Announcing Windows Server 2019 Insider Preview Build 17677

Hello Windows Insiders!

Today we are pleased to release a new build of the Windows Server vNext Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) release that contains both the Desktop Experience and Server Core in all 18 server languages, as well as a new build of the next Windows Server Semi-Annual Channel release in English.

There are two major areas that we would like you to try out in each preview release and report back any issues:

• In-place OS Upgrade (from Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2016)
• Application compatibility – please let us know if any server roles or applications stops working or fails to function as it used to

Build-to-build upgrade is currently not supported.

What’s New in the Latest Build

Performance history for Storage Spaces Direct

In this build, the performance history feature of Storage Spaces Direct gets even better:

• The Get-ClusterPerf cmdlet now includes self-diagnosis logic: if the cmdlet finds nothing to report, it now looks for common issues that would prevent performance history from working properly (for example, if its storage is missing) so that the cmdlet can provide clear error text.
• New cmdlets, Start-ClusterPerformanceHistory and Stop-ClusterPerformanceHistory, that are provided in this build make it easy to remediate such issues by cleaning up and/or re-provisioning performance history.
• New series, provided in this build, record how much Storage Spaces Direct data needs to repair/resync per server.

Container Improvements

In our continued effort to improve Windows Server Core and reduce its image size, we made the following changes: – we converted non-critical font components into optional components (OC) in Windows Server Core editions, and then removed these OCs from Windows Server Core container images. This change won’t affect the user experience of Windows Server Core, except that users now have the ability to enable or disable non-critical font components, like they can do for any other OC. For Server Core containers, only the default font, Arial, is supported; no other fonts are supported, and no others can be installed.

Click here to see the full list of new functionality introduced in earlier builds.

Available Content

Windows Server 2019 Preview is available in ISO format in 18 languages, and in VHDX format in English only. This build and all future pre-release builds will require use of activation keys during setup. The following keys allow for unlimited activations:

Datacenter Edition	6XBNX-4JQGW-QX6QG-74P76-72V67
Standard Edition	MFY9F-XBN2F-TYFMP-CCV49-RMYVH

Windows Server vNext Semi-Annual Preview The Server Core Edition is available in English only, in ISO or VHDX format. The images are pre-keyed –  no need to enter a key during setup.

Symbols are available on the public symbol server – see Update on Microsoft’s Symbol Server blog post and Using the Microsoft Symbol Server. As before, matching Windows Server container images will be available via Docker Hub. For more information about Windows Server containers and Insider builds, click here.

This build will expire December 14th, 2018.

How to Download 

To obtain the Insider software downloads, registered Insiders may navigate directly to the Windows Server Insider Preview download page.  If you have not yet registered as an Insider, see GETTING STARTED WITH SERVER on the Windows Insiders for Business portal.

We value your feedback!

Use your registered Windows 10 Insider device and use the Feedback Hub application. In the app, choose the Server category and then the appropriate subcategory for your feedback. Please indicate what build number you are providing feedback on. We also encourage you to visit the Windows Server Insiders space on the Microsoft Tech Communities forum to collaborate, share and learn from experts.

Known Issues

• In-place OS upgrade: Domain Controllers. Active Directory (AD) Domain Controllers (DC) might not be upgraded correctly by an in-place upgrade unless the NT Directory Service (NTDS) is stopped before initiating the upgrade. To ensure recoverability in the case of failure, back up any AD DC before performing an in-place OS upgrade.
• On recent preview releases of the operating system, the Failover Clustering feature might not install correctly, leaving the feature in “InstallPending” state.
• Drivers that are supplied with the operating system for network adapters from a specific manufacturer may fail to work on recent preview releases of the operating system.
• Creating or modifying environment variables by using setx on a system running Nano Server fails. On an affected system, setx requires a specific path in the registry, HKCUEnvironment, to exist by default.
• The Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (lsass.exe) may fail, causing the Active Directory server service to fail. When removal of a domain is attempted on an affected system, it reports an error: “The operation cannot continue because LDAP connect/bind operation failed.”
• The Virtual Machine Management Service (VMMS) may experience an error, APPLICATION_FAULT_INVALID_POINTER_READ, in Cluster Manager.
• When a system is running a recent preview release of the operating system, Windows Server Containers may experience an idle time of 240 milliseconds before Docker is started.
• A virtual machine that uses a Microsoft Virtual BIOS may fail to start and report an error: “Failed to restore with Error ‘Indicates two revision levels are incompatible.’ (0x8007051A)”
• Creation of a basic Linux system image in a Hyper-V container fails. On an affected system, Docker reports an error: “The command ‘/bin/sh -c /bin/echo echo test > test.txt’ returned a non-zero code.”
• Some third-party apps do not start when run in a Hyper-V container, possibly due to an incorrect character set. For affected apps, a workaround is to manually set the character set to UTF-8 in your JVM for the Container by running set JAVA_OPTS=-Dsun.jnu.encoding=UTF-8.
• Editing or creating policies for AppLocker can cause the MMC snap-in to crash when generated rules for a packaged app.
• After upgrading the operating system, the AppX database may have corrupted entries, which causes problems for components that use those entries. An administrator might notice this issue when generating packaged app rules or when managing an installed package, resulting in error messages such as “This wizard has encountered a fatal error and cannot continue” and “MMC has detected an error in a snap-in and will unload it.”

Terms of Use

This is pre-release software – it is provided for use “as-is” and is not supported in production environments. Users are responsible for installing any updates made available from Windows Update for as long as this build is available   All pre-release software made available to you via the Windows Server Insider Program are governed by the Insider Terms of Use, which takes precedence over any license agreement that may be in the product.

No downtime for Hustle-As-A-Service,
Dona <3

Source: Announcing Windows Server 2019 Insider Preview Build 17677