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The self-hosted Microsoft Windows Server alternative

Microsoft Windows Server is a server operating system for running enterprise workloads such as Active Directory, file/print services, web and application hosting, and Hyper-V virtualization. It is deployed on-premises or as cloud VM images in IaaS.

Alternatives to Microsoft Windows Server

Samba is an open source SMB/CIFS file and print server that also provides Active Directory Domain Controller and member server capabilities for Linux/Unix systems.

Samba screenshot

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What replacing Microsoft Windows Server actually involves

Every option on this page is open source and free to run on your own hardware, so you own the data and there is no subscription to cancel. In exchange you take on hosting, backups and updates yourself.

Browse everything in Identity & Access Management (IAM).

Other tools people replace alongside Microsoft Windows Server