Microsoft has hit a milestone with the inclusion of Hyper-V containers, a new technology designed to support containerized applications, in the fourth technical preview of the upcoming Windows Server 2016 operating system.

The release is Microsoft’s attempt to cater to the rapidly growing number of enterprise CIOs who’re setting their sights on container technologies as an adaptive and responsive foundation for their business applications. The new OS is the first to feature Hyper-V Container support after the technology was announced last April.

Hyper-V Containers means those using Windows Server can enjoy the flexibility of the container model together with the additional isolation offered by a container-optimized version of Hyper-V, explained Mike Neil, Microsoft’s corporate vice president of Cloud and Enterprise, in a blog post. “Security needs can vary based on a wide variety of factors, and we’re excited about giving you expanded choices for using containers across enterprise scenarios including multi-tenant environments,” Neil stated.

Windows Server 2016 Technical Preview 4 also comes with new enhancements to the Hyper-V hypervisor, including a preview of “nested virtualization, along with Direct Device Assignment and improved PowerShell support for VM upgrades”, Neil added.

Microsoft has also worked hard on the storage front, adding new optimizations for flash-based hardware. These include support for all-flash configurations with NVMe SSD and SATA SSD on Storage Spaces Direct, and Erasure Coding to boost storage efficiency. Additionally, Windows Server now supports Storage Health Service, making it easier to monitor health and streamline operations.

Alongside Windows Server, Microsoft rolled out the fourth technical preview of its System Center 2016, adding new features to make it more “hybrid cloud-friendly”. New IT systems management and monitoring tools “bring cloud learnings to the data center, enabling seamless management of complex environments”, Neil said.

System Center 2016 also combined with the Microsoft Operations Management Suite to give IT chiefs an “integrated, 360-degree view” across the their hybrid clouds, from infrastructure to apps, no matter which operating system they’re running on.

Finally, System Center 2016 can work in tandem with Windows Server 2016 to provide “software-defined data center capabilities”, such as the ability to patch hosts while provisioning and what Neil calls “simplified logical network creation, scale-out file server with Storage Spaces Direct and SAN storage automation, and improved storage monitoring.”

Windows Server 2016 Technical Preview 4 and System Center 2016 Technical Preview 4 are available to download now.

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