This is probably the main choice for someone starting with Hyper-V. It is not a case of being better or worse than other options, but you have to keep in mind that this is the option that you'll have to look at for more details on security, updates, and so on.

Since the 2008 version, Windows Server works as the foundation for many roles and features. Everything is modularized, so you can choose to enable or disable a role or a feature, for example, you can install Internet Information Services (IIS) on a server and choose to enable the CGI component on that server. With this approach, you'll be sure that only specific components will be running, so your attack surface is minimal to the services you need. Remember, though, that even a role or a feature that is not installed must be updated in case an update is available.

With Windows Server 2012 R2 with a GUI, all possible Windows Server roles and features are available for you to install. This will give you as much...