Windows Server Container versions

Windows Server Containers are available on the following OS versions:

• Windows Server 2016 Core (no GUI): A typical Windows Server 2016 server with minimal installation. The Server Core version reduces the space required on disk and the surface of attack. CLI is the only tool available for interacting with the Server Core, either locally/remotely. You can still launch PowerShell using the start powershell command from the CLI. You can also call get-windowsfeature to see what features are available on Windows Server Core.
• Windows Server 2016 (full GUI): This is a full version of Windows Server 2016 with standard Desktop Experience. The server roles can be installed using Server Manager. It is not possible to convert Windows Server Core to full Desktop Experience. This should be a decision taken during installation only.
• Windows 10: Windows Server Containers are available for Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise versions (insider builds 14372 and up). The containers and Hyper-V/virtualization feature should be enabled before working with containers. Creating container and images with Windows 10 will be discussed in following chapters.
• Nano Server: Nano Server is a headless Windows Server 30 times or 93% smaller than the Windows Server Core. It takes far less space, requires fewer updates, high security, and boots much faster than the other versions. There is a dedicated chapter in this book on working with Nano Servers and Windows Containers.

The most important part is that Windows Server Containers are available in two flavors, Windows Server Containers and Hyper-V Containers. All of the previously mentioned OS types can run Windows Server Containers and Hyper-V Containers. Both the containers can be managed using Docker API, Docker CLI, and PowerShell.