With a focus on all things cloud, Microsoft announced Nano Server and
container support for Windows Server vNext and Hyper-V, offering IT pros
and developers additional capabilities, flexibility, and better
security.
As Microsoft gears up for its conference season (BUILD is happening
April 29-May 1, and Ignite is from May 4-8), the tech giant has begun
building interest in its next generation of Windows Server by announcing
two new features that will benefit developers and IT pros alike: Nano
Server and native support for application containers.
Though the next version of Windows Server isn't expected until
sometime next year, Microsoft is anxious to continue innovating in key
areas that improve efficiency, security and manageability, which
ultimately are areas that help customers save money.
Microsoft Nano Server
Continuing the trend that began with Server Core, Microsoft
introduced Nano Server as a way to deploy Windows Server functionality
with minimal overhead. Nano Server takes things further than Server Core
in some key ways that are intended to minimize the overhead from the OS
even more. Nano Server removes any option to log into the host
directly; the UI, Remote Desktop, and even local console login have all
been removed. All management is done remotely through tools such as
PowerShell, Desired State Configuration, and WMI. Additionally, Nano
Server does not include 32-bit support, resulting in the removal of
dependency files from the WOW64 directory.
The
removal of these features means that the OS platform is significantly
more lightweight, resulting in improved performance and higher virtual
machine density, as well as increased security due to a smaller
vulnerability footprint and a reduced need for patching. In fact,
Microsoft estimated that VHD size can be reduced by 93 percent, critical
bulletins will be lowered by 92 percent, and admins will experience 80
percent fewer reboots.
Microsoft identified some key use cases for Nano Server, but it's
unlikely that Nano Servers will be replacing your entire Windows Server
fleet anytime soon. Cloud applications currently running as containers,
virtual machines, or physical servers are the first scenario. Because
Nano Server offers a robust subset of the Windows API, many existing web
applications will be fully supported.
The second use case is Microsoft-based infrastructure services such
as Hyper-V and storage clusters. Because of Nano Server's reduced
footprint, spinning up additional resources has a lower cost and can be
executed faster, maximizing efficiency in your data center.
There will likely be a learning curve for IT Pros looking to adopt
Nano Server, primarily due to management restrictions, though it's
likely that Nano Server will be manageable using traditional RSAT tools
such as Server Manager. Additionally, third-party management suites,
such as Chef, should offer some level of compatibility, allowing you to
fully integrate Nano Server into your existing management workflow.
MORE: Microsoft Partners With Chef To Extend Workload Automation
Microsoft Containers
Application containers have made a splash in recent years, primarily
due to the ease of deployment and the ability to scale rapidly. Further,
Docker has become one of the premier platforms for scalable web
applications. Microsoft announced a partnership with Docker in October
2014, which will bring support for native application containers in the
next version of Windows Server.
Microsoft's strategy is to offer two different container modes:
Windows Server Containers and Hyper-V Containers. Both modes will
support rapid application deployment using containers but will differ
slightly in how isolated the application is from other containers and
the host OS. Windows Server Containers will offer comparable isolation
to traditional Docker containers, meaning there is potential for a
compromised application to be used in an expanded attack on the host OS.
Hyper-V Containers compartmentalize applications even further,
isolating applications from the OS and establishing a logical boundary
between the two. Presumably, this additional security will come with a
performance cost due to the additional layer of the hypervisor, but the
tradeoff for additional security will be attractive to many customers.
The real beauty of this partnership is the increase in management
capabilities and the ability to enable developers to deploy applications
without having to provide control over entire servers. Microsoft has
pushed virtual machines hosted in Hyper-V or even Azure as a way to
support developer needs in the past, but container support streamlines
this process even further. With the introduction of Windows Server
Containers and Hyper-V Containers, Microsoft will likely be offering
management tools for the needs of IT Pros (Hyper-V Management Console,
PowerShell, System Center) as well as developers (Visual Studio, Docker
client, Git).
Microsoft's vision is focused on the cloud, whether it is public,
private or hybrid. Both Nano Server and container support are a step
forward in that vision, and at the same time offer both developer and IT
Pro customers additional flexibility in the types of applications and
services they can support. We'll learn much more about these new
features in the coming month between BUILD and Ignite, and we're looking
forward to seeing more details on how these features can be leveraged
by organizations both big and small.
