Microsoft Announces Nano Server and Hyper-V Application Containers

Microsoft releases Nano Server, a rewritten version of Windows Server that requires far fewer resources and can run Hyper-V application containers. Nano Server would require fewer patches and updates, reboot faster, and be more secure.

Microsoft writes this on its Technet blog. In addition to the benefits already mentioned, Nano Server does not require users to install components that they do not need. Microsoft itself claims that the results achieved so far compared to Windows Server are promising, with 93 percent fewer virtual hard drives, 92 percent fewer critical bulletins and eighty percent fewer reboots.

To achieve this, the developers removed the gui stack, 32bit support, MSI and some more standard parts from Server core. Furthermore, there is no option to log in locally and no remote desktop support. All management is done remotely, via wmi and powershell. It should be easier to manage desired state configuration via the powershell and also file transfer, script authoring and remote debugging should be improved. Web management tools are still under development.

The api is compatible with other versions of Windows Server within the subset of components that the operating system contains. The system must be easy to integrate in a DevOps environment, for which Microsoft already sought cooperation with Chef.

Nano Server is an attempt by Microsoft to achieve more scalable virtualization along with Hyper-V application containers. Processes must be well isolating, something that according to Microsoft could previously only be achieved with specially equipped physical Windows servers or virtual machines. Hyper-V containers ensure that code from one container remains isolated from the host operating system or other containers. Another advantage Microsoft mentions is that applications developed for Windows Server Containers can be deployed as Hyper-V containers without modification.

For container support, Microsoft works closely with Docker, the ecosystem that has made containerized apps popular. The integration provides cross-platform support across Windows Server, Linux, and Hyper-V containers.