Windows Server 2016 is a cloud-reading Operating System. The hybrid Cloud OS will be seen to support your current workloads as well as introducing you to new technologies in cloud infrastructure. This will make it easy to transition to the cloud computing when you are ready.

It helps along with Azure Hybrid innovation

  • To deliver powerful new layers of security for the applications.
  • The infrastructures that powers your business.

Infrastructure

The Windows Server 2016 delivers the capabilities to help you create a more flexible and cost-effective datacenter by using a software-defined compute, storage and network virtualization features which are inspired by Azure.

Layers of security

The operating system lives and works at the strategic layer in your environment. It makes an ideal location to introduce the new capabilities for security and control. Windows Server 2016 will give you the new capabilities to prevent attacks and detect any suspicious activity with features to control privilege access, protect the virtual machines and harden the platform against any enemy threats.

Compute

Run your datacenter with a highly automated resilient, virtualized server operating system.

  • To reduce your datacenter footprint, increase the availability and reduce the resources usage with “just enough OS” by using the Nano Server deployment option, which has an image that is 25x smaller than Windows Server 2016 with the full desktop experience.
  • Upgrade the infrastructure clusters to Windows Server 2016 with zero downtime for your workload and without needing to require new hardware, using the mixed-mode cluster upgrade.
  • Increase the application availability with the improved cluster resiliency to short-termed failures in the network and storage.
  • Automated server management with the PowerShell 5.0 and desired state configuration.
  • Be able to manage the Windows Servers from anywhere using the new web-based GUI – the Server management tools – which are especially useful for managing the headless deployment of options such as Nano Server.
  • You can deploy applications on the multiple operating systems with the best-in-class support for Linux on the Hyper-V.

Reduce Cost Storage

Windows Server 2016 will include expanded capabilities in the software-defined storage with an emphasis on resilience, reduced the costs and increased the control.

  • Build a highly available and scalable software-defined storage solution which is at a fraction of the cost for the SAN or NAS. The storage spaces direct use the standard servers with local storage to create converged or hyper-converged storage architectures.
  • To create affordable business continuity and the disaster recovery among datacenters with a storage replica synchronous storage replication.
  • Ensure that the application users have priority access to the storage resources by using the quality-of-services features.

Cloud Support Networking

The Windows Server 2016 delivers key networking features which are used in the Azure datacenters to help support the agility and availability in your datacenter.

  • Be able to deploy and manage the workloads across their entire lifecycle with the hundreds of networking policy (for example; isolations, Qos, security, switching, routing, DNS, load balancing, gateway, etc.) in a matter of a few seconds using the scalable network controller.
  • Dynamically segment your businesses network based on the workload needs to be using a distributed firewall and network security groups, to apply rich policies within and across the segments. Layer enforcement by routing the traffic to virtualized firewall appliances for an even greater level of security.
  • Take control of your hybrid workloads, which includes running them in containers and then moving them across server, racks, and clouds by using standard-based VXLAN and NVGRE overlay networks and the multi-tenanted hybrid gateways.
  • You can optimize your cost/performance ratio when you converge RDMA and the tenant traffic on the same teamed NICs, will drive down the cost while providing the performance at 40G and beyond.

Support Applications Deployment

Windows Server 2016 will deliver new ways to deploy and run your applications, whether it is on the premises or in the Microsoft Azure by using capabilities such as Windows containers and the light weight Nano Server deployment option.

Windows Server 2016 Editions

  • Windows Server 2016 Datacentre– This is for the highly virtualised datacentre and the cloud environments.
  • Windows Server 2016 Standard– This edition is for physical or minimally virtualised environments.
  • Windows Server 2016 Essentials– This edition will be for the small businesses with up to 25 users and about 50 devices.

Azure Hybrid Benefit:

To make a transition with your workload to the public cloud can be able to leverage your previous Windows Server.

The Azure Hybrid use benefit will let you bring your on-premises.

Windows server licence with software assurance to Azure.

Rather than paying full price for a new Windows Server virtual machine, you will only be paying the base compute rate.