Written by Mary Jo Foley,
On June 18, Microsoft released the first public test build for “Windows Server vNext”, its feature update for Windows Server. We’re pretty sure this is part of the Windows Server 20H1 series, given that today’s server test build number is 18917 and the Windows 10 client team released last week the version 18917 of the 20H1 branch.
Microsoft’s blog post on the new release simply calls it “Windows Server vNext”. If this was in fact the next semi-annual channel build, it would be part of the 19H2 branch. Microsoft still hasn’t released test builds of its 19H2 builds, even though the client team had targeted “spring” for the start of 19H2 testing.
Sources have said that 19H2 could end up being a very incremental Windows 10 update and all new features might be disabled by default. Microsoft officials haven’t said anything about how or when they will test or ship 19H2, but said there are plans for a 19H2 release this year.
A quick reminder: Semi-Annual Channel releases of Server are container- and application-focused. They do not support long-term release features such as Storage Spaces Direct, software-defined networking, and shielded virtual machines. Users who need these features should upgrade to a Long Term Servicing Channel release like Windows Server 2019.
The current Windows Server Insider release includes new features around the Virtual Machines tool. There are now Import/Export buttons to import and export virtual machines to a local volume or remote file share. In the current release, testers also have the ability to tag virtual machines on a Hyper-V server. And according to Microsoft’s post, “significant performance improvements” have been made to reduce page load times in the Virtual Machines tool.
Build 18917 adds new functionality to the Azure integration feature around the Azure Hybrid Services tool, among other things.
Microsoft is also working on a new version of the Windows Admin Center, which is the graphical server management tool. Windows Admin Center is now available in preview version 1906, which includes new features such as the ability to select individual Windows updates to install. There is also work to provide users with a way to specify when they are offline in the Windows Admin Center in this release.
For a full list of features and known issues, see the Windows Server 18917 blog post.
If Microsoft sticks to its current model, Windows Server 19H2, aka Server 1909, should start rolling out to users around October 2019 or so. Server 20H1 (Server 2003?) should start rolling out around April/May 2020. Microsoft made Windows Server 1903 generally available last month.
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