Can I Run a Windows Server?

The Short Answer

Yes. InMotion Cloud runs Windows Server 2025 today. A pre-built Windows Server 2025 Standard Evaluation image is available on the production cloud, and you can deploy a working instance from it using the Horizon dashboard.

This article confirms that Windows runs on InMotion Cloud, shows the verification output from a live deployment, and points you to the full deployment guide.

Confirmed: Windows Server 2025 Running on InMotion Cloud

A test instance named win2025-test was deployed from the Windows Server 2025 image on the production cloud on 2026-05-06. The output below was captured directly from the running instance and confirms a genuine Windows Server installation on OpenStack infrastructure.

Windows Build and Edition

1PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> Get-ComputerInfo | Select-Object CsName, WindowsProductName, WindowsVersion, WindowsBuildLabEx, OsArchitecture, OsHardwareAbstractionLayer | Format-List
2
3CsName                     : WIN2025-TEST
4WindowsProductName         : Windows Server 2025 Standard Evaluation
5WindowsVersion             : 2009
6WindowsBuildLabEx          : 26100.1.amd64fre.ge_release.240331-1435
7OsArchitecture             : 64-bit
8OsHardwareAbstractionLayer : 10.0.26100.1

Full System Information

1PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> systeminfo
2
3Host Name:                     WIN2025-TEST
4OS Name:                       Microsoft Windows Server 2025 Standard Evaluation
5OS Version:                    10.0.26100 N/A Build 26100
6OS Manufacturer:               Microsoft Corporation
7OS Configuration:              Standalone Server
8OS Build Type:                 Multiprocessor Free
9Product ID:                    00493-20000-00001-AA037
10Original Install Date:         5/6/2026, 5:55:08 PM
11System Boot Time:              5/6/2026, 5:54:40 PM
12System Manufacturer:           OpenStack Foundation
13System Model:                  OpenStack Nova
14System Type:                   x64-based PC
15Processor(s):                  2 Processor(s) Installed.
16                               [01]: Intel64 Family 6 Model 85 Stepping 4 GenuineIntel ~2100 Mhz
17                               [02]: Intel64 Family 6 Model 85 Stepping 4 GenuineIntel ~2100 Mhz
18BIOS Version:                  SeaBIOS 1.15.0-1, 4/1/2014
19Total Physical Memory:         4,095 MB
20Hotfix(s):                     3 Hotfix(s) Installed.
21                               [01]: KB5066131
22                               [02]: KB5073379
23                               [03]: KB5072725
24Network Card(s):               1 NIC(s) Installed.
25                               [01]: Red Hat VirtIO Ethernet Adapter
26                                     Connection Name: tap45dafc49-48
27                                     DHCP Enabled:    Yes
28                                     DHCP Server:     192.168.100.1
29                                     IP address(es)
30                                     [01]: 192.168.100.149
31                                     [02]: fe80::f266:3e52:17b7:508b
32Domain:                        WORKGROUP

Hypervisor and Hardware

1PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> Get-WmiObject Win32_ComputerSystem | Select-Object Manufacturer, Model
2
3Manufacturer         Model
4------------         -----
5OpenStack Foundation OpenStack Nova
6
7
8PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> Get-WmiObject Win32_BIOS | Select-Object Manufacturer, SMBIOSBIOSVersion, Version
9
10Manufacturer SMBIOSBIOSVersion Version
11------------ ----------------- -------
12SeaBIOS      1.15.0-1          BOCHS  - 1

OpenStack Foundation / OpenStack Nova confirms the instance is running on OpenStack compute, and the Red Hat VirtIO Ethernet Adapter confirms paravirtualized networking is active.

