Windows Server 2016 to be officially launched late September

[Arthur]

Most likely 26th September. Click the link for more details.

 

Source: Microsoft

 

We are excited to announce the official launch of Windows Server 2016 will be at the Ignite conference this Fall. We hope you can join us in Atlanta for the excitement! Windows Server 2016 is the cloud-ready operating system that delivers new layers of security and Azure-inspired innovation for the applications and infrastructure that power your business. New capabilities will help you:

 

• Increase security and reduce business risk with multiple layers of protection built into the operating system.
  
• Evolve your datacenter to save money and gain flexibility with software-defined datacenter technologies inspired by Microsoft Azure.
  
• Innovate faster with an application platform optimized for the applications you run today, as well as the cloud-native apps of tomorrow.
  

Technical Preview 5 is our final preview prior to launch and is feature complete, so download it today and try out all the new features in Windows Server 2016. Deploy, manage and secure Windows Server 2016 with the upcoming release of System Center 2016.

 

Windows Server 2016 editions include:

 

• Datacenter: This edition continues to deliver significant value for organizations that need unlimited virtualization along with powerful new features including Shielded Virtual Machines, software-defined storage and software-defined networking.
  
• Standard: This edition is ideal for organizations that need limited virtualization but require a robust, general purpose server operating system.
  
• Essentials: This edition is designed for smaller organizations with less than 50 users.
  

These editions will be available for purchase on the October 2016 price list. Details on pricing for Windows Server 2016 can be found here.

 

It’s also important to note that for the Standard and Datacenter editions, there are three installation options:

 

• Server with Desktop Experience: The Server with Desktop Experience installation option (previously known as Server with a GUI) provides an ideal user experience for those who need to run an app that requires local UI or for Remote Desktop Services Host. This option has the full Windows client shell and experience, consistent with Windows 10 Anniversary edition Long Term Servicing Branch (LTSB), with the server Microsoft Management Console (MMC) and Server Manager tools available locally on the server.
  
• Server Core: The Server Core installation option removes the client UI from the server, providing an installation that runs the majority of the roles and features on a lighter install. Server Core does not include MMC or Server Manager, which can be used remotely, but does include limited local graphical tools such as Task Manager as well as PowerShell for local or remote management.
  
• Nano Server: The Nano Server installation option provides an ideal lightweight operating system to run “cloud-native” applications based on containers and micro-services. It can also be used to run an agile and cost-effective datacenter with a dramatically smaller OS footprint. Because it is a headless installation of the server operating system, management is done remotely via Core PowerShell, the web-based Server Management Tools (SMT), or existing remote management tools such as MMC.
  

Announcing servicing guidelines for Windows Server 2016

In prior releases, Windows Server has been serviced and supported with a “5+5” model meaning that there is 5 years of mainstream support and 5 years of extended support and this will continue with Windows Server 2016. Customers who choose to install full Windows Server 2016 with a desktop experience or Server Core will maintain this servicing experience, which will be known as the Long Term Servicing Branch (LTSB).

 

Customers choosing the Nano Server installation will opt into a more active servicing model similar to the experience with Windows 10. Specifically, these periodic releases are known as Current Branch for Business (CBB) releases. This approach supports customers who are moving at a “cloud cadence” of rapid development lifecycles and wish to innovate more quickly. Since this type of servicing continues to provide new features and functionality, Software Assurance is also required to deploy and operate Nano Server in production.

[dblight]

Following the same model as Win 10 and licensing changes

 

Several things are new, though. One is that Windows Server 2016 will be priced and licensed per core, rather than per physical processor.

 

Another is that the Datacenter and Standard editions have a new installation option called Nano Server, which is a stripped-down version designed for lightweight virtual machines, or a low-overhead host for virtual machines. Nano Server has no GUI and can only be managed remotely.

There are also changes to the way Windows Server is serviced. Datacenter and Standard can be installed either as Long-Term Servicing Branch (LTSB) – with five years of mainstream support and five years of extended support – or as Current Branch for Business (CBB), in which case you can expect feature updates two or three times a year. These terms are familiar from Microsoft's Windows 10 release, which follows a similar pattern.

 

Windows Server-as-a-service: Microsoft lays out Server 2016's future ? The Register

Edited July 13, 2016 by dblight

[3s-gtech]

Windows Server 2016 will be priced and licensed per core, rather than per physical processor

 

Not want. Considering what a good OS Server 2012 R2 is, it'll need to have some seriously compelling features for us to shift.

[localzuk]

Per core?! That's kinda dumb. Means we'd have to license 60 cores here for our 3 node cluster.

 

Hope the pricing for Datacenter under EES doesn't shoot up because of it.

[dblight]

And even then it would have to be LTSB! Servicing on a Server OS is pure madness

[Homer]

That per core licensing model scares me slightly...

[Arthur]

Per core?! That's kinda dumb.

At least it is consistent with System Center and SQL though.

[zag]

All depends how much they charge per core I guess!

[Michael]

I have to agree, in the context of a server LTSB is the only option, if Windows 10 'upgrades' are anything to go by.

 

I can't see how CBB is going to work realistically. It wouldn't be so bad if it could be done dynamically (without a reboot), but isn't something Microsoft have got right yet.

[Lonix]

What's that.. M$ possibly going to be overcharging customers as a result of per core.....

 

You'd think they took a page out of Apple's book and started over pricing for the sake of it.. sigh!!