Microsoft is the clear leader of server racks in enterprise data centers across the globe. Walk into any backroom or data center of any company and you are almost guaranteed to find the infrastructure of that organization being supported by the Windows Server operating system. We have been relying on Windows Server for more than 20 years, and rightfully so-–nowhere else can you find such an enormous mix of capabilities all provided inside one installer disc. Windows Server 2016 continues to provide the core functionality that we have come to rely upon from all previous versions of Windows Server, but in better and more efficient ways. On top of that, we have some brand new capabilities in Server 2016 that are particularly mind-bending, new ways to accomplish more efficient and secure handling of our network traffic and data.

There is a relevant question mixed into all this server talk, “We hear so much about the cloud. Isn’t everyone moving to the cloud? If so, why would we even need Windows Server 2016 in our company?” There are two different ways to answer this question, and both result in having huge benefits to knowing and understanding this newest version of Windows Server. First, there really aren’t that many companies moving all of their equipment into the cloud. In fact, I have yet to meet any business with more than 10 employees who has gone all-in for the cloud. In almost all cases, it still makes sense that you would use at least one on premise server to manage local user account authentication, or DHCP, or print services, or for a local file server–-the list goes on and on. Another reason companies aren’t moving to the cloud like you might think they are is security. Sure, we might throw some data and some user accounts to the cloud to enable things like federation and ease of accessing that data, but what about sensitive or classified company data? You don’t own your data if it resides in the cloud – you don’t even have the capability to manage the backend servers that are actually storing that data alongside data from other companies. How can you be guaranteed of your data’s security and survival? The ultimate answer is that you cannot. And this alone keeps many folks that I have talked to away from moving all of their information to the cloud. The second reason it is still important to build knowledge on the Windows Server platform is that even if you have made the decision to move everything to the cloud, what server platform will you be running in the cloud that you now have to log into and administer? If you are using Azure for cloud services, there is a very good chance that you will be logging into Windows Server 2016 instances in order to administer your environment, even if those Server 2016 boxes are sitting in the cloud. So whether you have on premise servers, or you are managing servers sitting in the cloud somewhere, learning all you can about the new Windows Server 2016 operating system will be beneficial to your day job in IT.

When I first learned of the opportunity to put together this book, it was a difficult task to assemble an outline of possible recipes. Where to begin? There are so many different roles that can be run in Windows Server 2016, and so many tasks within each role that could be displayed. It was a natural reaction to start looking for all of the things that are brand new in Server 2016, and to want to talk only about recipes that display the latest and greatest features. But then I realized that those recipes on their own won’t accomplish anything helpful for someone who is trying to learn about Windows Server administration for the first time. It is critical that we provide a base understanding of the important infrastructural roles that are commonly provided by Windows Server, because without that baseline the newest features won’t amount to a hill of beans.

So my hope is that you find a pleasant mix of both in this volume. There are recipes that tackle the core infrastructure tasks that we have been performing in previous versions of Windows Server, but now focusing on how to make them work in the new Windows Server 2016. Then we mix those core tasks with recipes that display some of the brand new features provided in 2016 that enhance the standard roles and services. Some recipes are clearly for the beginner, while others get deeper into the details so that someone already experienced with working inside Windows Server will gain some new knowledge out of reading this book. We will discuss the roles that are critically important to making any Microsoft network function: Active Directory, DNS, DHCP, certificate services, and so on. Then we will also bring some light to the new functions inside Windows Server 2016 like Nano Server and Storage Spaces Direct.

A primary goal of this cookbook is to be a reference guide that you can come back to time and again when you need to accomplish common tasks in your environment, but want to ensure that you are performing them the right way. I hope that through these chapters you are able to become comfortable enough with Windows Server 2016 that you will go out and install it today!