Articles about Windows Server 2016

Microsoft has kept its promise and delivered a vulnerability patch for its Windows operating system, for a flaw, revealed by Google, which allowed attackers to gain full control of a targeted system.

Releasing the details in a security bulletin, Microsoft says the flaw in the Windows kernel "could allow elevation of privilege if an attack logs onto an affected system and runs a specially crafted application that could exploit the vulnerabilities".

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Microsoft has made the release-to-manufacturing (RTM) versions of Windows Server 2016 and System Centre 2016 officially available to enterprise customers.

As revealed at its recent Ignite conference, Windows Server 2016 customers will also receive the commercial version of Docker at no additional cost.

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Microsoft has created a backdoor in Secure Boot, the security feature designed to ensure that a device can only run the operating system that it is meant to. And, to make matters worse, it has just accidentally leaked the "golden keys" needed to bypass it.

The Secure Boot backdoor is there to, for instance, allow a Microsoft developer to install a new build of Windows on a device -- that has the security feature enforced -- without it having to be digitally signed beforehand. It makes their job easy, but it also makes the security system ineffective if -- when -- the golden keys that unlock it make their way into the wrong hands.

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Microsoft has always licensed Windows Server on a per-socket basis, but with the 2016 release this is due to change. When Windows Server 2016 launches in the second half of next year, things are being shaken up. As well as the two versions -- Standard and Datacenter -- including different features, there is also a move to per-core licensing.

In a couple of PDF datasheets, Microsoft reveals not only the change in licensing, but also that Windows Server 2016 and System Center 2016 Standard and Datacenter Editions are scheduled for release in Q3 of 2016. The licensing change is unlikely to be welcomed by many, as it complicates a system that had become familiar -- and could also push up pricing.

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As promised by Gabe Aul just over a week ago, Microsoft today releases Windows Server 2016 Technical Preview 3. One of the biggest new additions to this build is native support for Windows Server Containers, Microsoft's take on Linux containers.

Developers have been begging for container support in Windows Server for some time now, and the introduction of this feature could be the start of Microsoft offering up some serious competition to Linux server software. This is not the only new feature to be found in Windows Server 2016 Technical Preview 3, there's also software-defined datacenter enhancements and new Nano Server functionality.

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Microsoft's Gabe Aul has revealed that the company plans to release a new technical preview of Windows Server 2016 later this month. Responding to questions on Twitter, the company's Corporate Vice President and face of the Windows Insider program also said that Windows 10 RSAT will be launched in August.

Unlike the preview builds of Windows 10, previews of the latest edition of Windows Server have been slower to creep out of Redmond. Sysadmins will be keen to get their hands on the latest builds to see just what direction Microsoft is taking with its server software after the decision to delay the launch.

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