Network Configuration

1PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> Get-NetIPConfiguration | Format-List
2
3InterfaceAlias       : tap45dafc49-48
4InterfaceIndex       : 6
5InterfaceDescription : Red Hat VirtIO Ethernet Adapter
6NetProfile.Name      : Network 2
7IPv4Address          : 192.168.100.149
8IPv4DefaultGateway   : 192.168.100.1
9DNSServer            : 127.0.0.53

PowerShell Environment

1PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> $PSVersionTable
2
3Name                           Value
4----                           -----
5PSVersion                      5.1.26100.7462
6PSEdition                      Desktop
7BuildVersion                   10.0.26100.7462
8CLRVersion                     4.0.30319.42000
9WSManStackVersion              3.0

The instance is a fully functional Windows Server 2025 host with PowerShell, networking, and updates applied — running on OpenStack Nova compute.

How the Deployment Works Today

InMotion Cloud already has a Windows Server 2025 Standard Evaluation image staged on the production cloud. You launch a new instance from that image through Horizon. The high-level flow is:

Navigate to Project > Compute > Instances and click Launch Instance
Source tab: Select the Windows Server 2025 Standard Evaluation image as the boot source
Source tab (critical): Set Create New Volume to No — leave the disk on local storage
Choose a flavor with at least 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, and 40 GB disk
Attach a network with DHCP enabled and a security group that allows TCP 3389 (RDP)
Launch the instance, then open the Console tab and set the Administrator password when Windows prompts you on first boot
Associate a floating IP and connect over RDP

For full step-by-step instructions including key pair, network, router, and security group setup, see the companion guide Deploying a Windows Server 2025 Instance on InMotion Cloud.

Current Limitations

These caveats apply right now and are important to know before you deploy:

Volume-backed boot is not supported. On the Source page, you must set Create New Volume = No. Selecting Yes causes the launch to time out with a "Volume did not finish being created" error.
No ISO install on OpenStack. You cannot mount a Windows ISO and install from it directly on the production cloud. Deploy from the existing Windows Server 2025 image instead.
Manual Administrator password on first boot. Cloudbase-Init password injection isn't fully wired up yet, so you need to open the instance console and set the Administrator password through the Windows Out-of-Box Experience.
Evaluation edition. The current image is Windows Server 2025 Standard Evaluation. It is suitable for proof-of-concept and testing workloads. A long-term, end-user image built with Packer is on the roadmap.

Verify Your Own Windows Deployment

Once your instance is running and you can RDP in, open PowerShell and run these commands to confirm everything is healthy:

1hostname
2
3Get-ComputerInfo | Select-Object CsName, WindowsProductName, WindowsVersion, WindowsBuildLabEx, OsArchitecture, OsHardwareAbstractionLayer | Format-List
4
5Get-WmiObject Win32_ComputerSystem | Select-Object Manufacturer, Model
6
7Get-NetIPConfiguration | Format-List
8
9(Get-Date) - (Get-CimInstance Win32_OperatingSystem).LastBootUpTime

You should see WindowsProductName : Windows Server 2025 Standard Evaluation, a Manufacturer / Model of OpenStack Foundation / OpenStack Nova, and an active VirtIO network interface with a DHCP-assigned IP.

Use Cases

Customers commonly run Windows on InMotion Cloud to:

Migrate Azure-hosted workloads to a single InMotion Cloud footprint without splitting environments across providers
Run Windows-only line-of-business applications alongside existing Linux infrastructure
Stand up evaluation and test environments for IIS, SQL Server, Active Directory, or .NET services
Build Windows-based CI/CD agents that run next to your Linux build fleet on the same private network

Troubleshooting

Instance fails to launch with a "Volume did not finish being created" error. You set Create New Volume to Yes on the Source tab. Relaunch with Create New Volume = No so the instance boots directly from the image on local storage.

The console keeps asking for an Administrator password. This is expected. Cloudbase-Init password injection is not active for this image, so the password must be set manually through the OOBE wizard the first time the instance boots. Use a strong password and store it securely.

Cannot connect via RDP. Confirm the security group allows TCP port 3389 from your source IP, the floating IP is associated with the instance, and Remote Desktop is enabled inside Windows under Server Manager > Local Server > Remote Desktop.

No network connectivity inside Windows. Verify the network has DHCP enabled, the router is attached to the subnet and an external network, and the Red Hat VirtIO Ethernet Adapter shows as active in Device Manager. The image ships with VirtIO drivers, so the adapter should be detected automatically.