What is windows vnext

Microsoft выпустила очередной предварительный релиз ОС Windows Server vNext LTSC. Для загрузки доступны ISO-образы на 18 языках, а также образ VHDX (только английский) для систем виртуализации. Данный релиз будет активен до 31 января 2021 года. Релиз включает опции рабочего стола и Core-версий изданий Datacenter и Standard.

Значительная часть изменений связана с сетевым стеком. Для протокола SMB появилась поддержка шифрования AES-256, а также сжатия. Улучшена производительность шифрования SMB Direct на адаптерах с поддержкой RDMA. Также была внедрена поддержка MsQUIC, открытой реализации протокола QUIC, который может использоваться в качестве транспорта для HTTP/3 и SMB.

Улучшена производительность UDP, который становится всё боле популярным и используется в том же QUIC, а также в других кастомных протоколах для игр и стриминга. А для TCP внедрена поддержка HyStart++, что повысило производительность в ряде сценариев. Наконец, новая утилита Packet Monitor научилась полноценно работать с TCP/IP. Данный инструмент позволяет фильтровать и захватывать пакеты и может пригодиться для отладки различных сценариев виртуализации, включай работу с контейнерами.

Последних тоже коснулись некоторые улучшения — образы для Windows Server Core стали на 20% компактнее за счёт оптимизации заранее собранных наборов .NET. Также была добавлена поддержка балансировки Direct Server Return (DSR) для Windows-контейнеров и Kubernetes. Была улучшена работа Receive Segment Coalescing (RSC) для vSwitch, а для кластеров поддержка BitLocker теперь не требует наличия Active Directory — ключи хранятся локально.

Более подробно ознакомиться со всеми изменениями можно на странице анонса нового релиза. Там же приведены ключи для активации Windows Server vNext — как текущего тестового релиза LTSC, так и полугодового выпуска Insider Preview.

Announcing Windows Server vNext Preview Build 20206

Hello Windows Insiders!

Today we are pleased to release a new build of the Windows Server vNext Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) release that contains both the Desktop Experience and Server Core installation options for Datacenter and Standard editions.

What’s New

File Services: SMB improvements

We’ve expanded the SMB 3.1.1 protocol in Windows Server vNext with a number of security and performance capabilities, including:

• AES-256 – Windows Server now supports AES-256-GCM and AES-256-CCM cryptographic suites for SMB Encryption. Windows will automatically negotiate this more advanced cipher method when connecting to another computer that supports it, and can also be mandated through Group Policy. Windows Server still supports AES-128 for down-level compatibility.
• Compression – You can now copy files over SMB with compression using the Robocopy /compress and Xcopy /compress If the destination computer supports SMB compression and the files being copied are compressible, you should see significant performance improvements. For more information and a demo of this behavior, visit the ITOps Talk Blog. Any patched Windows Server 2019 and Windows 10 computers already support compression; now you will have command-line tools to make use of it.
• RDMA encryption – SMB Direct over RMDA networks now supports encryption. Previously, enabling SMB Encryption would disable direct data placement, making RDMA performance as slow as TCP. Now data is encrypted before placement, leading to relatively minor performance degradation while adding AES-256 protected packet privacy.
• East-West storage encryption – Windows Server failover clusters now support granular control of encrypting and signing intra-node storage communications for Cluster Shared Volumes (CSV) and the storage bus layer (SBL). This means that when using Storage Spaces Direct, you can decide to encrypt or sign east-west communications within the cluster itself for higher security.

Storage Migration Services improvements

Today marks our introduction of third generation of Storage Migration Service improvements, including:

• AFS Tiering support preview – SMS now supports migrating data to a server configured with Azure File Sync cloud tiering, which allows you to overprovision storage while dehydrating data to Azure Files in the cloud. SMS now understands this scenario and can slow or pause transfers to allow AFS to catch up in it tiering to the cloud. This feature also makes changes to the SMS extension in Windows Admin Center, which will release separately to the feed at a later date. Please follow the Microsoft FileCab blog for updates.
• Scenarios backported to Windows Server 2019 are included – Cluster, Samba-Linux migration support, Local security principal migration, and Inter-network migration were all added as backported features to Windows Server 2019 since its release. If you had not patched, you would not have access to them. They are now included out-of-the-box in Windows Server vNext.

