Microsoft has announced that effective May 1, 2023, it will transfer support for Mirantis Container Runtime (formerly Docker Engine – Enterprise) to Mirantis. If you’re currently using Windows Server containers, rest assured that MCR will continue to function as before. The main difference is that support, bug fixes, and security patches will be provided directly by Mirantis, instead of through Microsoft.

Mirantis will continue to provide a fully-supported CRI compliant container runtime that gives developers the familiar Docker CLI, security enhancements including FIPS 140-2 validation, and container management features for  Kubernetes and Swarm orchestration. This fully-supported option is advisable for production environments, and provides long-term support (LTS) for customers who are not able to upgrade to new versions of MCR in a timely manner.

If you are running  mission critical applications in production, we recommend customers use  Mirantis Container Runtime to avoid security lapses and unexpected issues that may lead to significant downtime. Mirantis Container Runtime supports FIPS 140-2 validation that’s required for highly regulated industries, and provides LTS with SLAs to make sure the container runtime is up to date.

At the end of April 2023, Windows Server container customers can continue to use Mirantis Container Runtime, but will need to obtain support from Mirantis to access support, bug fixes, and security patches. Because we want to ease the transition, effective immediately we are enabling current customers who purchase Mirantis licensing before April 30, 2023. In addition, support contracts can be structured so that they don’t begin until Microsoft support ends, even if the planned transition date should change. Here at Mirantis we want to make this transition as easy as possible, so if you have any further questions, please contact us.