Microsoft's strong focus on all things cloud has led to the introduction
of Nano Server, a stripped down
One of the biggest IT pro-related announcements Microsoft made this
year was about Nano Server, a new small-footprint option for installing
Windows Server 2016. Nano Server pushes the concept of a minimal install
that Microsoft has offered in previous versions of Windows Server in
the form of Server Core. Unlike Server Core, Nano Server is intended to
be a completely headless installation (no local UI and no local
console). Also, where the Windows UI can be installed on top of Server
Core, Nano Server has no such capability.
Microsoft's Vision For Nano Server
The majority of Microsoft's corporate strategy is a concerted push
toward the cloud, whether it's public, private, or a hybrid cloud
environment. Each of Microsoft's major product areas, including Windows,
Office, and enterprise tools are being integrated into the company's
existing cloud presence. Enterprise software like Windows Server 2016 is
being built for hybrid or private cloud implementations. We've already
explored new and improved Server 2016 features that enable more
efficient cloud services like Storage Replica, container support, Hyper-V, and Active Directory. Nano Server is another key component of Microsoft's strategy to be highly competitive in the private cloud market.
Benefits Of Nano Server
With private clouds and service providers pushing the envelope when
it comes to virtual machine (VM) density, Microsoft recognized that a
weak point in Windows Server was the size of the minimum footprint
required to run a Windows Server VM. The footprint of a Nano Server
installation is reduced significantly by removing features such as the
UI, 32-bit compatibility, and MSI support. The result is a stripped-down
version of Windows Server that can run a subset of applications and
services, but with huge efficiency gains. For shops running heavy VM or
application workloads, Nano Server allows them to increase the number of
VMs running on their hardware without being so concerned about the
overhead required by the operating system.
Nano
Server also gains security improvements by nature of a stripped down
architecture. Based on the removal of the UI and other features,
Microsoft states that Nano Server will required 93 percent fewer
critical bulletins, and 80 percent fewer reboots.Nano Server Use Cases
The obvious downside of having a stripped-down version of Windows
Server is that it has limited capabilities. At this time, Nano Server is
specifically geared toward three server roles: Hyper-V, cloud-native
app server, and file server. In each case the focus is on providing
scalability and efficiency for large-scale VM deployments. The small
footprint offered by Nano Server provides the ability to automate the
deployment of multiple VMs in a short period of time. Support for
Hyper-V clusters and Scale Out File Server makes these critical server
roles resilient as well as scalable.
On paper, Nano Server has some serious potential when paired with Windows Server 2016's support for container apps. Having the ability to deploy a new VM and install container apps within minutes has a huge potential for developers and IT Pros alike. The added value of being able to run hundreds of these types of VMs on a single host due to the small footprint could be a big plus for IT Pros.
On paper, Nano Server has some serious potential when paired with Windows Server 2016's support for container apps. Having the ability to deploy a new VM and install container apps within minutes has a huge potential for developers and IT Pros alike. The added value of being able to run hundreds of these types of VMs on a single host due to the small footprint could be a big plus for IT Pros.
Nano Server Management
The big news in regards to Nano Server is on the management front.
Clearly, as a completely headless version of Windows Server, all
management of Nano Server is accomplished remotely. A variety of
Microsoft management tools are available to use, including MMC
(Microsoft Management Console) Snap-Ins like Hyper-V Manager or
Services, Windows PowerShell, Desired State Configuration (DSC), Server
Manager, and Microsoft System Center. Microsoft also states that third
party management tools, such as Puppet and Chef, will be supported.
Microsoft has designed Nano Server to be fully manageable through automated means in keeping with their cloud strategy, but fully realizes that some organizations will prefer to perform some administration with GUI tools. It's important to recognize the distinction between the headless nature of Nano Server and a system that is only manageable through a command line. Nano Server does offer support for management through GUI tools using remote management.
Microsoft has designed Nano Server to be fully manageable through automated means in keeping with their cloud strategy, but fully realizes that some organizations will prefer to perform some administration with GUI tools. It's important to recognize the distinction between the headless nature of Nano Server and a system that is only manageable through a command line. Nano Server does offer support for management through GUI tools using remote management.
Nano Server is available in the Windows Server 2016 Technical Preview 2. Installation requires extracting the NanoServer directory from the Windows Server 2016 ISO and creating an image file using the Convert-WindowsImage.ps1 PowerShell script. Additionally, various packages are available in the NanoServer directory under Packages. These can be added to the image using the Add-WindowsPackage cmdlet.
At minimum, Nano Server offers an additional set of tools for IT Pros
looking for options when it comes to scalability. We'd really like to
see capabilities added to Nano Server, particularly the ability to run
core infrastructure roles like DHCP, DNS, and Active Directory. It's
going to be fun to see how Microsoft builds out Nano Server leading up
to the Windows Server 2016 release.