We have also recently completed two new customer-requested Storage Migration Service scenarios and will be releasing them to Insiders in the coming months. Check the release notes and the Microsoft FileCab blog for updates.

Available Content

• Windows Server vNext Long-Term Servicing Channel Preview is available in ISO format in 18 languages, and in VHDX format in English only. The following keys allow for unlimited activations:
  • Standard: MFY9F-XBN2F-TYFMP-CCV49-RMYVH
  • Datacenter: 2KNJJ-33Y9H-2GXGX-KMQWH-G6H67
• Windows Server vNext Semi-Annual Preview The Server Core Datacenter and Standard Editions are available in the 18 supported Server languages in ISO format and in VHDX format in English only. The following keys allow for unlimited activations:
  • Standard: V6N4W-86M3X-J77X3-JF6XW-D9PRV
  • Datacenter: B69WH-PRNHK-BXVK3-P9XF7-XD84W

• Windows Server Core App Compatibility FoD Preview
• Microsoft Server Operating System Language Packs

Keys are valid for preview builds only. After activation for the preview keys is disabled, you may still install and use preview builds for development and testing purposes without activating.

• Symbols are available on the public symbol server – see Update on Microsoft’s Symbol Server blog post and Using the Microsoft Symbol Server.
• Containers: For more information about how to obtain and install Windows Server containers and Insider builds, click here. Quick start information, here.

These previews expire January 31 , 2021.

How to Download

Registered Insiders may navigate directly to the Windows Server Insider Preview download page. See the Additional Downloads dropdown for Windows Admin Center and other supplemental apps and products. If you have not yet registered as an Insider, see GETTING STARTED WITH SERVER on the Windows Insiders for Business portal.

We value your feedback!

The most important part of a frequent release cycle is to hear what’s working and what needs to be improved, so your feedback is extremely valued. For Windows Server, use your registered Windows 10 Insider device and use the Feedback Hub application. In the app, choose the Windows Server category and then the appropriate subcategory for your feedback. In the title of the Feedback, please indicate the build number you are providing feedback as shown below:

[Server #####] Title of my feedback

See Share Feedback on Windows Server via Feedback Hub for specifics. We also encourage you to visit the Windows Server Insiders space on the Microsoft Tech Communities forum to collaborate, share and learn from experts.

For Windows Admin Center, Send us feedback via UserVoice. We also encourage you to visit the Windows Admin Center space on the Microsoft Tech Communities.

Diagnostic and Usage Information

Microsoft collects this information over the internet to help keep Windows secure and up to date, troubleshoot problems, and make product improvements. Microsoft server operating systems can be configured to turn diagnostic data off, send Required diagnostic data, or send Optional diagnostic data. The default setting is to send Required diagnostic data. Required diagnostic data includes information to help keep the device secure, up-to-date, and working as expected. During previews, Microsoft asks that you change this setting to Enhanced in order to provide the best automatic feedback and help us improve the final product.

Administrators can change the level of information collection through Settings. For details, see http://aka.ms/winserverdata. Also see the Microsoft Privacy Statement.

Terms of Use

This is pre-release software – it is provided for use “as-is” and is not supported in production environments. Users are responsible for installing any updates made available from Windows Update. All pre-release software made available to you via the Windows Server Insider program are governed by the Insider Terms of Use.

Announcing Windows Server vNext Preview Build 18917

Hello Windows Insiders!

Today we are pleased to release a new Insider preview build of the Windows Server VNext Semi-Annual Channel editions and Windows Admin Center Preview 1906.

Available Content

• Windows Server vNext Semi-Annual Preview

The Server Core Edition is available in the 18 supported Server languages in ISO format and in English only in VHDX format.

• Windows Server Core App Compatibility FoD Preview
• Windows Server Language Packs
• Windows Admin Center 1906

Symbols are available on the public symbol server – see Update on Microsoft’s Symbol Server blog post and Using the Microsoft Symbol Server. Matching Windows Server container images will be available via Docker Hub. For more information about Windows Server containers and Insider builds, click here.

