Windows Server vNext: Here’s What’s Coming

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Windows Server vNext: Here's What's Coming

The Windows Server team at Microsoft has been heads down working on the next release of Windows Server, codenamed vNext. This operating system comes in two flavors: Windows Server and Windows Server Core. The former comes with a full graphical interface while the latter only features the Windows Command Line Interface (CLI). This article will focus on the vNext version of Windows Server—which will henceforth be referred to as simply Windows Server—that includes the GUI and desktop experience, which are based on a common code base with Windows 10.

Meet the Containers

Microsoft is committing to the container approach for Windows Server by adding support for Docker. Containers allow applications to be packaged up with all of the code and dependencies they need, and deployed quickly on any machine that supports Docker containers. They are like virtual machines, but contain everything you need for a particular application in one package. You can think of it as OS-level virtualization where the hypervisor is integrated into the operating system rather than run separately like VMWare or Hyper-V do.

Introducing Nano Server

Nano Server is a new deployment option for Windows Server. It is significantly smaller, more secure, and more agile than the standard server installation of Windows Server. It has a reduced attack surface area, and it only supports 64-bit applications–which means that many things you take for granted in your current environment just won’t work in Nano Server–because they’re either not supported or don’t exist as an x64 app yet.

Nested Virtualization

Microsoft announced the first public preview of Windows Server vNext last week, and this beta release of Windows Server offers a glimpse into the future for Windows-based servers. This release is just one part of Microsoft’s long-term vision to make it easier for organizations to deploy and manage Azure, on-premises and hybrid applications. The next step in that process will be a major upgrade to Windows Server currently in development as Windows Server vNext.

In Memory Database Technology in SQL 

This next release of SQL Server will be the first to include support for the new In-Memory Database technology. It is designed to help with read performance, typically by an order of magnitude, and provide increased write throughput. The In-Memory Database is fully supported by all editions of SQL Server including those licensed for embedded deployments. And it works across all data sizes from terabytes to gigabytes.

PowerShell Direct

One new feature of Windows Server vNext is PowerShell Direct. With this feature, you can use a remote command line shell to interact with the server even if it’s not on the same network. This eliminates the need for any other tool or download, making your tasks run as efficiently as possible.

Cross-Platform CLI

We believe that a single language will make it easier for customers to automate and integrate their datacenter and public cloud environments, while also making it much simpler to manage Windows and Linux server workloads. That’s why we’ve been working on building support for this feature in Windows Management Framework (WMF) 5.0 Preview, a major update to the Windows PowerShell client and server management technology that provides key capabilities, including the following cross-platform capabilities.

.NET 4.6.2 (More info here) Section: Pushing Microsoft Edge to Google Chrome Levels of Speed

One of the main changes that Windows Server vNext brings is that it will ship with .NET 4.6.2. As a result, Microsoft Edge has been updated to take advantage of some of the updates in this latest version, including a GPU hardware-accelerated version that offers an incredible increase in speed.

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