Microsoft has let another preview of Windows Server 2016 out the bag, saying this latest release is the first that’s “feature-complete”. Basically, it means that this version carried all of the features we can expect to find in the final build, though there are still a few bugs that need to be ironed out.

Windows Server 2016 Technical Preview 5 can be downloaded from here, and incorporates Nano Server as a deployment option on both the Standard and Datacenter editions. Nano Server, for those who don’t already know, is the newly created, slimmed down, container-friendly version of Windows Server.

“It is a remotely managed option similar to Windows Server in Server Core mode, but significantly smaller, has no local logon capability, and only supports 64-bit applications, tools, and agents,” Microsoft explains in a blog post. “It takes up far less disk space, sets up significantly faster, and requires far fewer updates and restarts than Windows Server with the full desktop experience.”

Microsoft estimates that the Nano Server image is around 25 times smaller than a full Windows Server image.

The company says the new Windows Server will deliver a “cloud-like” experience thanks to the incorporation of software-defined storage and networking. Microsoft talked about its Storage Spaces, saying it’s able to combine physical storage resources into virtual pools of storage. As for networking, this emphasizes security through isolation – the idea being users have fine control over which virtual machines can talk to which hosts and guests.

Microsoft also introduced a new preview of System Center 2016, which works in tandem with Windows Server. The new edition gains the ability to manage the lifecycle of nano servers, drive software-defined storage, and create and enforce software-defined networking policies. And in a nod to its recent embrace of Linux, Microsoft says System Center now provides better monitoring of Linux and UNIX systems at scale – a two-times improvement, the company claims. The software also provides better visibility into LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP) software stacks.

Still to be confirmed is the final release date for Windows Server 2016 and System Center 2016. The most likely date is late September when Microsoft hosts its Ignite Conference, when we can expect to hear an awful lot of talk about what a great “Azure-like” experience it delivers.

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