The following keys allow for unlimited activations of Windows Server Semi-Annual Channel Previews

• Server Standard: V6N4W-86M3X-J77X3-JF6XW-D9PRV
• Server Datacenter: B69WH-PRNHK-BXVK3-P9XF7-XD84W

This Windows Server Preview will expire July 31st, 2020.

What’s New in Windows Admin Center Preview 1906

Thanks for staying up-to-date on the Windows Admin Center journey! As our first preview release following the last generally available release in April, Windows Admin Center preview 1906 includes several new preview features:

Updates tool: you can now select individual Windows updates to install, a top user request.

Windows Admin Center connectivity settings: We’ve heard from users that are in completely disconnected environments that they would prefer to have a setting in Windows Admin Center where they can specify they are offline, so there will be no notifications about Azure hybrid functionality, extensions updates, or other actions that require public internet access.

To give this a try, enter msft.sme.shell.connectivity as an experiment key in Settings-> Development -> Advanced, then visit the new Connectivity settings item. You can select Gateway to restrict online access, or Azure and Gateway if you want to access Azure features only, but nothing else on the public internet. In a future release, this menu item will also provide you with a complete list of URLs so that you can configure your firewall to block all traffic by default and explicitly allow only specific traffic to known services.

Virtual machines tool:

• Import/Export VM – We’ve added Import/Export buttons to the Virtual Machines tool for importing VMs from and exporting VMs to a local volume or remote file share. When importing VMs, you have the option to create a new VM ID, and copy the VM files or use them in-place.

[Known issue] When importing a VM and creating a copy of the VM files, if you choose a local volume or cluster shared volume as the destination, it will be saved to the volume’s root folder instead of under the “Hyper-V” folder. This will be fixed in the next release. For now, you can use the Browse button to manually navigate to the actual folder you want to import the VM to.

• VM tagging – Similar to the UI for tagging connections in Windows Admin Center, you can now tag VMs on a Hyper-V server! In the Virtual machines tool’s Inventory tab, an “Edit tags” button has been added to manage tags. These tags are saved on the Hyper-V host server and can be accessed by other admins.

[Known issue] VM tagging is not supported in the Failover Cluster or Hyper-Converged Cluster UI yet. Tags will not show up in the clustered VM view and managing tags from this view may unintentionally overwrite or delete existing tags.

• Performance improvements – Significant performance improvements have been made to reduce page load time in the Virtual machines tool.

Improvements to Azure integration functionality:

• The Azure Hybrid services tool now loads content from a feed, so that new services can be added at any time without an update of the entire tool.
• From the Account menu in setting, you can now switch between multiple Azure accounts.
• When adding a server or Windows PC to your connection list, you have a new option to log in to Azure and browse your Azure resources for the specific server or PC.

[Known issue] At this time, Windows Admin Center only enumerates your Azure resources, but cannot guarantee connectivity.

Windows Admin Center ecosystem developers: you’ll find a new menu item: Performance Profile, in the Windows Admin Center settings under the Development heading. This new tool will record your browsing session, tracking the times of each request and page load, so that you can identify opportunities to improve performance.

How to Download

Registered Insiders may navigate directly to the Windows Server Insider Preview download page. See the Additional Downloads dropdown for Windows Admin Center and other supplemental apps and products. If you have not yet registered as an Insider, see GETTING STARTED WITH SERVER on the Windows Insiders for Business portal.

We value your feedback!

The most important part of a frequent release cycle is to hear what’s working and what needs to be improved, so your feedback is extremely valued. For Windows Server, use your registered Windows 10 Insider device and use the Feedback Hub application. In the app, choose the Windows Server category and then the appropriate subcategory for your feedback. In the title of the Feedback, please indicate the build number you are providing feedback as shown below:

[Server #####] Title of my feedback

See Share Feedback on Windows Server via Feedback Hub for specifics. We also encourage you to visit the Windows Server Insiders space on the Microsoft Tech Communities forum to collaborate, share and learn from experts.

