Prepare Windows Server

Download the Windows Server 2025 ISO

1. Open the Microsoft Evaluation Center - Windows Server 2025 page in your browser, and follow the instructions to download the ISO.

   

2. Upload the ISO to Pextra CloudEnvironment®.

Deploy the Windows Server 2025 ISO

Warning

The default CPU model (qemu64) is not sufficient for Windows Server and will result in a bootloop. If the instance fails to boot out of the installer and repeatedly restarts, first check that the CPU model is set to host-model.

Warning

Ensure that the disk bus type is set to sata or similar when attaching a disk. Windows Server will not recognize virtio disks.

1. Right-click the target node and select Deploy.
2. Fill in the instance name (for example, win2025-sql-demo), set the instance type to QEMU, and image to the Windows Server 2025 ISO you downloaded above. Click Next.
3. Set at least 4 vCPUs, and 8GiB of RAM (refer to the Windows Server technical documentation for resource requirements).
4. Expand Advanced CPU Options and set the CPU model to host-model. Click Next.
5. Attach a disk with at least 40 GiB of storage to a storage pool. Ensure the bus type is set to sata. Click Next.
6. Attach a network interface to a vSwitch that has access to the internet, with DHCP enabled. Click Next.
7. Confirm the configuration and click Finish. Wait for the instance to start.

Next Steps

Proceed to Install Windows Server 2025.