Will 2012 R2 Wave Ship at the Same Time?

Q: Will Windows Server 2012 R2 and System Center 2012 R2 ship at the same time?

A: Historically, System Center has released 60-90 days after Windows Server so that the new Server functionality could be optimized in the management release. This was the case with Windows Server 2012 shipping, while System Center 2012 SP1 wasn't available for months after the release of Windows Server 2012.

With Microsoft’s new engineering approach, Windows Server 2012 R2 and System Center 2012 R2 will ship at the same time, ensuring full management support for the new Windows Server 2012 R2 and Hyper-V functionality at launch. Release is expected at the end of 2013.