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From the TechNet Announcement: "we removed the GUI stack, 32 bit support (WOW64), MSI and a number of default Server Core components. There is no local logon o

From the TechNet Announcement: "we removed the GUI stack, 32 bit support (WOW64), MSI and a number of default Server Core components. There is no local logon or Remote Desktop support. All management is performed remotely via WMI and PowerShell. We are also adding Windows Server Roles and Features using Features on Demand and DISM. We are improving remote manageability via PowerShell with Desired State Configuration as well as remote file transfer, remote script authoring and remote debugging. We are working on a set of new Web-based management tools to replace local inbox management tools." http://blogs.technet.com/b/windowsserver/archive/2015/04/08/microsoft-announces-nano-server-for-modern-apps-and-cloud.aspx http://blogs.technet.com/b/windowsserver/archive/2015/04/08/...

lawl 12y ago
Thanks for the clarification. I at first assumed they'd bring OS level virtualization, apparently I'm not the only one. But it's basically just minimal images of windows in regular VMs then... A step in the right direction but still disappointing imo. Linux and BSD are still miles ahead.
- waitwaitwhay 12y ago
  That referrs to Nano, not Hyper V virtualization?
- throwaway1979 12y ago
  So this is like boot2docker ... on Windows? You have a VM and you have containers inside it. This is not the same as containers on baremetal. But that is fine .. my confusion is the OS inside the VM. Is that Linux or Windows? Normally, I can run Ubuntu and Centos-based containers on my box. Can I run these as Hyper V containers? What about dot net? Can that be containerized.
  - lawl 12y ago
    No. When you talk about containers, you talk about operating system level virtualization[0]. This means you have one kernel, with multiple user spaces. You can run a CentOS container on Ubuntu because both use a Linux Kernel. What will actually happen is that CentOS will use your already booted Ubuntu Kernel. So unless Windows switches to a Linux Kernel or vice versa you will never be able to run one as a container on the other. You can however do that with Virtual Machines. But installing a stripped down version of windows in a virtual machine does not make it a container, it makes it marketing bullshit. "Containers on baremetal" and containerizing dot net are thus a bit silly concepts since .NET has nothing to do with the operating system and you can't run a container on "bare metal" whatever you might mean by that. [0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operating-system-level_virtualization http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operating-system-level_virtuali...
    - justincormack 12y ago
      You might be able to run Windows containers under Wine....
- wmf 12y ago
  Microsoft is doing OS-level containers and they are also going to allow running containers in VMs.
  - bydo 12y ago
    They're doing OS-level virtualization in Linux Azure instances, sure. They don't seem committed to OS-level virtualization in Windows, unless I've missed something. edit: http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/projects/drawbridge/ http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/projects/drawbridge/ ?
  - lawl 12y ago
    That's what you would assume when you look at the image. But > Hyper-V Containers, a new container deployment option with enhanced isolation powered by Hyper-V virtualization. Everything written tells a different story. "Hyper-V virtualization" means virtual machines, making it not a container. They just try to make that sound like a feature. Or do you have more information than I do?
    - cwyers 12y ago
      All we have is a press release. The diagram and the constant references to containers would seem to indicate these are, well, containers. You're picking at a few things and assuming they mean that the rest of the release is wrong. Why?
  - johngossman 12y ago
    Trying to clarify. We are talking about 3 things: 1) OS virtualization for Windows. We announced this last year: http://azure.microsoft.com/blog/2014/10/15/new-windows-server-containers-and-azure-support-for-docker/ http://azure.microsoft.com/blog/2014/10/15/new-windows-serve... 2) Nano Server -- A small Windows Server sku. Perfect for containers, but also useful for other scenarios where you need a small, cloud optimized Windows 3) Hyper-V Containers -- Think if you wanted to optimize a hypervisor with assumption that it is only running a container. What enlightenments would you enable? What management interface would you put on it? We'll have more details later, but this is the core concept.
ochoseis 12y ago
Since this is all remote powershell, it would be nice if MS/Windows introduced a native SSH server. That would probably help drive some conversion for people used to the posix world.
- olavgg 12y ago
  This!!!! One of the biggest things I really miss in Windows-land is SSH. Just today I had to create a SSH tunnel for SQL Server. While it's not a big issue with third party tools, it should just be built and ready for use as with every Linux distro, FreeBSD, Solaris and OSX.
- dordoka 12y ago
  While they are at it, they could create a posix compatible layer for Windows. That would really drive some conversion. edit: after rereading my comment and seeing the downvotes, just to clarify, it was a serious, not negative suggestion. :)
  - emodendroket 12y ago
    They've done that before and, as far as I know, it was not an extremely popular product.
    - stormbrew 12y ago
      It was not an extremely functional product. It was largely there to get government contracts where one of the requirements was POSIX conformance, even if they weren't using it.
      - emodendroket 12y ago
        Imagining they had first-class support for it (a major undertaking, I'd guess, but anyway) how many people would use it? I'd guess it'd be about the same people who use Cygwin now.
        12y ago
guelo 12y ago
> All management is performed remotely Wow, I've been out of the Windows world for years, can you really fully manage a Windows box without the GUI?
- motoboi 12y ago
  No. But you can use your machine to run the tools which will connect to the server. You can do this with desktops, not only windows server. Try Computer Management on your machine.
rsync 12y ago
"we removed the GUI stack, 32 bit support (WOW64), MSI and a number of default Server Core components. There is no local logon or Remote Desktop support. All management is performed remotely via WMI and PowerShell." Is this unprecedented ? I think it is, but I've been divorced from the windows ecosystem for a very, very long time ... Is this, in fact, the first time that there has been a Windows release that had ... no windows ? Had no GUI ? Was administered with a CLI only ?
- wila 12y ago
  Not really the first time. Windows Server Core has existed since Windows Server 2008 [1]. Sounds like they stripped some more parts like MSI and 32 bits support. [1] https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd184075.aspx https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd184075.aspx

lawl 12y ago

Thanks for the clarification. I at first assumed they'd bring OS level virtualization, apparently I'm not the only one. But it's basically just minimal images of windows in regular VMs then... A step in the right direction but still disappointing imo. Linux and BSD are still miles ahead.

