Back in January we wrote about how we had uplifted our core infrastructure to Windows Server 2016, System Center 2016, and Exchange 2016.  We are writing now to update you on the evolution of that project.

Windows Server 2016

Since adopting Windows Server 2016 we have encountered a relatively small number of issues with this new operating system compared to previous operating system releases. 

One of the nicer changes has been the cumulative updates that Microsoft rolls out each month and the fact that they put out a preview of that release for testing in advance.

Our System Center 2016 antivirus protection is fantastic: low impact on resources and user experience and highly effective at stopping viruses and malware.

Some users find the Start Menu a bit clunky but for them we deploy a custom Start Menu called ClassicShell that lets them have the same UI experience that existed in previous versions of Windows or customize one all their own.

Due to the stability of the Windows Server 2016 operating system in our environment we are now leveraging it for deployment whenever possible for new customers as long as the applications customers want to host are supported in Windows Server 2016.

We are also working with existing customers looking to upgrade to Windows Server 2016 but have found that a migration tends to work better (and is safer) than a direct upgrade and that in many cases existing application software still may not be certified for Windows Server 2016 and may require application upgrades as well.

Our guidance is basically this:  for new customers we recommend that you deploy to the latest know stable Windows operating system (now Windows Server 2016 in our estimation) and for existing customers to consider upgrading the operating system in conjunction with application upgrades.

If you are interested in hosting your workload on one of our Windows Server 2016 virtual machines or are interested in upgrading an existing workload please contact us for more information.

Office 2016

For those customers currently hosting Microsoft Office 2013 or earlier with us the option to upgrade to Office 2016 is here.  What's new here?  Not much.  This is a product line that does not seem to be innovating much anymore.  Each release sees a change in icons and not much else that actually impacts user experience.  The only real differences we have observed between 2016 and it's predecessors seems to be memory consumption.  It uses more.  For those trying to pinch pennies you may just want to stay on your old version for now.  For those that like the shiny new experience we will upgrade you for free but you may find that you need to add a couple GBs of RAM to your Remote Desktop servers if you want to go this route.

More To Come

SQL Server 2016 has been out for about a year now and we have found it to be extremely stable.  Applications have been slow to announce support for SQL Server 2016 though so it has not been heavily adopted in our production environments.  That said we find it to be safe, secure, stable, and it is integrated into our disaster recovery plan.

SQL Server 2017 was just released earlier this week but do not expect to see it popping up as an option for hosting until we are sure that it is safe, secure, stable, and integrated into our disaster recovery plan.  Look for more on this subject early next year.

We are constantly implementing new technology to provide a better and more secure experience for our customers.  In the coming months we will be updating our virtualization infrastructure to Windows Server 2016 and Hyper-V 2016 and introducing new product into our infrastructure.