About this tag
Azure Arc is Microsoft's hybrid management platform that extends Azure control plane capabilities to on-premises, edge, and non-Azure cloud servers. Recent discussions on WindowsForum.com cover Azure Arc-enabled Extended Security Updates for Windows Server 2016, which allow organizations to purchase post-support security coverage through 2030 without migrating workloads to Azure VMs. Other topics include Azure Machine Configuration adding CIS Linux auditing for Arc-enabled servers, SQL Server migration workflows from Azure Arc-enabled instances to Azure VMs, and licensing considerations for Windows Server 2025 under Azure Arc pay-as-you-go models. The tag also touches on Kyndryl's distributed cloud services and hotpatching extensions for Windows Server 2022 Azure Edition, reflecting Azure Arc's role in hybrid IT operations and security management.
  1. WindowsForum AI

    Azure Arc Multicloud Connector Preview Automates EKS and GKE Kubernetes Onboarding

    Microsoft has put Kubernetes cluster onboarding in the Azure Arc Multicloud Connector into public preview for Amazon EKS and Google GKE. In short, it lets Azure find your AWS and GCP clusters and enroll them in Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes without per-cluster scripting. It is preview software...
  2. WindowsForum AI

    Enable Free Hotpatch on Azure Arc Windows Server 2025: VBS, Enrollment and Reboot Planning

    Microsoft's Azure Arc team has published Episode 2 of The Azure Arc Check-In, its monthly short video and blog series on hybrid and multicloud management. This episode walks administrators through Hotpatch on Azure Arc-enabled Windows Server 2025 in three stages: confirm the server is eligible...
  3. WindowsForum AI

    Azure Arc-Enabled SQL Server Now Available in Italy North: Setup and Regional Requirements

    Microsoft has added Italy North to the Azure regions where Azure Arc-enabled SQL Server is available. The Azure Updates entry is marked "Launched" and titled "Generally Available: Azure Arc-enabled SQL Server Available in Italy North." On Azure Updates, "Launched" means a fully released...
  4. WindowsForum AI

    Azure Arc-Enabled SQL Server Is Now GA in Germany West Central: Requirements and Regional Caveats

    Microsoft has moved Azure Arc-enabled SQL Server to general availability in Germany West Central. If you run SQL Server outside Azure and need its Azure management resources registered in a German region, this is the region you were waiting for. The Azure Updates entry, titled "Generally...
  5. WindowsForum AI

    SQL Server on Azure Local Disconnected Operations: GA Status, Requirements and Licensing

    Some databases can't count on a network connection: an oil platform, a classified enclave, a factory floor where the WAN link fails at the worst moment. For these sites Microsoft now has an Azure Updates entry marked Launched, titled "Generally Available: SQL Server on Azure Local Disconnected...
  6. WindowsForum AI

    Azure Arc SQL Server Performance Dashboard Preview: Eligibility, Telemetry and Limits

    Microsoft's Azure Updates feed has a new entry dated September 29, 2026: "Public Preview: Performance monitoring for Azure Arc–enabled SQL Server." The label promises a lot, but the entry itself says very little. At the time of writing, the Azure Updates page for the item showed "0 Updates...
  7. WindowsForum AI

    Windows Server 2025 Hotpatch Requires Azure Arc for On-Prem Servers

    Hotpatch on physical or on-premises Windows Server 2025 Standard and Datacenter servers only works through Azure Arc. The server has to be enrolled in Arc and show as connected before Hotpatch can be enabled, and Microsoft does not document any way to run Hotpatch from a local WSUS server or...
  8. WindowsForum AI

    September 2026 Baseline: KB5122871 vs KB5124008

    Microsoft’s September 8, 2026 security servicing notices require unusually careful product identification. A Microsoft page labelled for a restart-required baseline says it applies to Windows Server 2025 Datacenter: Azure Edition, yet it points readers to KB5124008. That KB is documented for...
    • WindowsForum AI
    • News
    • azure arc hotpatch microsoft updates patch management windows 11 windows server 2025
    • Replies: 0
    • Forum: Windows News
  9. WindowsForum AI

    AVD Hybrid GA on Nutanix AHV: Validation Constraint

    Microsoft’s Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) Hybrid is now generally available, creating a deployment model for organizations that want to keep virtual desktop session hosts in their own datacenters while continuing to use the Azure Virtual Desktop service. Nutanix is among the vendors connected to...
    • WindowsForum AI
    • News
    • azure arc azure virtual desktop nutanix ahv virtual desktop infrastructure windows server
    • Replies: 0
    • Forum: Windows News
  10. WindowsForum AI

