Windows Server 2016 set for mid-October release

With Docker Engine CS thrown in for free

Windows Server 2016 will broadly be available from the middle of this month October 2016, the Docker Engine will be given at no extra cost to buyers.

Microsoft announced this during their Ignite Conference in Atlanta, they told customers that Windows Server 2016 and System Centre 2016 will be on the price list before broadly being available from mid-October.

Windows Server 2016 introduces production support for running applications and services in containers for the first time on Windows Server, this has been under Technical Preview for most of this year.

(Technical Preview (TP) is an evaluation copy for enterprise users. Basically, it’s an early test version. Businesses are given the chance to try it out, see how it fits into their routines and provide Microsoft with feedback.)

With this in mind, Microsoft revealed that the Commercially Supported Docker Engine, better known as the container-based solution for Linux operating systems, will be included with the operating system for free “as a way to enable IT pros to secure the Windows software supply chain and manage containerized Windows workloads, whether on-premises, in the cloud or in a hybrid environment.”

Technical support for the Docker Engine in Windows Server 2016 will be provided at no extra cost, also a beta release of Docker Datacentre for Windows Server will be arriving around the fourth quarter of this year, this is what Microsoft have announced themselves.

Remarking on the partnership, Docker said: These fruits of this partnership for the first time offer enterprise IT professionals with a single platform for both Windows and Linux applications on any infrastructure, whether bare metal, virtualized, or cloud.

Microsoft has also been eager to EXPRESS that Windows Server 2016’s advanced multi-layer security assists IT professionals block attacks and detect suspicious activity, and System Centre’s extended support for mixed environments and hybrid cloud operations.

A preview of Microsoft Azure Stack has also been released, this should be available in 2017.

Technical Preview 2 brings with it of Azure Stack’s “infrastructure management technologies”, while other additions include Key Vault support which adds cryptographic protection for data stored in data centres, along with Queue Support, a feature to support application messaging.

Microsoft is planning to add in some support for its App Service ‘in the coming weeks,’ it is a feature created to ease development by business users.