I recently wrote about the upcoming Windows 11 release scheduled for later this year. Along with Windows 11, Microsoft will be releasing the next generation server operating system, Windows Server 2022. This release is now in preview for Windows Insider members.
Security Enhancements
Several security enhancements will be included in the release such as:
- Secured core server includes a set of drivers for hardware and firmware along with virtualization-based security and a number of other measures affecting hardware and hypervisor related vulnerabilities and concerns
- HTTPS and TLS 1.3 are now enabled by default, eliminating outdated cryptographic algorithms
- Encrypted DNS keeps name resolution traffic private by using HTTPS
- SMB AES-256 encryption enables more advanced cryptography when connecting to other computers that support the algorithms, and can be enforced with Group Policy
Azure Hybrid
Azure hybrid capabilities will allow management of servers hosted outside of Azure using tools from within Azure. A hybrid machine (with the Azure Connected Machine agent) connected to Azure becomes a connected machine within Azure, giving it a resource ID and resource group. Organizations can then use Azure Arc to simplify the management of the environment through a single pane of glass.
Windows Containers
Included are several enhancements for running Windows Containers and using Kubernetes. Among them container image size will be reduced by as much as 40% with startup time improvements of 30% and greater performance overall.
Edge Browser
Microsoft's Edge browser takes over as the default browser for Windows server, finally replacing IE once and for all.
Storage Migration
Storage migration including user and group storage, Linux server storage, etc. becomes easier with Windows enhanced Storage Migration Service.
Summary
Detail on other features and much more information is available from Microsoft on What's new in Windows Server 2022.
Our team is looking forward to spinning up this latest server operating system and running validation tests on it with our Portals, self-service, application-server software.