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Microsoft loves Linux! 
It is no secret that Microsoft has made major investments to ensure Linux gets an enterprise grade 
experience in the Microsoft ecosystem. Microsoft has made contributions to the Linux kernel and 
actively maintains the Linux Integration Services (LIS) to ensure a fully enlightened experienced while 
running Linux on Hyper-V. 
Microsoft fully supports the following distributions on Hyper-V today, with more being added in the 
future. 

Red Hat Linux 

SUSE 

OpenSUSE 

CentOS 

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CHAPTER 1 | Introduction to Microsoft Windows Server 2016 

Ubuntu 

Debian 

Oracle Linux 
Table 1-1 lists just some of the investments that have been made to the LIS. 
Table 1-1:
Key investment areas for LIS 
Focus area 
Description 
Networking 
Full virtual Receive-Side Scaling (vRSS) support to optimize Linux networking 
performance 
Hot-Add/Remove of virtual NICS 
Storage 
Hot-Add disk support and online re-size of storage 
Management 
Simplified management with common tools like PowerShell DSC 
Performance 
Linux performance on Hyper-V is fully competitive versus competitive 
hypervisors 
System Center 2016 
As we have mentioned, Windows Server 2016 is a cloud-ready OS boasting many new features that 
have been inspired by Azure. These features can act as the foundation of a software-defined 
datacenter (SDDC). However, clouds—be they public or private—need to be managed and System 
Center 2016 is the datacenter management tool that has benefitted from the key investments to 
achieve this. 
System Center 2016 has been updated to unlock all of the key capabilities within Windows Server 
2016, which make it possible for you to implement and manage a full SDDC based on Windows 
Server 2016. 
The following are just a few of the investments included in the release for System Center 2016: 

Device Management 
This includes support for Windows 10 deployments, MDM enrollment with Azure Active Directory, 
and access restriction based on device enrollment and policy. 

Provisioning 
Investments here include support for Windows Server 2016 Hyper-V features, rolling cluster 
upgrades, simplified networking, shielded VM provisioning, guarded host management, and 
support for vCenter 5.5. 

Monitoring 
For the category, Microsoft has added support for Nano Server, Windows storage, SMI-S, MP 
catalog, performance improvements, Enhanced Data Visualization, and the SCOM Partner 
Program. 

Automation 
Improvements here include easier migration to the cloud, SCO integration packs, and runbooks. 

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7 
CHAPTER 1 | Introduction to Microsoft Windows Server 2016 

Self-Service 
In the area of self-service, you can benefit from improved usability and performance, an HTML5 
self-service portal, and the new exchange connector. 

Data Protection 
Here, you can take advantage of investments that include support for Azure Express Route, 
shielded VM, and Storage spaces direct. 
All of these improvements in the System Center suite give organizations the power they need to 
create the next generation of the cloud. However, the investments don’t stop there, System Center 
2016 can now natively access new integrations into Microsoft Operations Management Suite. 
This integration unlocks new possibilities to complement the already wide-ranging capabilities of 
System Center and gives administrators greater visibility, protection, control, and security into their 
IT environment at cloud scale. Operations Management Suite reporting capabilities and native 
integration into Microsoft Power BI with which administrators can create powerful and dynamic 
reports and visualizations in a matter of clicks. 
Figure 1-3 shows you a sample dashboard that is driven from the default intelligence packs included 
with the Operations Management Suite subscription. You can see that by default when you deploy 
these intelligence packs and connect data sources, you can work with rich visual information.