Windows Server 2016, the End of an Era (Premium Only)

We focus on personal technology here at Thurrott.com, so the release of Windows Server 2016 may seem like a curious topic to discuss. But I used Windows Server in one way or another for almost 20 years. And now it's time for me to say goodbye.

Windows Server has an amazing history, from its humble beginnings in the mid-1990s as the workgroup-oriented Windows NT Server to its transition, along with Microsoft's customer base, to a scalable and reliable solution for businesses of all sizes. There were incredible moments, from Mark Russinovich's discovery that just a few Registry keys differentiated Windows NT 4.0 Workstation and Server, to the "it's a server not a surfboard" mantra of Windows Server 2003, to today's winding down of Windows Server 2016 as a minor piece in Microsoft's broader Cloud Platform.

Like Microsoft and its customers, I too am moving past Windows Server. In fact, I really made that final step last year, when I transitioned from a Windows Server Essentials 2012 R2-based "home server" to a simple, less expensive NAS. This transition occurred alongside other changes, like my move to cloud storage, which meansI no longer need to backup any of my PCs---a time-consuming, costly waste of time---and no longer need so much local storage.

Before any of this was possible, I adhered to an ideal that many readers perhaps still defend: That in order to fully understand Microsoft's server technologies, I needed to create a local server environment and manage my home network as if it were a workplace.

I got into some interesting trouble this way. At one point around 2000-2001---I don't quite recall, but we were living in our previous house---I received a phone call from my cable provider, which was curious why I was serving IP addresses to five publicly-connected routers in other people's homes. Oops.

My use of Windows Server evolved over the years. As a huge fan and user of Media Center, I was excited to see Microsoft apply that approach to the server and create Windows Home Server. Which it then defanged and sort of resuscitated with Windows Server Essentials. I've had rack-mounted servers in my home---one of which required two massive power connections and sounded like a jet engine---and have tested and used everything from every Small Business Server version to Data Protection Server to Storage Server. It all made sense. Briefly.

Since the advent of Hyper-V, it's been possible to create virtual server environments, which I've done. And now of course you can (and should) do so in Azure if you still need this kind of expertise for some reason. Which I don't. But most of us, even the most enthusiastic users of Server, should move on. Above all, I'm a big fan of the "best tool for the job" mantra, and Windows Server is no longer the best tool for the job. Not for any individual. In virtually any circumstance.

Don't get me wrong: I don't mean that there is fundamentally anything wrong with Windows Server. It'...

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