Today, Microsoft released Windows Server Insider Preview build 16257 with some new highlights and additions, including a new set of Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) packages, and more.
Let’s take a look at the new features being added for Windows Server Insider Preview build 16257:
Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) is available on Windows Server
- Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) is now available on Windows Server along with a compliment of Linux distributions.
- Test WSL on Windows Server. WSL runs unmodified Linux (ELF64) binaries natively. With the additions of WSL you can run node.js, Ruby, Python, Perl, Bash scripts or other tools that expect Linux behaviors, environment, or filesystem-layout, the ability to install and run Linux with WSL expands the tools at your disposal on Windows Server.
- At this time, WSL does not support persistent Linux services (such as daemons and jobs) as background tasks. To enable WSL and install a Linux distribution, see Enable the Windows Subsystem for Linux and Install a Linux distribution in the Windows Server 2016 Installation Guide on GitHub.
Delivery Optimization is available for Windows Server
Delivery Optimization has been the main downloader of Windows Update and Windows Store content since the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, providing faster and more reliable downloads. Starting in the latest builds for Server, Delivery Optimization is now the downloader used by Windows Update on Windows Server.Delivery Optimization can also provide Peer-to-peer bandwidth optimization between Windows Server machines. To enable peer-to-peer downloads open Settings -> Update & Security -> Advanced Options -> Delivery Optimization and turn ON the toggle to “Allow downloads from other PCs”.
In addition to the new features listed here, there are several new additions to Developers and Containers, Cloud Guest, and Cloud Host. The full list of changes is available on the Windows blog.
Microsoft gives Windows Insiders unlimited access using these two keys for unlimited access to Windows Server through the pre-release cycle:
Server Datacenter Core: B69WH-PRNHK-BXVK3-P9XF7-XD84W
Server Standard Core: V6N4W-86M3X-J77X3-JF6XW-D9PRV
You can find download information and help via the Windows Server Insider Preview download page.
