Absolutely. While Microsoft pushes newer versions, 2012 R2 is chosen for its stability and low resource requirements (1.4 GHz processor, 512MB RAM minimum, though 4GB+ is recommended). Windows Server 2012 R2 Storage Space Overview
Designed to deliver SMB 3.0 file shares with immense speed and reliability. Storage Spaces (Revamped): Absolutely
Significantly reduces storage costs by identifying and removing redundant data at the block level. Absolutely. While Microsoft pushes newer versions
: Evaluation ISOs require registration and will eventually require a valid license key to move into production. 512MB RAM minimum