[German]At the Ignite 2017 conference, Microsoft announced the general availability of Windows Server version 1709. This is the successor of Windows Server 2016 and the first variant released in the Semi-Annual Channel with half-yearly updates.
The announcement was made within Microsoft's Windows Server Blog. Microsoft writes: "With releases every six months, the Semi-Annual Channel is designed to deliver continuous innovation for customers who want to take advantage of new operating system capabilities at a faster pace."
Application innovation with containers and microservices
The new server version offers an updated server core container image (image) optimized for lift-and-shift scenarios. In this scenario, existing code bases or applications can be migrated into containers with minimal changes – and the result is 60% smaller. Windows Server 2017 also offers an updated Nano Server Container image that is almost 80% smaller (about 195 MByte) than its predecessor – perfect for new cloud applications or microservices.
Flexibility is, in Microsoft's view, another important aspect for customers operating containers. According to Microsoft, customers demand a selection of usable frameworks and platforms. As announced at DockerCon in April, Microsoft brings native support for Linux containers to Windows Server 1709 and the Docker implementation in 1709 is almost completed. This new flexibility allows to run Windows and Linux containers side-by-side on the same Windows host and with the Linux kernel of choice.
As Microsoft is embedding more and more Linux applications on Windows servers, the company also wants to make sure that the current tools and scripts that users use just works. The Windows subsystem for Linux (also known as Bash on Windows) allows developers and operations teams to bring their existing scripts into the Windows Server environment.
A new management experience for Windows Server
On September 14, Microsoft also announced the "Honolulu" project – a new flexible, locally deployable, browser-based management platform for managing Windows Server. With support for both hybrid and traditional separate server environments, the "Honolulu" project provides a fast and easy solution for common IT administration tasks with a lean deployment to remote management not only of Windows Server, version 1709, but also of Windows Server 2016,2012 R2 and 2012, Microsoft says.
Windows Server version 1709 will be launched on Azure in October 2017. Customers with a software assurance contract for their Windows Server licenses or MSDN licenses can then download the software via the Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC) from mid-October 2017. More information and a video can be found in the Microsoft blog post. (via)
PS: I've been asked by blog readers many times, if it's possible to update Windows Server 2016 directly to Windows Server 2017. A German reader told me, that the GUI less Windows Server 2016 version may be updated to Windows Server 1709. But then you are on the semi-annual release channel, which means your Server will updated twice a year. Looks silly to me.
