Second Technical Preview of Windows Server 2016 Arriving This Spring

jones_supa writes: The second technical preview of Windows Server 2016 will be launching in May as the first one nears its expiration date. The next Windows Server is being developed and targeted for an early 2016 release, however, the latest and greatest preview builds haven't been released to the public by Microsoft since October 2014. At the same time, Windows 10 builds have been released regularly to everybody who wants to try them out. It was revealed earlier that the Windows Server release won't take place along with that of Windows 10, so it makes sense that Microsoft is pushing more builds of the desktop OS out for testing first. There is no mention of an exact date of the upcoming Windows Server Technical Preview, but an announcement can be expected during the upcoming BUILD 2015 conference which starts on 29th April.

Comments

Wow

[Anonymous Coward]

Nobody has one thing to say...?

Re:Wow

[x0ra]

It's only been 20min, give people some slack...

Re:Wow

[davester666]

I really didn't want to say this, but...sucks to be you.

I hope Samba can keep up.

[Zombie Ryushu]

I hope Samba can keep up. I am just now migrating from the whole OpenLDAP, Samba 3+Heimdal+OpenLDAP to Samba 4. Boy has it been ride. Samba 4 AD will start out as a Windows Server 2008 R2 AD. I'm hoping that Samba team will pull what they did with the NT Domain Architecture and greatly expand the scope and flexibility of AD before Windows Server 2016 comes along, and does something that breaks compatibility, and puts 2012 ADs into a "Mixed Mode Compatible" status.

As where Samba 3 had issues with them changing how the NTLM hash was handled, introducing service packs that made minor protocol variations that broke Samba, and older Windows Clients, Microsoft's Game plan seems to be all about changing the schema just enough so Replication and inter-domain trusts stop working.

Not to mention, often times, AD replication to Samba 4 servers includes the RFC2037 Schemas to be installed as well, to support Linux OpenLDAP and Heimdal Clients. Windows machines have that off by default.

Re:I hope Samba can keep up.

[ArchieBunker]

Samba is bullshit anymore. I've had so many problems lately with Samba not knowing how to handle filenames with spaces. It makes the files appear as though the permissions are bad to the Windows clients. You have to manually map the characters in the config. Why? Daemons like ftpd do not have this problem.

Re:I hope Samba can keep up.

[fulano]

That is absolutely not true. The default configuration of Samba 4 can handle filenames with spaces flawlessly both in our FreeBSD server and the Windows clients. Even the last versions of Samba 3 didn't have this problem anymore. Could you provide us more details?

Not even if it's free.

[Gravis Zero]

not all open source code is bulletproof but microsoft has proven their code is swiss cheese. so why would anyone willingly use a MS product that for something that needs to be secure? when people are shooting at you, do you want to be wearing body armor or cheese?

Re: Not even if it's free.

[Voyager529]

Depends where it lives with respect to the infrastructure. As a web server with a public IP and nothing in front of it, running IIS? Probably not (though, to be fair, IIS8.5 has come a long way from versions 5 and 6). Running an application for an industry specific vertical product that is built on the IIS/ASP/MSSQL stack? I don't have a problem with that. Doing internal DHCP/DNS/AD/Exchange? I'm fine with that, too.

Microsoft's issue is that they made it very easy to configure in an insecure way. Similarly, they didn't give much help when it came to giving novice server admins enough guidance to fix their issues without disabling the security measures wholesale. Now, the natural Slashdot argument would be the very concept of a "novice server admin", but the alternative is that certain small businesses don't have a server, so they can't run their applications, so things get messy.

Think of a nail salon with two locations in neighboring towns. Not a large enough business to warrant an IT staff, but big enough to need a client/server model scheduling system, and not the kind of place likely to have an employee technical enough to really do the job right. Cloud vendors are starting to crop up to fill this kind of niche, but even five years ago, that was much less common. Back then, we'd get a server and a point to point VPN system up and running, but if the application runs on IIS/ASP/MSSQL, having a Linux server isn't an option, and the people in charge of choosing the product are unlikely to pick it based on platform. Situations of this nature are incredibly common on Main Street.

I love using Linux and BSD where appropriate, but sometimes Windows is the right tool for the job. Other times, it isn't. No sense in turning it into a religious debate.

Re: Not even if it's free.

[Gravis Zero]

Running an application for an industry specific vertical product that is built on the IIS/ASP/MSSQL stack? I don't have a problem with that.

sure, put a gun to my head and i won't have a problem with a lot of things. on the other hand, i'm going to avoid jobs that say they need such things.

Doing internal DHCP/DNS/AD/Exchange? I'm fine with that, too.

now you are just being lazy because there is no such thing as an internal server if you connect it to a network.

Re: Not even if it's free.

