Microsoft launches Windows Server Insider Preview build 17079

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Windows Server Insiders can now get their hands on a new build.

Surface Insider Rings
Surface Insider Rings (Image credit: Windows Central)

Following up on a fresh build released last week, Microsoft has made another Windows Server Insider Preview build available. This latest release ticks the build number up to version 17079, bringing a handful of new features and known issues.

Here's a look at what's new in Windows Server Insider Preview build 17079:

  • In-place OS Upgrade: Customers are now able to upgrade their Windows Server, version 1709 installations to the current preview build using In-place OS Upgrade. This feature is available starting in build 17079. This feature also enables customers to perform build-to-build upgrade of the next released preview build.
  • Running setup.exe, customers should be presented with the option to "Keep personal files and apps", which causes the migration steps in setup.exe to run and upgrade Windows Server while preserving applications, data, and user settings.

Developers and Containers

  • Optimized Server Core container base images (30% smaller). Available on Windows Insider Docker Hub here
  • MSMQ now installs in a Server Core container
  • Key Application Compatibility bug fixes

And here are the known issues in this release:

Known issues with Windows Server build 17079

  • [NEW] When Hypervisor Code Integrity (HVCI) is enabled, a system may fail to start. On affected systems, firmware locates UEFI runtime services in memory described as Memory-Mapped I/O (MMIO).
  • Running nanoserver-insider containers on a Windows Server Core host will fail, and may crash the host. As a workaround, you can add "—isolation=hyperv" when running or building the containers such as "docker run –isolation=hyperv microsoft/nanoserver-insider".

Known Issues with In-place OS Upgrade

  • (1) Drives that are protected with BitLocker should have BitLocker suspended (disabled) before In-place OS Upgrade, and resumed (enabled) after In-place OS Upgrade.
  • (2) AD Domain Controllers might not upgrade correctly – please backup any AD DC before applying In-place OS Upgrade.

Windows Server build 17079 is available for download from Microsoft, and it's expected to expire on July 2, 2018.

Dan Thorp-Lancaster
Dan Thorp-Lancaster
Former Editor-in-Chief

Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl.