Free ebook: Introducing Windows Server 2016 Technical Preview

9/26/2016 update:   An updated version of this ebook is available. Find the newest files here.

We’re happy to announce the availability of our newest free ebook, Introducing Windows Server 2016 Technical Preview (ISBN 9780735697737), by John McCabe and the Windows Server team. Enjoy!

Get a head start evaluating Windows Server 2016—guided by the experts. Based on Technical Preview 4, John McCabe and the Windows Server team introduce the new features and capabilities, with practical insights on how Windows Server 2016 can meet the needs of your business. Get the early, high-level overview you need to begin preparing your deployment now!

Introduction

Windows Server has powered a generation of organizations, from small businesses to large global enterprises. No matter what your role in IT, you can be guaranteed that you have touched Windows Server at some point in your career or, at the very least, you have seen it from afar! No matter what your area of expertise, this ebook introduces you to Windows Server 2016 Technical Preview and its latest developments, which is the next version of Windows Server.

Each chapter has been written by either field experts or members of the product group, who provide you with the latest information on every improvement or new feature that is coming in Windows Server. This information will help you to get ready for Windows Server 2016 Technical Preview and give you an opportunity to develop and design a path to introduce this powerful technology into your environment and take full advantage of what is to come. This book was written at a time when the product was still evolving, and it should be noted that things might change or not appear in the final version of Windows Server 2016 when it is released. All guidance in these chapters is meant to be tried and evaluated in a test setting; you should not implement this in a production environment.

This book assumes that you are familiar with key Windows Server concepts (i.e., Hyper-V, networking, and storage) as well as cloud technologies such as Microsoft Azure. In this ebook, we cover a variety of concepts related to the technology and present scenarios with a customer focus, but it is not intended as a how-to guide or design manual. You should use other sources including the online Microsoft resources to stay up to date with the latest developments on the roles and features of Windows Server 2016 Technical Preview. The online resources will also contain the latest how-to procedures and information about designing a Windows Server 2016 infrastructure for your business.

About the author

John McCabe works for Microsoft as a senior premier field engineer. In this role, he has worked with the largest customers around the world, supporting and implementing cutting-edge solutions on Microsoft Technologies. In this role, he is responsible for developing core services for the Enterprise Services Teams. John has been a contributing author to several books, including Mastering Windows Server 2012 R2 from Sybex, Mastering Lync 2013 from Sybex, and Introducing Microsoft System Center 2012 from Microsoft Press. John has spoken at many conferences around Europe, including TechEd and TechReady. Prior to joining Microsoft, John was an MVP in Unified Communications with 15 years of consulting experience across many different technologies such as networking, security, and architecture.