Windows Server

Windows Server is a family of server operating systems by Microsoft. While Windows NT 3.1 to 2000 had server editions, Windows Server 2003 was the first to be released under a separate brand name from its client counterpart.

Windows Server 2003 and 2003 R2

Windows Server 2003 is a server operating system released by Microsoft in 2003. It is considered the server counterpart of Windows XP, although it introduces additional kernel improvements. It does not have a default wallpaper, although it does have a branding wallpaper, which is similar to XP's but features a grey background and uses the Server 2003 wordmark instead. The rest of the wallpapers are the same as XP's.

Windows XP 64-bit Edition Version 2003 and Professional x64 Edition use the same codebase as Server 2003, but are branded as XP and thus feature the same wallpapers, meaning Bliss is the default wallpaper like with other editions; as such, the wallpapers of these versions are not listed here.

In 2005, Microsoft released a slightly updated version of Server 2003 titled Windows Server 2003 R2. The branding wallpaper is otherwise identical, save for the wordmark adding "R2" at the end to reflect the version; despite the wordmark on the box art using the Segoe UI font and the "R2" being orange, the previous font Franklin Gothic is used instead and "R2" is in white. The following year, Microsoft released Windows Unified Data Storage Server 2003. While most other versions of Server 2003 feature the same wallpaper, this has a watermark specific to this version. The wordmark uses Segoe UI, which was becoming increasingly common in Microsoft products at the time.

• 

  Windows Server 2003

• 

  Windows Server 2003 R2

• 

  Windows Unified Data Storage Server 2003

Windows Home Server

Windows Home Server is a home-oriented version of Windows Small Business Server 2003 released in 2007. It features a completely different branding wallpaper that resembles the aurora design present in areas of Windows Vista; unlike in Server 2003, this is set as the default wallpaper. As it was released after Vista, the Windows logo is the newer one used from 2006 to 2011, while the wordmark is in Segoe UI. According to Charlie Kindel, Kýnan Antos "drew all the assets", meaning he would have designed the wallpaper as well as other graphics used in Home Server.

A version of the wallpaper without the branding watermark is used in the setup, Out-of-Box Experience (OOBE) and console window. In 2021, Antos posted a high resolution version of the aforementioned variant.

Like with Vista, Home Server utilizes Windows PE 2.0 as its preinstallation environment, so its background can be seen during the early stages of setup. Said background is based on a portion of the logon background of Vista builds 5270 to 5342.

Windows Server 2008

Desktop wallpaper

Windows Server 2008 is a server operating system released by Microsoft in 2008. It is the server counterpart of Windows Vista. Like Server 2003 and earlier versions, it does not have a default wallpaper, although it features a grey aurora branding wallpaper designed by Frank Bisono titled server. Oddly it is at 800x600, unlike Vista's wallpapers which are mostly at 1920x1440. The wordmark and logo are placed in roughly the same spot as Server 2003's wallpaper. Unlike Server 2003, it does not include any wallpapers from its client counterpart, likely to save storage space.

Logon background

The logon background is simply #1D5F7A, the same background color as Windows Vista Starter’s logon background.

Setup backgrounds

Both the preinstallation environment and the installation process uses the same background as Windows Vista Service Packs 1 and 2 but grayscaled. The background used for the initial setup window is based on a portion of the desktop background but darker.

• 

  The background used in the setup window.

• 

  The setup background.

Essential Business Server 2008

Windows Essential Business Server 2008, codenamed Centro, is a version of Server 2008 intended for mid-sized business. It features a wallpaper with four variations: one for the management server, one for the security server, one for the messaging server and one that is used during the setup. Unlike regular versions of Server 2008, these are set as the default wallpaper, and it is darker in appearance than the regular Server 2008 branding wallpaper, which is still included in the operating system.

• 

  The management server wallpaper.

• 

  The security server wallpaper.

• 

  The messaging server wallpaper.

• 

  The setup background.

Windows Server 2008 R2

Desktop wallpaper

Windows Server 2008 R2 is a server operating system released by Microsoft in 2009. It is the server counterpart of Windows 7. Its branding wallpaper is similar to that of Server 2008, although this time it is widescreen and the logo is smaller. Microsoft would go on to release Windows Home Server 2011 in 2011, a home-oriented version. While it features a different background color, the branding wallpaper is identical to Server 2008 R2's.

Logon background

The logon background is basically a darker version of the branding desktop wallpaper, although it does not include the logo and wordmark.

Setup backgrounds

The background in the initial setup window remains the same as Windows Server 2008, although here it is also used for both the preinstallation environment and the installation process.

Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2

Desktop wallpaper

Windows Server 2012 is a server operating system released by Microsoft in 2012. It is the server counterpart of Windows 8. It features a very minimalistic branding wallpaper, which is simply dark grey with a small white Server 2012 logo and wordmark on the bottom right corner. It is the first server version since Home Server to have the branding wallpaper set as the default wallpaper. The following year, Microsoft released Windows Server 2012 R2, the server counterpart of Windows 8.1. Its branding wallpaper is very similar, except featuring an even darker gray and the wordmark reflects it being Server 2012 R2.

• 

  Windows Server 2012

• 

  Windows Server 2012 R2

Lock screen wallpaper

Both Windows Server 2012 and Server 2012 R2 come with Windows 8 and 8.1 lock screen wallpaper images respectively, except for the default image img0.jpg, which is replaced by simple 1920x1200 image that fully consists of #404040.

Setup background

The setup background in both Server 2012 and Server 2012 R2 is a simple 1024x768 image that consists of #001940, similar to their default accent colour. The image itself can be found in the /sources/ folder inside the Server 2012 or Server 2012 R2 setup DVD image.

Windows Server 2016 and 2019

Windows Server 2016 is a server operating system released by Microsoft in 2016. It is the server counterpart of Windows 10. It features the same default wallpaper as 10 versions 1507 to 1809. It is the first server version since Server 2003 to include the same set of wallpapers as the client counterpart, as Server 2008 to 2012 R2 did not include any wallpapers from their client counterparts. Two years later, Microsoft released Windows Server 2019, featuring the same wallpaper.

Windows Server 2022

Windows Server 2022 is a server operating system released by Microsoft in 2021. It features the same default wallpaper as Windows 10 versions 1903 to the latest available build, and like with Server 2016 and 2019 the other wallpapers remain unchanged.

Windows Server vNext

Server builds in the vNext development semester feature the same set of wallpapers as Windows 11, of which it is the server counterpart of.

• 

  Default wallpaper of the light theme

• 

  Default wallpaper of the dark theme