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Servers1

Microsoft has appear that Windows Server 2022 is now available in preview, with general availability expected in the back half of the year (despite the name, Windows Server 2022 is launching in 2022). This version of Windows will also receive an LTSC (Long Term Service Channel) release, which means it'll receive security updates for the side by side decade.

Microsoft is focusing on iv broad features with this update: improved hybrid cloud back up, increased security, application platform improvements, and what Microsoft calls "hyper-converged infrastructure."

Hybrid deject support is exactly what it sounds similar — support for workloads that leverage both local resources and edge computing for artificial intelligence or integration with the Net of Things. Windows Server 2022 also includes support for Project Honolulu, a new spider web-based management interface for Windows Server that replaces the older MMC-based management software MS debuted all the fashion back in 2000.

Figure1

Figure 1: Project Honolulu'south management dashboard for Azure Backup in Windows Server 2022 Preview

Security improvements include support for Shielded VMs (virtual machines protected from compromised or malicious administrators within the textile) when running Linux, new support for encrypted networks, better troubleshooting support, and embedded Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection.

New Application Platform enhancements include a sharp drop in Server Core container size (from 5GB to ~1.5GB), beta support and improvements for Kubernetes clusters, and unspecified improvements to Windows Subsystem on Linux that will help Linux users run existing Linux scripts using industry standards similar OpenSSH, Curl, and Tar.

Hyper-converged infrastructure — an IT framework that combines storage, compute adequacy, and network support into a unmarried system to reduce complexity and meliorate management — will be managed using Project Honolulu likewise.

Pricing, meanwhile, is set to increment, though MS has not given details on this. The FAQ for Server 2022 states: "Information technology is highly likely we will increase pricing for Windows Server Customer Access Licensing (CAL)," but does not requite an amount. Analyst Wes Miller, a VP with the house Directions on Microsoft, believes the price crash-land is intended to nudge Windows Server customers towards relying more on Microsoft'south deject platform, Azure.

"I call back that — for organizations invested in Windows Server — this volition just exist another increase that most will absorb," Miller told El Reg. "I expect that we may come across some messaging from Microsoft emphasizing that moving workloads to Azure is one way to avert this cost, since in that location is no concept of a Windows Server base CAL in Azure."

That would fit with Microsoft'south other shifts, which have generally moved towards the concept of Windows and Office every bit a service (delivered by subscription, in Office'south case) rather than as standalone product.