For Windows Admin Center, Send us feedback via UserVoice. We also encourage you to visit the Windows Admin Center space on the Microsoft Tech Communities.

Terms of Use

This is pre-release software – it is provided for use “as-is” and is not supported in production environments. Users are responsible for installing any updates made available from Windows Update. All pre-release software made available to you via the Windows Server Insider program are governed by the Insider Terms of Use.

Known issues -Windows Admin Center Preview 1906

• Network – If you have configured an Azure Network Adapter, the value under Microsoft Azure Virtual Network Gateway Address will be formatted as a hyperlink but leads to an invalid address. [20420185]
• Azure Update Management onboarding – If you have already installed the MMA agent, or install the agent using the new integration for Azure Monitor, you will not be able to onboard the server to Azure Update Management through the UI in Windows Admin Center. If Azure Update Management is already configured (whether through Admin Center or another way), you can still onboard the server to the Azure Monitor Virtual Machines Insights solution using the Windows Admin Center UI.
• Chrome users may see 403 Forbidden response from WAC after upgrading. The workaround is to close *all* open chrome tabs (make sure there are no chrome.exe processes running). After restarting chrome, everything will function normally. We have an error message that makes this clear, but chrome users with multiple windows admin center tabs open during upgrade will not see the message.

Windows Server Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue where a local user’s last logon time output from “net user username” may not be recorded even when the user has accessed the server’s network share.
• Fixed an issue when attempting to update Server Standard to Server Datacenter, results in error “Error: 1168. An error occurred while applying target edition component setting. The upgrade cannot proceed.”
• Fixed an issue when domain trust was broken when the recycle bin configured on the domains carrying the trust.
• Fixed an issue where an invalid file was being created in %Systemroot%\System32\LogFiles\Sum by User Access Logging.

Windows Server Known Issues

• Using ntdsutil.exe to move of the Active Directory database files may fail with error: “Move file failed with source and Destination with error 5 (Access is denied.)”
• Auto-logon configured by login scripts may fail to work properly
• Status of online/offline files icon and status bar may not display an accurate status. OfflineFiles event manager logs will show the actual state of the files.
• PowerShell may report an incorrect NdisPhysicalMedium result on IPoIB adapter
• Applies to App Compat FOD MMC.exe only: Multiple Active Directory Users and Computers snap-ins added to the same MMC.exe instance could show inconsistent or no data on part of the snap-ins after adding extra columns to the UI view. Wokaround: for UI user management, use a separate MMC for each ADUC (DSA.MSC) snap-in.
• Scheduled startup tasks may fail to run. An event is logged, ID 101 with the error code ERROR_LOGON_FAILURE when the failure occurs.
• DCPromo fails if the interface metric of the physical NIC is larger than Loopback Interface
• Renaming a domain controller may update incorrect attributes in Active Directory (msDS-AdditionalDnsHostName, msDS-AdditionalSamAccountName and servicePrincipalName attributes) leaving orphaned data behind (ValidateSPNsAndDNSHostNameActual)
• Domain Controller rename updates incorrect attributes in AD leaving orphaned data behind (ValidateSPNsAndDNSHostNameActual). This can be reproduced by adding a new FQDN, setting it as primary, restarting the domain controller, then removing the current FQDN. Checking the msDS-AdditionalDnsHostName, msDS-AdditionalSamAccountName and servicePrincipalName attributes will incorrect values.
• Self-service users cannot install Feature on Demand (FOD) packages and Language Packs for Windows Server Update Service (WSUS), System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM), and Autopilot scenarios.
• After disabling and re-enabling SR-IOV capability on a NIC on Linux VM, Windows may report “Error applying Network Adapter changes.” Details will show “The Hyper-V Virtual Machine Management service encountered an unexpected error: Call was canceled by the message filter. (0x80010002).” A side effect of this failure is that the VM will remain in a stopping state when shutting down the VM, and cannot be restarted without a power reset
• When deploying a controller VM, after the last reboot in the deployment process the controller VM is not visible.

No downtime for Hustle-As-A-Service,
Dona