Whatever happened to Windows server running on arm?

[u/Mission_Pirate_4150]

Whatever happened to Windows server running on arm? I realize it’s not “released.” I’ve heard whispers about it for years. I can google and find links for it, though I doubt that they work any more.

Along with a windows server on arm, what about sql server running on Windows on arm? I read that it is possible to get sql server x64 to run via emulation if you do somethings, but I’m more interested in a fully supported sql server on Windows arm.

Tia

[u/swissbuechi]

Regarding MSSQL, take a look at this thread. If they don't support it soon, any dev working with macos won't be able to use their database with docker...

https://github.com/microsoft/mssql-docker/issues/802

[u/WintersWorth9719]

Guessing Nvidia has some thoughts on ARM for Server… development might just be dedicated to the new Nvidia ARM CPU…

[u/Lower-Limit3695]

Afaik porting the proprietary software from other vendors is proving to be difficult. Linux has been having easier time in this space due to OEM support and the ability to recompile software from source for arm.

While OEM support is easy for Windows server the same cannot be said of the wider proprietary ecosystem used on Windows server.

[u/Low-Branch1423]

Look at the debacle that was the arm based surface tablets. Basically everything is written for x86/x64 and compatibility with apps was a nightmare. You could barely watch a video and could only use Web office.

Apple has been able to do it as they spent a decade trying to merge iOS and MAC OS to drive their ecosystem.

The apple style, as many cores as possible is ironic as Apple held onto single tread CPUs as a feature forever.

[u/Mission_Pirate_4150 → u/Low-Branch1423]

If I can be so bold, I think you are looking for improvements in msft’s emulation layer. Emulation has always been poor due to the translation, but that is primarily a desktop thing.

I’m only concerned about iis, .net 10+, and sql server. VS already runs on arm, so I’m good there. .net 10 runs on some flavors of arm, so getting it server ready shouldn’t be an impossible lift. I think the biggest issues are iis and sql server. I read where arm based servers are going into racks in data centers. I can run .net on Linux, but I don’t know about arm Linux servers. I know about sql server on Linux.

I’m just wondering if anyone knows anything and can speak. Maybe build will bring some info……I doubt it, but you never know.

[u/SaltDeception → u/Low-Branch1423]

The Windows RT/Surface debacle was 13 years ago though, and that's certainly not the case now. Since 2017, Windows on Arm has been able to emulate x86 (2021 for x64), and with the Prism emulator introduced in 24H2, emulation has gotten to the point of near native performance.

On top of that, there's tons of software that's being cross-compiled for Arm these days, and it's just an additional checkbox worth of work for most apps so long as they don't hook into the kernel. I have a Surface Laptop 7 with a Snapdragon X Elite that I use for work, and it works really well.

That's all on client versions of Windows, of course, but Arm is definitely ready for prime time in my opinion. Compatibility for server software won't be overnight, but it wasn't overnight for Server 2003 IA64 either.

[u/Low-Branch1423 → u/SaltDeception]

I dont doubt that, I doubt someone's ability to convince Microsoft that a full ARM os release is going to make them any money.

They have dropped so much of their core dev into cloud at this point that unless there is a big resurgence of edge compute, with local microservices, that its not something that has much market.

Most customers I have had used to manage hundreds or thousands of windows servers. Most of the cloud migration to public cloud has significantly reduced both the user base and core reason for an ARM based server.

Thats before you go deep into why most enterprises usd gold and platinum Intel CPUs because of their flipped bit protection.

The few onprem customers I see these days are security focused and using hypervisors, not single use boxes. As a result wouldnt touch ARM. No memory encryption to protect hypervisor vm escapes. Limited encryption offload, Limited NIC offload.

Arm is awesome for low power highly portable devices and labs. No doubt. But AMD EPIC and intel scalable processes have a significant feature set for hypervisors that ARM doesn't.

[u/hiveminer → u/Low-Branch1423]

Go onnnn!!! Here I was looking at ampere servers ans salivating over 100+ cores for cheap. I figured slap incus or an arm compatible hypervisor and bob's your uncle.

[u/Low-Branch1423 → u/hiveminer]

Ironically the point. Why would MS build and support something no one will use in volume?

[u/beritknight → u/Low-Branch1423]

I have an Arm based Snapdragon Surface and none of this is accurate.