In this post, I walk through setup and install of the new Windows Server 2019 Preview build 17623. The install will take place on a Windows 10 laptop running Hyper-V.

The files can be downloaded directly from Microsoft. To download the files, register to be a part of the Insider Preview Program. Registration and Download information can be found here (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windowsinsiderpreviewserver).

The specific version I will install is the LTSC Preview - Build 17623. The download arrives in the form of an ISO.

After downloading the image, I setup a virtual machine with some basic specs. 2048 GB of RAM, 60 GB HD, and 1 VCPU. I decided to use the Generation 2 virtual machine type.

At that point, boot from the ISO and follow the prompts.

What struck me was just how similar to previous installations the process was. From what I can tell, little if anything, has changed. For those doing a by-hand install, there shouldn't be any surprises.

The first thing it does after a few reboots is ask for a password.

Upon restarting, the logon screen looks very similar to Windows 10. The navigation screens and System Manager look much the same as they do in Windows Server 2016.

Visually, anyone familiar with Windows 10 should feel at home on the Server Release. Of course, more admins should move to the GUI-less version, but in my experience, real world adoption of Server Core has been slow.

The Server Manager screens looked the way I remembered them. At this stage, an admin wouldn't have much to go on visually to tell them they were using a newer version of the OS. I suspect this will change as new builds are released.

Future blog posts will go deeper into the new features.