[WaffleMonster]

Doing internal DHCP/DNS/AD/Exchange? I'm fine with that, too.

AD was engineered by crazy people obsessed with self-mortification.

Exchange like Gas Pumps in Oregon and New Jersey is a jobs program for Administrators.

DNS beloved by DDOS mitigation services everywhere.

DHCP Jet databases are protected by a mysterious force that defies rational explanation.

Re: Not even if it's free.

[Anonymous Coward]

I hate to advocate MS, but please, find me a solution that scales:

OpenLDAP and other LDAP solutions don't scale like AD.

Exchange is a must for any big company unless they have their internal solution and dogfood. There are E-mail solutions, but they do not scale.

DNS is a must.

DHCP is a hell of a lot better than the alternative. BOOTP then TFTP anyone?

Yes, one -can- cobble together something... but it takes a ton of man-hours (and trained man-hours as UNIX support is a lot harder to find than MCSEs.)

Re: Not even if it's free.

[Anonymous Coward]

Your arguments: Heavy on the hyperbole. Light on substance.

Re:Not even if it's free.

[benjymouse]

not all open source code is bulletproof but microsoft has proven their code is swiss cheese. so why would anyone willingly use a MS product that for something that needs to be secure? when people are shooting at you, do you want to be wearing body armor or cheese?

http://www.zdnet.com/article/t...

Microsoft has (discounting the time before the nimda and code red disasters and the security push) consistently beat the industry average on fewer vulnerabilities for comparable products.

Specifically the later versions of internet information services (IIS) - the webserver that would be roughly comparable to Apache httpd with PHP, Ruby or Java - have fared extremely well in comparison: IIS 7 has had 8 vulns discovered in it's entire lifetime, while IIS 8 still has a clean sheet.

Re: Not even if it's free.

[LDAPMAN]

If you need LDAP to scale then look to eDirectory or even RHDS.

Re: Not even if it's free.

[Anonymous Coward]

"DHCP is a hell of a lot better than the alternative."

Nobody is advocating ditching DHCP entirely, it's just that dhcpd blows the awful Jet-powered Windows DHCP service out of the water.

Re: Not even if it's free.

[Anonymous Coward]

Kolab offers a fully Free enterprise mail, calendaring, free/busy and resource allocation stack that is built on standard tools like Cyrus IMAPd and postfix. It does some of those things better than Exchange.

Zimbra might also be worth a look although I'm less familiar with it.

It's nonsense to say that Exchange is essential for any business unless they're so deeply tied to it already that migrating away would cost more than would be saved in licences.

Does it still have the shitty UI?

[Anonymous Coward]

Will Windows Server 2016 still have the shitty, shitty, shitty Windows 8-style UI that's fucking unusable and totally unsuitable for a server OS?

Re:Does it still have the shitty UI?

[Anonymous Coward]

no.

Re:Does it still have the shitty UI?

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes, as we've seen with Windows 10, they're doubling down on Metro once more. They've just changed the name once more to "Universal apps".

So Tired of Win10 News

[Anonymous Coward]

C'mon guys, can everyone just step back for one second and ask themselves why on earth would /. be posting Windows 10 articles, what, every couple of days? When will this insanity end?

Rather than just blame /. for poor editing, I feel it is appropriate to go one step further and accuse /. of accepting paid submissions. I've heard a few /. editors refute those claims, and perhaps in their little world they think they are telling the truth, but the evidence speaks otherwise.

Fuck Microsoft Win 10. Fuck /..

Fuck!

**Used to be a much more expressive "fuck" but the "junk" character filter has restricted my freedom of expression.

Re:So Tired of Win10 News

[techno-vampire]

Actually, if you're a big enough tech company you don't even need to pay to get your stories on the front page here. All you need to do is submit it and have a bunch of market droids and beancounters with sock puppet accounts here vote it up. Add on the techs on your payroll who have real Slashdot accounts, and you've got a lot of astroturfing behind you. And, of course, there's always your satisfied customers (and if you don't have any you're not going to be a big tech company for very long) who are interested in learning more about what you've got, and their votes should be enough to push you over the top, without a penny spent.

Re:So Tired of Win10 News

[Anonymous Coward]

Microsoft did approach me for a paid, shill position. I said if it pisses off Slashdot's commie contingency, I'll do it for free.

Docker integration

[Anonymous Coward]

One of my many pet peeves with this industry for a number of years now has been peeps going virtualization crazy when often what they really want to achieve could be much more effectively done with operating systems natively supporting distributed management models. Thankfully common sense is starting to prevail and solutions like docker are taking off. Microsoft appears quite serious about supporting them. All good.

I am however deeply concerned about "Azure" and schemes to force their overpriced "cloud" bullshit down peoples throats.

