Make IT SmartSharePoint Server 2019 Preview is available and it requires newer OS
Hi everyone! Big news from MS - as announced some time ago, SharePoint Server 2019 Preview is here. I didn’t have a chance yet to try it out, but had a quick look on the requirements to have it installed. Long story short - you will not be able to use your old Windows Server 2012 R2 playground to install it. Now there is a requirement for more modern software platform. Here is the quick comparison of software requirements for SharePoint Server 2016 vs 2019:
| SharePoint Server 2016 | SharePoint Server 2019 Preview | |
|---|---|---|
| Windows Server 2012 R2 |  |
 |
| Windows Server 2016 | |
|
| Windows Server 2019 | |
|
| MS SQL Server 2014 SP1 | |
|
| MS SQL Server 2016 RTM | |
|
| MS SQL Server 2017 RTM for Windows | |
|
Software prerequisites list has also changed:
| SharePoint Server 2016 | SharePoint Server 2019 Preview |
|---|---|
| Web Server (IIS) role | Web Server (IIS) role |
| Application Server role | Application Server role |
| Microsoft .NET Framework version 4.6 |  Microsoft .NET Framework version 4.7.2 |
| Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Service Pack 1 Native Client | Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Service Pack 4 Native Client |
| Microsoft WCF Data Services 5.6 | Microsoft WCF Data Services 5.6 |
| Microsoft Identity Extensions | Microsoft Identity Extensions |
| Microsoft Information Protection and Control Client (MSIPC) | Microsoft Information Protection and Control Client (MSIPC) |
| Microsoft Sync Framework Runtime v1.0 SP1 (x64) | Microsoft Sync Framework Runtime v1.0 SP1 (x64) |
| Windows Server AppFabric 1.1 | Windows Server AppFabric 1.1 |
| Cumulative Update Package 7 for Microsoft AppFabric 1.1 for Windows Server (KB 3092423) | Cumulative Update Package 7 for Microsoft AppFabric 1.1 for Windows Server (KB 3092423) |
| Microsoft ODBC Driver 11 for SQL Server | No requirements for ODBC driver |
| Visual C++ Redistributable Package for Visual Studio 2012 | Visual C++ Redistributable Package for Visual Studio 2012 |
| Visual C++ Redistributable Package for Visual Studio 2015 | Visual C++ Redistributable Package for Visual Studio 2017 |
However, hardware requirements are still the same, which means you will not need more resources if you replace your SP2016 playground with SP2019 Preview. You can read more about SharePoint 2019 features from official source: Welcome to SharePoint Server 2019, a modern platform for choice and flexibility