Windows Server Semi-Annual Channel update
Even though you can't acquire Windows Server Semi-Annual Channel releases through the OEM channel (but of course you can add Software Assurance within 90 days of purchase if you need to add this to an OEM purchase), it's still important for the broader channel to get an idea of what's new and what's changing in upcoming Windows Server releases.
Before I continue, it's worth noting that this is not a post about Windows Server 2019, which I have posted about preview access here. This is a post about the 1803 release, which as a Semi-Annual Channel release features the following.
| Semi-Annual Channel | ||
| Recommended scenarios | Containerised applications, container hosts, and application scenarios benefiting from faster innovation | |
| New releases | Every 6 months | |
| Support | 18 months | |
| Editions | Standard and Datacenter editions | |
| Who can use | Software Assurance and cloud customers only | |
| Installation options | Server Core for container host and image and Nano Server container image |
Notice that this is Standard and Datacenter only, and Server Core and Nano Server only, just like the 1709 release. The feature enhancements include the following, amongst others...
- Server Core container image size reduction
- Curl.exe, Tar.exe, and SSH support
- Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) enhancements
- Container networking enhancements
- More of the Kubernetes feature set enabled
You can try Windows Server, version 1803 preview and Windows Server 2019 preview via the Insiders program so head on over and take a look if server developments are something you need to stay ahead of.
Take a look at Jeff Woolsey's post for full details of the preview.