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What we know about Windows Server 2022
Microsoft released the preview for Windows Server 2022 this week on Ignite, highlighting improvements to security, portal integration, and support for Windows containers on Kubernetes.
The company also announced news related to the management portal, such as the “general availability” release of Windows Admin Center version 2103 (see this video for an overview), including its integration into the Azure portal at the release stage. preview. Windows Admin Center version 2103 notably includes support for Azure IoT Edge for Linux on Windows. This feature, which was in preview stage in January, “makes it easier to install, configure, and diagnose IoT Edge on the Linux VM.”
Features of Windows Server 2022
Some workload statistics for the new server have been described. Microsoft says Windows Server 2022 can support “large-scale applications like SQL Server that require 48 TB of memory and 2,048 logical cores running on 64 physical sockets.”
On the Kubernetes side, the size of the Windows container image has been reduced, which is described as improving performance and download speeds. It’s “about a gigabyte smaller,” according to Bernardo Caldas, vice president of program management at Microsoft, during this Ignite session.
Windows Server 2022 will have built-in security features, such as using HTTPS and Transport Layer Security 1.3 by default. The Server Message Block protocol in Windows Server 2022 will use AES-256 encryption. The big new thing, however, is the addition of Secured-core protection.
Secure server protection
On the security front, a new feature in Windows Server 2022 is its “Secured-core server” capability, which adds firmware-level security protections when using qualified hardware.
Trusted Server is a hardware-based security approach (Trusted Platform Module 2.0) and virtualization designed to attest that the operating system has not been compromised by so-called “rootkits” or “bootkits” boot stage, or corrupted by contaminated drivers. Such a protection scheme is already available client-side on Windows 10 Secured-core PCs released.
The Secured-core approach is also extended to Microsoft’s Azure Stack HCI product, as well as “Azure-certified IoT devices,” Microsoft explained in this announcement by David Weston, director of enterprise security and operating systems. at Microsoft. The secure protections will not only apply to Windows systems, but also work for Linux operating systems, he added.
The release of Windows Server 2022 secure-core server products will depend on the timing of Microsoft chipsets (AMD and Intel) and OEM hardware partners. However, new machines are expected to arrive this year, according to Caldas during the Ignite session.
“You can expect to see new secure-core systems from Dell EMC, HP Enterprise, Lenovo and others later this year,” he said.
The current version of Windows Admin Center has a new “Security” tool in the preview stage that will show “the current status of secure features”. It also allows users to enable Secured-core features, if available, Microsoft said.
Management Portal Integration
Microsoft’s management and migration solutions were part of Windows Server 2022 news. A summary of what’s new in Windows Admin Center version 2103 and Windows Admin Center in the Azure portal was published by Microsoft in this twitter post.
Microsoft says “Azure Arc and Storage Migration Service are two key hybrid features that work best with Windows Server 2022.” Azure Arc is Microsoft’s multicloud management tool that also supports on-premises server management. The Storage Migration Service enables “seamless connectivity from on-premises file servers to file servers on Azure” as well as “low latency” data migrations to the cloud.
Additionally, the browser-based Windows Admin Center portal is now integrated with the Azure portal. Its use is free and allows the management of virtual machines (based on Windows Server 2016 and later versions) using this portal, in accordance with Microsoft documentation.
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