So I was excited to get my hands on this. I mean, compare 2008 to 2012, and at least in my opinion, it’s a pretty spectacular improvement. The server management interface in 2012 and 2012R2 is nicely consolidated especially when managing multiple servers from say, your domain controller. Now the harsh truth is that windows does little for me and I approach it with more of a utilitarian approach, but that’s probably true to how most people treat this stuff. Unless you’re truly passionate about Microsoft and you’re ok with it’s offenses against us with the whole windows 10 dilemma(innocent stab), you probably don’t know how to run a headless windows server. I’m not talking the no monitor headless, I’m talking the no GUI. In fact, I don’t know one person who can run a bare bones window server. I mean I’m sure many of us could, with a constant google search page open. But I mean really run it. Now linux on the other hand, I know a few and I can whateverirun –help my way through a dhcp/dns/apache/nginx/nfs/ ..i mean.. you get it, I don’t have a gui on any of my linux servers.
I’m rambling now. I guess the point is, I was expecting something great from Windows Server 2016. I’ve been absolutely slammed this weekend with school work, preparing a new laptop for work, catching up on my python course, playing with a side project for work, and not to mention life stuff that has to be done. I still had to make time for it though, so much that this happened…
I think I popped some kind of cloud cherry with this. I was able to get the iso downloading to a laptop before I left the house and basically took it from there. I was that stoked to check it out, until I checked it out. To sum it up, I lost power for a brief moment today, and lets just say that VM has no reason turn up again. (Ok I did just to get the screenshot below)
My issue is that, from my utilitarian standpoint, I see no way that it’s going to make my job any easier. It’s really WinServ2012r2 with the windows10 taskbar, something that, quite frankly, Microsoft has taught me to hate. Now before anyone argues the “under the hood” improvements, Windows 2012 is still well before EOL and I doubt and WinServ2016 features are going to blow the socks off of WinServ2012 for the average small to medium business. The “icons that matter” are still all there, and the prompts and everything performed through server manager is for all intensive purposes, WinServ2012.
So what I guess I’m trying to say is, You’re not missing anything.