Recently, Microsoft released their Windows Server Insider Build 17623, announced in this article. This build gives us previews of a few new pieces of functionality that were previously unavailable to Windows Server admins.
New functionality includes:
- A new cloud scale-out technology called 'Cluster Sets' that increases cluster node count in a single SDDC (Software-Defined Data Center) cloud by orders of magnitude.
- Upgrades to Windows Defender ATP including deep platform sensors and response actions, providing visibility to memory and kernel level attacker activities and abilities to take actions on compromised machines in response to incidents, and more.
- A new set of host intrusion prevention capabilities in Windows Defender ATP called 'Exploit Guard'. (And the cmdlets you need to deploy it)
- Windows Server Failover Clusters no longer use NTLM authentication by exclusively using Kerberos and certificate based authentication.
- You can now run shielded virtual machines on Hyper-V hosts that suffer intermittent connectivity to their Host Guardian Service (HGS).
- Storage Spaces Direct admins can now get easy access to historical performance and capacity data from their cluster.
This build can be downloaded on the Windows Server Insider Preview download page for insiders or on the Insiders for Business 'Getting Started with Server' page for non-insiders.
But wait!
Here are some known issues you'll want to keep an eye out for when you fire up the new build:
- In‑place OS upgrade: Domain Controllers. During an in-place OS upgrade, Active Directory (AD) Domain Controllers (DC) might not be upgraded correctly. So, back up any AD DCs before performing an in-place OS upgrade.
- Editing or creating policies for AppLocker can cause the MMC snap-in to crash when generated rules for a packaged app.
- After upgrading the operating system, the AppX database may have corrupted entries, which causes problems for components that use those entries.
- Testing of the Windows core may fail because of a timeout while attempting to load the test libraries.
Looking to advance your SysAdmin skills? Want to get up to date with the latest Server version? Or perhaps you just want to build on your already impressive tech career? If that sounds like you, check out our Windows Server Training Options or simply click the button below.
