Windows Server 2016 Software-Defined Networking

When Windows Server 2016 arrives in the second half of 2016, it will deliver new capabilities for defining and managing software-defined networks, intended to help build networks between virtual machines and likely to underpin the Azure Stack platform coming in late 2016. However, most new networking features will require the use of the Datacenter edition of the OS.

Software-Defined Networking

With software-defined networking, the control of network traffic is managed by software running outside the network’s physical hardware so that administrators can better monitor and control the traffic. Software-defined networking is becoming increasingly important as companies move to dynamic, virtualized environments: they are used to connect groups of virtual machines, whether in one data center, in multiple data centers, or externally at Azure or third-party hosting providers.

Windows Server 2016 will build on software-defined networking features included in the Windows Server OS since Windows Server 2012 to provide isolated networks at the hypervisor layer, generally with little or no physical networking hardware. These features should help the OS meet the needs of complex Hyper-V virtual machine deployments on-premises, provide an infrastructure for the Azure Stack platform of services expected late in 2016, and help manage hybrid networks bridging systems on-premises and off-premises.