The future of Microsoft’s enterprise business is the cloud, we’re told. But is it really? The cloud is obviously important and will generate significant revenue, but Microsoft’s financial returns reveal that on-premises hardware is still important and likely to remain so for a long time. If you listen to the Windows Server team, they are optimistic about this future.
As Jeff Woolsey, senior program manager for Microsoft’s on-premises server products recently tweeted: “Yeah, just like there’s been a release of Windows Server every 2-3 years for the last twenty years.” SPOILER: There will also be a version of Windows Server after the next one. DOUBLE SPOILER: There will be a version of Windows Server after this one, the next too. »
SEE: Windows 10 Start Menu Hacks (TechRepublic Premium)
On-premises servers are an important part of enterprise infrastructures: they provide file and network support, they host business applications, they manage data. Even with workloads in the cloud, it will still be necessary to have some of these things close to your users, where network latency is an issue, where regulations require tight data control, and where software and hardware require tight integration. For now, and for a long time into the future, these issues will remain and make running your own servers essential.
Windows server maintenance
Microsoft offers two different service models for Windows Server. There is a Windows 10-style Semi-Annual Channel (SAC) with two releases per year, and a Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) with releases on the older Windows Server cadence of two to three years.
Both channels have their role to play. SAC releases provide regular updates for container hosts and what used to be Windows Server Core – a command-line-driven release with no GUI ideal for virtual machines.
LTSC’s next major release builds are currently available to Windows Insiders, with current builds focusing on file services. Microsoft recently began migrating its customers to SMB 3, and the current test version adds new encryption features to help secure data as it travels between systems. The file system gets a facelift, adding new tools to sync data with Azure and to manage storage migration to new installations, including Linux file hosts.
You can get an idea of what’s coming to Windows Server by looking at new members of the Azure Stack family, like Azure Stack HCI. Built on a Windows Server foundation, it shows how you will be able to create and run server clusters, using Windows Admin Center and technologies such as the Windows implementation of Kubernetes. Microsoft continues to evolve its Hyper-V virtualization layer, with its new in-OS virtual machines helping to secure Windows and supporting new scenarios like Windows’ own Linux subsystem.
That’s not to say that future versions of Windows Server won’t be any different than today’s. We can guess that the platform will evolve relatively slowly, but it depends on the capabilities of the server silicon and the workloads that the companies plan to run.
Windows Admin Center: Decoupling device and version administration
As hardware and software evolve, so does the underlying philosophy that guides tool development and encourages new ways of working. The rise of DevOps and the software management observability model is changing Windows Server, with much of its future in Windows Admin Center (WAC).
Bringing admin tools to a browser console is a big step, as is a commitment to a regular update schedule. Decoupling management tools from the underlying operating system is a big change for Microsoft, but it’s a change that allows Microsoft to migrate functionality from older management tools and work with vendors to add new in-console tools, bringing Microsoft and third-party management into a single, expandable window. You’re not limited to running WAC on Windows Server – it’s ready to use on desktops.
SEE: 60 Excel Tricks Every User Should Master
WAC is an important technology because it lets you manage a fleet of servers without having to create custom PowerShell remoting scripts, leveraging the same Windows management interface APIs as PowerShell. With WAC, you can use user access controls to ensure that only the right people have access to the tools they need.
Microsoft’s vision for the future is one where on-premises Windows Server works in conjunction with cloud computing in Azure. These can be stand-alone servers that occasionally connect to the cloud and use Azure Active Directory for authentication alongside on-premises AD. Or it could be an extension of Azure into your data center, using the Azure portal and tools like Azure Arc to manage applications running on your hardware, with data stored both in your data center data and in the cloud.
Speed up files
All of these scenarios involve moving lots of data around, and performance and security are important, even if you’re using a local server as your file share. Much of Microsoft’s recent work on servers has been to improve and update the familiar SMB protocols that underpin much of Windows Server file sharing.
At the heart of the SMB updates are new file compression tools that will be in the next version of Windows Server and are supported in up-to-date installations of Windows Server 2019. Managed from Windows Admin Center, you now have a single place to work with compression and encryption, supporting features that were previously only accessible through PowerShell. Compression dramatically reduces file copy times and is ideal for managing VM migrations or quickly creating new containers. We often forget how fundamental the file system is, so big changes here affect much of what happens elsewhere in Windows Server.
At the same time, Microsoft is studying how to improve SMB over the Internet, using the QUIC protocol. Developed as the next version of HTTP, it is already supported by browsers like Chrome and Edge and most modern web servers. By using QUIC, you can quickly establish secure connections to remote servers, without having to run around with the overhead of a VPN. Connections are made via a standard TLS port 443 connection, so they will work without the need to configure routers and firewalls, simplifying connectivity for PCs or branch offices.
Microsoft clearly strives to provide an on-premises Windows server that performs as well as a virtual machine as a bare metal installation. With hybrid cloud technologies like the Azure Stack family a key part of its enterprise IT strategy, that’s no surprise. Windows Server has long been a flexible server option, since launching its clustering solution as an add-on for Windows NT Server 4.0.
Today’s platform is the logical evolution of the NT server family, capable of running all classes of workloads on all types of hardware. Windows Server can run on a NUC-class device alongside a NAS server under a desk, providing file storage for a home office, or it can be an entire cluster of virtual machines in a two-rack Azure Stack Hub buffer driving a multinational SAP implementation. Either way, whatever it is running, one thing is clear: Windows Server will stay in your data center, on your premises, for a long time to come.
Comments are closed.