Was running 2012R2 on the server, there were copies available online of the evaluation edition if you submitted your details, but they wouldn't join a KMS server unless you manually intervened to change the “edition” from evaluation - Joining the domain didnt fix it.

2014-2018 for that directx + download anecdote

Has there been significant progress in this area in a decade? last time I installed a windows (11 pro) it was significantly worse than Ubuntu. Both in downloading it and installing it.

That being said, those environments are generally going to EoL Windows 10 as there's just no reason to move to 11 if things are working. I have 0 experience with Windows 11 yet for that reason.

As far as a consumer goes, if you're starting from a Windows 10 machine, creating the installation media is as easy as downloading the Windows installation media creation tool, point it to your USB, and off you go. Licensing is generally tied to the hardware at this point, so if your device is newish, there's no activation or license keys.

Install takes maybe 15 minutes and is hands off other than username, time zone, pick your wifi SSID etc. Unless you have special hardware, you shouldn't need to install any other drivers. It just goes.