The latest release of Kubernetes, version 1.5, will become available on Dec. 15. The update will see the popular container management system land on Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Server for the first time.

The Kubernetes project is part of the Linux Foundation’s Cloud Native Computing Foundation, and is supported by multiple vendors that are building and contributing code.

Kubernetes 1.5 comes with support for Windows Server 2016 in an effort to make the platform available for the “majority” of enterprise workloads, the project’s backers said. Previously, Linux has always been the only supported operating system, though Kubernetes has been supported on Microsoft’s Azure cloud, without Windows Server support.

Apprenda Inc., the company that led the drive to support Windows Server, said that support goes further than just extending Kubernetes’ functionality onto Windows – they have also added support for features that are exclusive to the Microsoft-built operating system.

For example, Kubernetes 1.5 supports both types of containers available on Windows – namely, Windows Containers, which is basically a port of Docker, and also Hyper-V Containers, a new feature exclusive to Windows Server 2016 that provides virtual machine-like isolation without the overheads of running a full VM.

In a press release, Apprenda explained its reasons for pushing Kubernetes onto Windows. The company, which cooperated closely with Microsoft, Google and Red Hat Inc. on the work, said it did so due to Dockers’ massive popularity on Windows, which made it necessary to support Kubernetes as well. Apprenda also pointed to the fact that around 37 percent of all enterprise systems currently run Windows Server, and that many of them would like to remain there, with or without Kubernetes.

That may be so, but a recent study suggests it’s unlikely that Windows Server compatibility will make any immediate difference to Kubernetes’ adoption rates. The problem is that Kubernetes 1.5 only supports Windows Server 2016 – not earlier versions. But a 2015 Spiceworks survey found that most enterprises are likely to wait at least two years before migrating to the newest version of Windows Server. In addition, when asked about which forthcoming features in Windows Server 2016 excited them, just 12 percent of enterprises said container support was something they were looking forward too.

Still, this is only the beginning of Kubernetes’ new support for Windows Server, and work in that direction is likely to continue in the months ahead. Rakesh Malhotra, Senior Vice President of Products and Engineering at Apprenda, told eWeek that his company was working closely with Microsoft to improve the “networking backbone” of Windows Server containers, and those improvements would likely be seen in the new year.