edition with the Desktop Experience. Pick the version in the OS menu at checkout; switch later with a reinstall from the panel.
| Windows Server 2025 | Windows Server 2022 | |
|---|---|---|
| Build | 26100 | 20348 |
| Support started | 31 Oct 2024 | 17 Aug 2021 |
| Mainstream support | Until 13 Nov 2029 | Ended 13 Oct 2026 |
| Security updates | Until 14 Nov 2034 | Until 14 Oct 2031 |
| Desktop | Windows 11-style shell and Task Manager | Windows 10-era shell |
| OpenSSH server | Installed; switch on under Remote SSH Access in Server Manager | Optional feature you add yourself |
| WinGet | Installed by default | Not included |
| TLS 1.3 | On by default | On by default |
| SMB over QUIC server | In Standard and Datacenter | Azure Edition only, not this image |
| Our image | Standard, Desktop Experience, Evaluation | Standard, Desktop Experience, Evaluation |
| Pick it when | You start fresh and want the longest runway | Your software is certified for 2022 only |
Windows Server 2022 left mainstream support on 13 October 2026. It still gets security updates until 14 October 2031, but no new features. For a server you expect to keep past 2029, start on 2025. Dates are Microsoft’s published lifecycle dates; a key only activates the version it was issued for.
02 · What is in the image
The spec sheet, line by line.
We build both templates ourselves: an unattended install, drivers and agents added, then sysprep. Both were checked on a real VM: Administrator password set, network up, RDP and ping answering.
- Edition
- Windows Server Standard with the Desktop Experience (full GUI), Microsoft Evaluation media
- Licence
- None included. 180-day evaluation until you enter your own key
- Virtual machine
- KVM, q35 machine type, SeaBIOS (legacy BIOS boot, MBR disk)
- Drivers
- VirtIO storage and network drivers installed
- Guest agent
- QEMU guest agent installed and running
- First boot
- cloudbase-init sets the Administrator password and the network configuration from your order
- Remote access
- Remote Desktop on TCP 3389; ping (ICMP echo) allowed through Windows Firewall
- Account
- Built-in Administrator. Password generated at deploy, reset it from the panel any time
- Disk
- 32 GB system image, generalized with sysprep, on your plan’s 60–240 GB SSD virtual disk
- Updates
- Patched to the level of the install media. Run Windows Update after your first sign-in
- Not included
- A Windows licence, Remote Desktop Services CALs, SQL Server or Office licences
In the client panel
Reinstall
Rebuild with Windows Server 2025 or 2022 from the panel. A reinstall wipes the disk.
Power
Start, stop and restart the server from the panel, whatever state Windows is in.
Console
The server’s screen in your browser. Works when RDP or the network inside Windows does not.
Password reset
Set a new Administrator password from the panel if you lose the current one.
03 · Bring your own key
Evaluation to licensed in four commands.
There is no Windows licence in the price. The server boots as Windows Server Standard Evaluation, which expires after 180 days. Activate it with a Windows Server key you own, for the version you installed.
- Check what is installed. Open Command Prompt as Administrator.
DISM /online /Get-CurrentEditionshould reportServerStandardEval. - List the targets.
DISM /online /Get-TargetEditionsshows what the evaluation can become: the retail Standard or Datacenter edition with the Desktop Experience, never Server Core. - Convert with your key. Run
/Set-Edition:ServerStandardwith a Standard key, orServerDatacenterwith a Datacenter key, and restart when DISM asks. To read the licence terms first, add/GetEula:C:\license.rtfinstead of the key. - Confirm.
slmgr.vbs /dlvopens a dialog; throughcscriptit prints to the console. License Status should read Licensed. If it does not yet,slmgr.vbs /atoactivates online.
REM 1. What is installed? Expect ServerStandardEval
DISM /online /Get-CurrentEdition
REM 2. Which editions can it become?
DISM /online /Get-TargetEditions
REM 3. Convert with your own key, then restart when DISM asks
DISM /online /Set-Edition:ServerStandard /ProductKey:XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX /AcceptEula
REM 4. After the restart: License Status should read Licensed
cscript //nologo %windir%\system32\slmgr.vbs /dlv
Volume licence (MAK)
Microsoft’s order is: convert the evaluation first, then switch keys with slmgr.vbs /ipk <your MAK> and activate with slmgr.vbs /ato. If step 3 will not take your volume key, run it with Microsoft’s public KMS client setup key for the edition (2025 Standard: TVRH6-WHNXV-R9WG3-9XRFY-MY832, 2022 Standard: VDYBN-27WPP-V4HQT-9VMD4-VMK7H). It changes the edition but activates nothing by itself.
Before you promote a domain controller
Convert first. Microsoft does not support converting an evaluation domain controller to a retail edition. slmgr.vbs /xpr shows when the evaluation ends; an unactivated desktop also shows the days left in its bottom-right corner.
Remote Desktop users and licence terms
Windows Server allows two simultaneous Remote Desktop sessions for administration. More concurrent users need the Remote Desktop Session Host role and RDS CALs, which you bring too. Whether your key’s terms cover running on a rented server is between you and Microsoft or your reseller; we do not sell or check licences.
Windows and Windows Server are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. NODED.CLOUD is not affiliated with Microsoft.
04 · Why Windows at all
For software that only ships an .exe.
If it runs on Linux, a Linux KVM VPS costs less for the same cores. These are the jobs where Windows is the point.
MetaTrader 4 and 5
Keep MT4/MT5 terminals and Expert Advisors running around the clock on a desktop you reach over RDP. Check where your broker’s trade server is before you pick a US East server.
.NET Framework and IIS
ASP.NET sites on .NET Framework 4.x, Windows services and IIS: the stack that never moved to .NET on Linux.