waitwaitwhay 12y ago
That referrs to Nano, not Hyper V virtualization?
throwaway1979 12y ago
So this is like boot2docker ... on Windows? You have a VM and you have containers inside it. This is not the same as containers on baremetal. But that is fine .. my confusion is the OS inside the VM. Is that Linux or Windows? Normally, I can run Ubuntu and Centos-based containers on my box. Can I run these as Hyper V containers? What about dot net? Can that be containerized.
- lawl 12y ago
  No. When you talk about containers, you talk about operating system level virtualization[0]. This means you have one kernel, with multiple user spaces. You can run a CentOS container on Ubuntu because both use a Linux Kernel. What will actually happen is that CentOS will use your already booted Ubuntu Kernel. So unless Windows switches to a Linux Kernel or vice versa you will never be able to run one as a container on the other. You can however do that with Virtual Machines. But installing a stripped down version of windows in a virtual machine does not make it a container, it makes it marketing bullshit. "Containers on baremetal" and containerizing dot net are thus a bit silly concepts since .NET has nothing to do with the operating system and you can't run a container on "bare metal" whatever you might mean by that. [0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operating-system-level_virtualization http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operating-system-level_virtuali...
  - justincormack 12y ago
    You might be able to run Windows containers under Wine....
wmf 12y ago
Microsoft is doing OS-level containers and they are also going to allow running containers in VMs.
- bydo 12y ago
  They're doing OS-level virtualization in Linux Azure instances, sure. They don't seem committed to OS-level virtualization in Windows, unless I've missed something. edit: http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/projects/drawbridge/ http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/projects/drawbridge/ ?
- lawl 12y ago
  That's what you would assume when you look at the image. But > Hyper-V Containers, a new container deployment option with enhanced isolation powered by Hyper-V virtualization. Everything written tells a different story. "Hyper-V virtualization" means virtual machines, making it not a container. They just try to make that sound like a feature. Or do you have more information than I do?
  - cwyers 12y ago
    All we have is a press release. The diagram and the constant references to containers would seem to indicate these are, well, containers. You're picking at a few things and assuming they mean that the rest of the release is wrong. Why?
- johngossman 12y ago
  Trying to clarify. We are talking about 3 things: 1) OS virtualization for Windows. We announced this last year: http://azure.microsoft.com/blog/2014/10/15/new-windows-server-containers-and-azure-support-for-docker/ http://azure.microsoft.com/blog/2014/10/15/new-windows-serve... 2) Nano Server -- A small Windows Server sku. Perfect for containers, but also useful for other scenarios where you need a small, cloud optimized Windows 3) Hyper-V Containers -- Think if you wanted to optimize a hypervisor with assumption that it is only running a container. What enlightenments would you enable? What management interface would you put on it? We'll have more details later, but this is the core concept.

ochoseis 12y ago

Since this is all remote powershell, it would be nice if MS/Windows introduced a native SSH server. That would probably help drive some conversion for people used to the posix world.

olavgg 12y ago
This!!!! One of the biggest things I really miss in Windows-land is SSH. Just today I had to create a SSH tunnel for SQL Server. While it's not a big issue with third party tools, it should just be built and ready for use as with every Linux distro, FreeBSD, Solaris and OSX.
dordoka 12y ago
While they are at it, they could create a posix compatible layer for Windows. That would really drive some conversion. edit: after rereading my comment and seeing the downvotes, just to clarify, it was a serious, not negative suggestion. :)
- emodendroket 12y ago
  They've done that before and, as far as I know, it was not an extremely popular product.
  - stormbrew 12y ago
    It was not an extremely functional product. It was largely there to get government contracts where one of the requirements was POSIX conformance, even if they weren't using it.
    - emodendroket 12y ago
      Imagining they had first-class support for it (a major undertaking, I'd guess, but anyway) how many people would use it? I'd guess it'd be about the same people who use Cygwin now.
      - 12y ago

guelo 12y ago

> All management is performed remotely Wow, I've been out of the Windows world for years, can you really fully manage a Windows box without the GUI?

motoboi 12y ago
No. But you can use your machine to run the tools which will connect to the server. You can do this with desktops, not only windows server. Try Computer Management on your machine.

rsync 12y ago

"we removed the GUI stack, 32 bit support (WOW64), MSI and a number of default Server Core components. There is no local logon or Remote Desktop support. All management is performed remotely via WMI and PowerShell." Is this unprecedented ? I think it is, but I've been divorced from the windows ecosystem for a very, very long time ... Is this, in fact, the first time that there has been a Windows release that had ... no windows ? Had no GUI ? Was administered with a CLI only ?

wila 12y ago
Not really the first time. Windows Server Core has existed since Windows Server 2008 [1]. Sounds like they stripped some more parts like MSI and 32 bits support. [1] https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd184075.aspx https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd184075.aspx