Microsoft's latest Windows Server 2019 test build includes first preview of Hyper-V 2019
Microsoft released on June 19 new test builds of its next versions of Windows Server which included the first Insider preview of Hyper-V 2019.
The Windows Server Build 17692 test releases are available for Windows Server 2019, known as the next Long Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) release, as well the associated Windows Server Semi-Annual Channel (expected to be called 1809).
Hyper-V Server is a standalone version of Windows Server that includes only the Windows hypervisor, a Windows Server driver model and virtualization components. The hypervisor technology in Microsoft's Hyper-V Server is the same as what's in the role on Windows Server, which means much of the content available in the Hyper-V role on Windows Server 2016 also applies to Hyper-V Server, Microsoft's blog post about today's test build reminded users.
Build 17692 also includes a new feature in Windows Server 2019 called System Insights. This feature brings local predictive analytics capabilities natively to Windows Server. The feature will allow users to locally analyze Windows Server system data like performance counters and events, capacity forecasting, prediction of future usage for compute, networking and storage, and more, Microsoft officials said.
All the data collected can be analyzed directly on a Windows Server instance, so no cloud connectivity is required. System Insights can be managed through a Windows Admin Center ("Project Honolulu") extension or directly through PowerShell.
Speaking of Windows Admin Center, there's also a new preview (1806) of that product available as of today. And there's a new Server Core App Compatibility feature available on demand, which is meant to improve the app compatibility of Windows Server Core by adding a set of binaries and packages from Windows Server with Desktop, minus any of the Windows Server Desktop GUI or Windows 10 GUI experiences. This package is available on a separate ISO and installs on Windows Server Core only, officials said.
Before installing today's test builds, users should check out the Known Issues list included in Microsoft's blog post about 17692.
Windows Server 2019 and Windows Server 1809 are expected to be available to mainstream users this fall.