Along with the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, Microsoft this week released its first feature update for Windows Server 2016.
While some admins are just starting to kick the tires, they’ve already noticed a few surprise omissions in this “Semi-Annual Channel” update, also known as build 1709 (for September, the ninth month of 2017.)
First, here’s a quick recap of what made it 1709.
As Microsoft said, the Server Core container image is about 60% smaller, while the Nano Server container image is almost 80% smaller than in the original Windows Server 2016 release. Microsoft has also added the promised Linux container with Hyper. Support for -V isolation in this release.
As Microsoft officials previously said, the original Nano Server has been “deprecated” and replaced with Nano running in a container image. It seems that few users were on board with Microsoft’s push to make Nano Server the smallest version of Windows Server, and so a repositioning was in order. The introduction of a new Windows Server graphical management tool, known as “Project Honolulu” (in technical preview) is also part of the new grand plan.
The removal of SMB1 and Guest Authentication has also been incorporated into this release, as have a number of other compute, storage, networking, and remote desktop service updates listed in this article Microsoft Docs.
But a few items were removed from 1709.
For one, the Essentials version of Windows Server 2016 is gone. Windows Server 2016 Essentials edition was a first “cloud-connected” server for small businesses with up to 25 users. Microsoft launched the Essentials edition in October 2016.
But in the list of Windows Server installation options in Microsoft’s “Getting Started” with post 1709, there is no mention of Essentials. (Thanks to Instructions on Microsoft for heads-up.)
Windows Server 1709 is only available in Standard and Datacenter editions. (As of October 19, Windows Server 1709 is also available on Azure.) It’s also worth noting that those who install 1709 only get Server Core as an install option, even though Windows Server 2016 allows Server install options Core and Server with Desktop Experience.
I asked Microsoft if the company would continue to offer an Essentials version of Windows Server in the future and got no response.
Here is Microsoft’s list of new 1709 features that are in Standard and that are in Datacenter:
Also, Storage Spaces Direct is not in Windows Server 1709, as Microsoft acknowledges in its updated release notes for 1709.
Storage Spaces Direct spans Windows Server clusters and creates a bus through which servers can see all of each other’s local disks. It was introduced as a feature of Windows Server r2016 and described by Microsoft as “the foundation of our hyperconverged platform”.
I heard last month from a contact of mine that Microsoft was not happy with the quality of Storage Spaces Direct and therefore chose to block it from being usable for all software-defined Datacenter applications in 1709. Administrators cannot add servers running 1709 to Windows Server 2016 deployments where Storage Spaces Direct is used.
The next possible update to Storage Spaces Direct could be part of “Redstone 4”, the Windows 10 client and server update that should start rolling out around April next year.
Update (October 30): Microsoft published a 1709 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) blog post on October 26, which contains useful information for those wondering how 1709 fits into Windows Server 2016.
The FAQ makes it clear that IT Pros have options: those who want to get new server features faster can opt for the Semi-Annual Channel (Feature Updates) which are supported for 18 months each. and published twice a year. Windows Server 2016 is in the Long Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) and will continue to be supported for 10 years with a new release every two to three years.
Those running Server 2016 today shouldn’t treat 1709 as a feature update to 2016, officials said. To upgrade from Windows Server 2016 or earlier versions of Windows Server to 1709, users must perform a clean installation, as no in-place upgrades are supported. Those who want Semi-Annual Channel releases need Software Assurance for their Windows Server licenses or are willing to use Semi-Annual Channel releases hosted on Azure or other cloud-hosted environments.
Windows Server Essentials releases will only be available in LTSC; Standard or Datacenter are the only editions supported in Semi-Annual Channel. Also: Server Core is the only supported install option in Semi-Annual Channel (which some users are complaining about).
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