Windows Server Containers Previewed

Docker, a popular open-source tool for deploying and managing server applications, will be supported with Window Server 2016 to deploy server-based applications. Windows Server Containers, Microsoft’s Docker implementation, could help organizations deploy, manage, and scale applications more easily on Windows Server on-premises and in Azure. However, some applications are not suitable for use with Windows Server Containers, and the technology is not a replacement for using App-V to deploy Windows desktop applications.

Containers and Microsoft

Windows Server Containers are similar to Microsoft’s App-V application virtualization technology: they both allow applications to be quickly installed or upgraded without traditional installers or scripts, and they both reduce the impact of one application on other applications. Windows Server Containers are primarily geared toward managing server applications running on Windows Server, while App-V is generally used for managing Windows desktop applications running on the Windows client OS, although it can be used to manage applications on Windows Server for server-based desktops or as part of a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI). For example, while App-V is ideal for deploying end-user applications like Office 2013 Professional Plus, it is not useful for deploying server applications, such as the MySQL database, or Web applications, which Docker was originally designed to manage.