What I really want to see in Windows server 2016 is an operating system that does not piss me off and waste my time... Metro shit, in your face cloud shit, incompatible changes for no coherent reason, Oracle like pricing. I would happily pay for unexciting incremental improvement devoid of vendor bullshit.

Please God no.

[Radical Moderate]

If you drink enough MS koolaid, putting metro in Windows 8 sort of made sense, in a "everyone will love it and buy our phones!" way. But putting it on a server OS was just mind-numbingly stupid, I just can't see how anyone thought it was a good idea. I cringe every time I have to log in to our 2012 servers.

Re:Please God no.

[Billly Gates]

I do not see what the big deal is on a server?

Desktop by default loads up with Server manager. As long as you do not hit the Windows key the start screen doesn't pop up. You can with powershell install Windows Server 2012 headless with no gui at all!

90% of the work on servers is done from a system admins desk anyway with MMC and the associated server tools. Very rarely does one log in unless something is wrong. Powershell version 4 means you can do alot without walking into the server room and plugging in a monitor and keyboard.

Now on a desktop this can be frustrating to get used to if you use it for 8 hours a day.

Re:Please God no.

[PsychoSlashDot]

Because the UI (in 2012 R2) is spastic and inconsistent. The different UI elements involved with say... creating and connecting to a VPN is stupid. Starting at a normal desktop UI, you get the Start Screen, then you manually type "control panel" because it may or may not be visible, then go to Network and Whatever Else, then you click to add a network connection and go through the normal UI to add the VPN. Then you have to actually open network adapters to see the connection you just added. Then when you double-click on the VPN's icon, a moronic blue bar (part of the charms idiocy) comes up on the entire right side of the screen, showing you your connections, and you get to click on your VPN connection AGAIN to select it, then you get a connect button that you an click, and finally feed in credentials. The blue bar vanishes. Because... reasons.

Look, we get it. Microsoft things it's a tablet with a touch interface. It's not. It's a server. With - most likely - an RDP, VNC, or out-of-band interface. But no.

Having to memorize and use Powershell syntax to launch a VPN is stupid, especially when the previous Server 2008 UI was usable.

Re: Please God no.

[Anonymous Coward]

Running a Windows server headless is a horribly bad joke.

Re:Please God no.

[Billly Gates]

I am not a metro fan at all.

I am typing this on Windows 7. But really people do not use servers as a desktop and your thing with VPN's is a non issue in a server.

There are younger folks who have no problem with the start screen after they get used to it. It is just different and requires muscle memory. For a server I only use server manager which opens by default or the tools at my desk. I do not run it on a laptop where I will VPN from a hotel room.

More than likely when the release comes next month it will have a 10 UI with a start menu and yes some applets come with 10 but will probably be absent for the server..

Re: Please God no.

[mlts]

With SCOM, SCCM, and in a Hyper-V world, SCVMM, it isn't bad. In fact, Windows Server 2012 and newer ship with Server Core on by default (not hard to get the full UI if you want), because one is expected to use management tools and PowerShell.

No UI (Server Core) is useful. One less subsystem that a bad guy can attack.

Re:Please God no.

[benjymouse]

Starting from scratch:

PS C:\Windows\system32> Get-Command -Noun *vpn*

(list of commands with VPN in the name - which includes an "Add-VpnConnection" command. Lets see...)

PS C:\Windows\system32> man Add-VpnConnection

(syntax and "man" page. Yup, that is the command I was looking for. Wonder if there are any examples...)

PS C:\Windows\system32> man Add-VpnConnection -Examples

(several examples with explanation. Let' try it...)

PS C:\Windows\system32> Add-VpnConnection -Name Doh! -ServerAddress 10.1.1.1 -AllUserConnection -AuthenticationMethod MSChapv2 -EncryptionLevel Required -L2tpPsk SuperSecret! -TunnelType L2tp -UseWinlogonCredential

(connection is created)

Boy, that was hard!

Re: Please God no.

[Anonymous Coward]

Running a Windows server headless is a horribly bad joke.

So you've never heard of Hyper-V, Vmware, XenServer?

Re:Please God no.

[Anonymous Coward]

What you just did was tell us that you don't know what you're doing.

16 colors because Linux!

[Anonymous Coward]

Microsoft reduces Windows Server to 16 colors in a bizarre attempt to appease the Linux crowd because they think Linux is evil 16-color command line.

Meanwhile, Linux terminals support full 24-bit RGB.

RDP/RemoteFX Peformance?

[Khyber]

Did they bother fixing the fuckup they did in RDP8 when trying to access Machines using RemoteFX? Using RDP7 you could easily pull a 20K+ score in 3D benchmarks, getting near-native performance, same hardware and RDP8 dropped that by HALF.

If they haven't fixed that, I'm not interested and I'll stick with Windows Server 2012 and Hyper-V combo using Win7 VMs.