Hotpatching is now available for Windows Server VMs on Azure with Desktop Experience!

[Guest VishalBajaj]

We’re excited to announce the General Availability of Hotpatching on Windows Server 2022 Datacenter: Azure Edition VMs with Desktop Experience. This fulfills one of our biggest requests from customers: Hotpatching beyond Server Core. Hotpatch updates simplify securing your Windows Server devices without needing a reboot. Early adopters have reported being able to update their VMs within a couple of days as compared to previously taking weeks.

 

 

 

Get access to this capability by using the newly released images.

 

 

 

Now, all versions of Windows Server 2022 Datacenter: Azure Edition on Azure and Azure Stack HCI can enable Hotpatching! This marks our continued investment in ensuring that Azure is the best destination to run Windows Server, with many capabilities to optimize your server management through services such as Azure Automanage. Watch the video and read the FAQ below to learn more!

 

 

 

 

 

 

What are the key benefits of Hotpatching?

 

• Fewer reboots, which means higher availability resulting in less workload disruptions.
  
• Faster deployment of updates because Hotpatch updates only contain security fixes so they are about 10x smaller, install faster, take effect without reboot. Minimal OS changes helps you manage change control.
  
• Azure Update Manager provide simple update patch orchestration management.
  

 

What is new with this announcement?

 

We are releasing new OS images that support Hotpatching.

 

 

 

Will existing images with Desktop Experience support Hotpatching?

 

The existing Windows Server 2022 Datacenter: Azure Edition images with the Desktop Experience will not support Hotpatching. To benefit from Hotpatching, you must deploy the new OS images.

 

 

 

Are all updates installed without a reboot?

 

Hotpatching is limited to security fixes released for Windows operating systems (excluding .NET framework). Non security fixes and other 3rd party updates are not part of the Hotpatch program. For more information on the Hotpatch schedule and baseline patches, review the Hotpatch documentation.

 

 

 

How do I get started?

 

Simply Create VMs with the newly released images (Hotpatching is enabled by default). For additional information refer to this blog or the documentation.

 

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