Microsoft gently leads workhorse Windows Server 1903 for a pad around the paddock

While customers gawped at the shiny bauble of Windows 10, Microsoft trotted out the 1903 version of its workhorse big brother, Windows Server. Helpfully occurring during the Linux Foundation's Barcelona bash, KubeCon, the release is all about containers, as well as hybrid technologies and a bit of analytics. Sadly for those …

[Dave K]

I would genuinely be interested to know how many serious workloads run on Windows Server SAC, as opposed to the LTSC release. Speaking from personal past experience, every Windows Server deployment I made was done with the intention of long-term stability.

Note, not a dig here, just general curiosity...

[Wayland]

If you're attempting to do something very new and needing the latest of everything then yes you'd be going with SEC.

However if you're just building your usual server the only changes you'd want are bug fixes and security and you'd even avoid those if you could get away with it.

The Tech press is obviously concentrating on all the new trendy stuff but most of the commercial effort is going to be in the continuation of legacy business apps into the future.

[J. Cook]

We have at least one vendor that would probably have zero problems if their apps were still running on server 2000; we've been dragging them steadily forward by forcing them to use 'an OS that is currently supported by Microsoft' as one of our requirements.

But still, we generally get 3-5 years out of a typical server build, which isn't too bad, considering that it's VMs almost all around the server side;

[Anonymous Coward]

As the SAC server builds do not come with desktop experience, there are numerous workloads you can't run on it such as previous versions of Exchange Server. Also you obviously need the DE for Remote Desktop and small environment with not many servers generally prefer the DE for management via GUI tools.

Now that Microsoft are making a big push for core with major stuff like Exchange 2019 now working with it, possibly more workloads will start using the SAC release.

I have never deployed it though.

[Anonymous Coward]

You do indeed get remote desktop functionality in SAC. Interestingly, you can even run notepad!

Just no start menu, no desktop, you login to a powershell window, etc.

[Anonymous Coward]

We do. Up until the Windows 2019 release, you could forget about running containers on LTSC release (2016) While they are supported, there too far behind in terms of missing features. We're running SAC in an attempt to bring our legacy apps with us on a journey to Kubernetes.

We also like that Server Core is much smaller and starts much quicker.

[Karlis 1]

> Don't mind me, I'm just the thing you run your business on

I really hope not. There's shooting one in the foot intentionally and then there's just being plain incompetent.

[Hans 1]

Why is El Reg almost three months late with announing the release of Windows Server 1903 or has Microsoft postponed release by almost three months and stuck to the same name, again ? MS, you know, there are these things one makes in life called ... mistakes ... if you do not learn from them, then you are a bunch morons, no ifs, buts, or maybes and you tend to repeat them.

So I see two solutions, here (I always see solutions):

1. You aim to release a Windows version in December, so that it is ready in March and you can keep your fancy names, likewise for October, tell all Microsofties you plan to release in July.

2. You aim to release a Windows version in March, so that it is ready in June and you call it Windows yy06, at least then you do not look like total cunts every 6 months ... Oh wait, you do already, you distribute Windows.

PS: Why am I helping them ?

[StargateSg7]

While i'm no fan of GIGANTIC NEAR MONOPOLY COMPANIES OF ANY SORT, I do must admit admiration for AND give kudos to Microsoft for their Windows Server Software !!! To put it simply, it's a DREAM to work with! NO OTHER OPERATING SYSTEM has the ease of use and central user/user-group management properties of Active Directory!

It's also a good thing I'm not the one paying for it all because DAMN, it's gettin' up there in terms of yearly support contract costs! It's starting to remind me of yesteryear's 80's-era VAX minicomputer and IBM Mainframe contracts with their $150,000 to $750,000 per year cheque-writing feasts at the local Calgary, Alberta locationed, Lustrous-Dark-Cherry-wooded, 16 oz Porterhouse and 25 year old Scotch-infused fancy eateries with the local DEC/IBM sales people! At least THEY paid for the $2500 food and bar bill !!!

Mind you, my latest server is only $48,000 CAN and not the $2.5 Million CAN we paid then! Plus it's hundreds of times more powerful than those old beasts!

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Anyways ... I loooooooooove Active Directory !!! Good on ya for that Microsoft! Sooooooo, how about paying for a once-a-year Steakhouse and Bar bill ???

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