Microsoft reduces size of Windows Server Container images, will undock Edge in the future

Microsoft has announced some modifications to its Windows Server Container images to help reduce their size. It has removed some hive files from something called the servicing layer, disabled unnecessary scheduled tasks, and pruned non-essential log files.

The company explained that its Windows Service Container images contain a base layer and servicing layer which overlays serviced binaries. To help shrink the size of the images, Microsoft has removed some hive files in the Windows\System32\Config directory from the servicing layer.

Microsoft isn’t content with the aforementioned changes. In the coming months, it wants to find a way to remove the Edge browser as a default component in the Server and Windows images. Rather than being pre-installed, users will be able to install Edge as an optional component. Over time, Microsoft is planning to undock other components, but Edge is first.

Another way it’s planning to reduce the size of images is to remove foreign layers from the Windows container base images. This change will apparently allow customers to redistribute container images from their container registries - Microsoft said this will also improve the experience for developers.

You can now get the slimmer images from the Microsoft Artifact Registry. The available images include Nano Server, Server Core, Server, and Windows.