Desktop crypto tools
Wallets, node front-ends and monitoring tools that only ship Windows builds, on a server you can pay for in Bitcoin, ETH, USDC or LTC.
Windows-only server software
Licence managers, backup consoles and line-of-business apps whose server side is Windows only.
PowerShell and scheduled tasks
Scripts, Task Scheduler jobs and Windows-only command-line tools that need a machine that is always on.
Build and test box
Visual Studio Build Tools, MSI or MSIX packaging and installer tests on a clean Windows you can reinstall from the panel.
Paying in crypto works the same as on our crypto VPS: Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDC or Litecoin, or card, PayPal and SEPA bank transfer.
05 · Where it runs
Ashburn, Virginia. Only Ashburn.
Windows Server plans run in one place, our Ashburn (US East) location. Windows is not sold in our six EU countries.
LOCATION
A US server, on purpose.
This server is in the United States, so it sits outside the EU data residency that our GDPR hosting page describes: don’t pick it for data that has to stay in the EU. Routes to Ashburn differ from network to network, so test from your own connection first: the looking glass runs ping, traceroute and MTR from Ashburn to any public address.
- LocationAshburn, VA · US East
- Data locationUnited States
- TrafficUnmetered
- DDoS100 Gbps L3/L4 · included
- IPv41 dedicated · extra at checkout
06 · Plans
Four sizes, monthly or longer.
Pay monthly, quarterly or yearly; a year costs 10% less than twelve months. There is no hourly billing on Windows plans and no setup fee, and a server is ready about 4 minutes after you order. Every plan includes one dedicated IPv4, unmetered traffic and 100 Gbps DDoS protection.
RDP Starter
€10.99/ mo
One admin desktop and a light service or two.
- 2 vCPU
- 4 GB RAM
- 60 GB SSD
- 140 Mbps ceiling, unmetered
- €32.97 / quarter · €118.69 / year
RDP Standard
€18.99/ mo
Room for several trading terminals or a small IIS app.
- 4 vCPU
- 8 GB RAM
- 100 GB SSD
- 180 Mbps ceiling, unmetered
- €56.97 / quarter · €205.09 / year
RDP Pro
€29.99/ mo
Heavier .NET services, build tools and a local database.
- 6 vCPU
- 16 GB RAM
- 160 GB SSD
- 220 Mbps ceiling, unmetered
- €89.97 / quarter · €323.89 / year
RDP Business
€84.99/ mo
The largest shape: line-of-business apps with headroom.
- 8 vCPU
- 32 GB RAM
- 240 GB SSD
- 300 Mbps ceiling, unmetered
- €254.97 / quarter · €917.89 / year
At checkout: Windows Server 2025 or 2022, extra IPv4 addresses and extra storage. The Mbps figure is the plan’s symmetric ceiling on a shared node uplink; traffic is never metered. Windows prices exclude a licence: you activate with your own key.
The Ashburn sale in the site banner covers hourly and media-server VPS; Windows plans are at the prices shown.
Want Linux, or a server in Europe? KVM VPS from €4/mo in seven locations, or dedicated servers with Windows Server 2022 or 2025 images.
07 · FAQ
Things people ask.
Quick answers to the questions we get most. Need more? Talk to us.
Q.01
How do I activate Windows Server with my own product key?
In an elevated Command Prompt run DISM /online /Set-Edition:ServerStandard /ProductKey:<your key> /AcceptEula (use ServerDatacenter with a Datacenter key) and restart when DISM asks. Then run slmgr.vbs /dlv: License Status should read Licensed. Use a key for the version you installed, 2025 or 2022. No licence is included in the price; without a key the evaluation expires after 180 days.
Q.02
Can I upgrade a server from Windows Server 2022 to 2025?
On our plans the route is a reinstall: pick Windows Server 2025 under Reinstall in the client panel. A reinstall wipes the disk, so copy your data off first, and activate 2025 with a 2025 key afterwards. The same works from 2025 back to 2022.
Q.03
Which drivers does the image use, and do I need to install any?
No installs needed. The VirtIO storage and network drivers and the QEMU guest agent are already in the image; they are how Windows sees its disk and network card on KVM. Leave them in place: without the VirtIO drivers Windows loses its network card or cannot read its boot disk.
Q.04
I locked myself out of RDP. How do I get back in?
Open the console in the client panel. It shows the server’s screen in your browser and does not depend on RDP or the network settings inside Windows, so you can sign in as Administrator there and undo the firewall or Remote Desktop change. Lost the password? Reset it from the panel to set a new Administrator password.
Q.05
How do I give Windows the extra disk space?
Extra storage grows the server’s existing virtual disk; it does not add a second drive. If drive C: shows less than the disk size, extend it in Disk Management (right-click C:, Extend Volume) or in PowerShell: Resize-Partition -DriveLetter C -Size (Get-PartitionSupportedSize -DriveLetter C).SizeMax.
Q.06
Which ports are open, and how do I connect over RDP?
Remote Desktop on TCP 3389 and ping are allowed through Windows Firewall from first boot. Connect as Administrator with Remote Desktop Connection (mstsc) on Windows, Microsoft’s Windows App on macOS, iOS and Android, or Remmina or FreeRDP on Linux. Once you are in, limit 3389 to your own IP addresses in Windows Firewall.
Ready when your key is
Deploy Windows Server 2025 in Ashburn.
Pick 2025 or 2022 at checkout, sign in over RDP as Administrator and activate with your own key. Monthly, quarterly or yearly.
What you get
From€10.99 / mo
Versions2025 · 2022 Standard
LicenceBring your own key
AccessRDP · Administrator
DDoS100 Gbps · included
LocationAshburn, US