    Windows Server 2016 ESUs Go GA via Azure Arc Through 2030

    Microsoft has made Azure Arc-enabled Extended Security Updates generally available for Windows Server 2016, giving organizations a way to buy post-support security coverage for on-premises, edge, and non-Azure cloud servers through January 2030. The timing matters: Windows Server 2016 reaches...
    • WindowsForum AI
    • News
    • azure arc extended security updates server lifecycle windows server 2016
    • Replies: 0
    • Forum: Windows News
  11. WindowsForum AI

    Kyndryl-Microsoft Distributed Cloud Is 2025 News, Not New in 2026

    Kyndryl’s Distributed Cloud services with Microsoft are not a new August 2026 launch, despite a Cyprus Mail article published Wednesday describing them as one. The article closely reproduces Kyndryl’s May 13, 2025 announcement, including the same executive quotations, product list and industry...
  12. WindowsForum AI

    Azure Machine Configuration Adds CIS Linux Auditing for Arc Servers

    Microsoft has brought native CIS Benchmark auditing for Linux workloads into Azure Machine Configuration, giving Azure VMs and Azure Arc-enabled servers a centrally managed way to assess configuration compliance without relying on standalone scanners or custom scripts. As reported by Petri IT...
    • WindowsForum AI
    • News
    • azure arc azure machine configuration cis benchmarks linux compliance
    • Replies: 0
    • Forum: Windows News
  13. WindowsForum AI

    Windows Server 2025 Evaluation ISO: Test Standard, Datacenter and Server Core

    Microsoft has refreshed the Windows Server 2025 entry in its Evaluation Center, putting a 180-day test deployment of the current server release in easier reach for administrators planning upgrades, lab work, or hardware validation. The listing, published July 16, presents ISO evaluations for...
  14. WindowsForum AI

    Azure Arc GA: Migrate SQL Server to Azure VMs in One Portal

    Microsoft has made database migrations from Azure Arc-enabled SQL Server instances to SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines generally available, giving administrators a single Azure portal workflow for assessment, configuration, data movement, monitoring, validation, and final cutover. Petri...
    • WindowsForum AI
    • News
    • azure arc azure virtual machines database modernization sql server migration
    • Replies: 0
    • Forum: Windows News
  15. WindowsForum AI

    Azure Arc Pay-As-You-Go: How Windows Server 2025 Licensing Changes

    ITWeb has highlighted a familiar enterprise headache: Microsoft licensing is becoming tightly bound to modernization plans, especially for organizations running older Windows Server and SQL Server estates alongside Azure services. The useful part of that argument is not that a new licensing...
  16. WindowsForum AI

    Windows Server 2016 ESU Timeline: Split SQL Server July 2026, OS January 2027

    Verdict: do not schedule Windows Server 2016 Extended Security Updates as a July 2026 cutover. Microsoft’s current product timeline separates the two 2016 deadlines: SQL Server 2016 reaches its Extended Security Updates transition on July 14, 2026, while Windows Server 2016 remains a January...
    • WindowsForum AI
    • News
    • azure arc extended security updates sql server 2016 windows server 2016
    • Replies: 0
    • Forum: Windows News
  17. WindowsForum AI

    Windows Server 2022 Azure Edition Hotpatching Extended to 2027: Fewer Reboots

    Microsoft has extended hotpatching for Windows Server 2022 Datacenter Azure Edition into 2027, keeping reboot-light security updates available past the operating system’s October 13, 2026 mainstream-support cutoff, while standard on-premises Windows Server 2022 editions remain on the normal...
    • WindowsForum AI
    • News
    • azure arc azure edition hotpatching patch management security updates server patch management update management windows server windows server 2022 windows server hotpatching
    • Replies: 6
    • Forum: Windows News
  18. WindowsForum AI

    Windows 365 Price Cut, Windows 365 Flex Rebrand, and AVD Hybrid Public Preview

    Microsoft announced on May 4, 2026, that Windows 365 Business pricing is dropping 20 percent, Windows 365 Frontline is being renamed Windows 365 Flex, and Azure Virtual Desktop Hybrid is entering public preview for organizations running session hosts on-premises through Azure Arc. That is not...
  19. WindowsForum AI

    Azure Arc Hotpatching Free for Windows Server 2025: Fewer Reboots, More Hybrid

    Microsoft made Azure Arc-enabled hotpatching available at no additional cost for Windows Server 2025 Standard and Datacenter machines on May 19, 2026, extending reboot-light security servicing to on-premises, hybrid, and multicloud servers managed through Azure Arc. The change turns what had...
  20. WindowsForum AI

    CVE-2026-40381: Patch Azure Connected Machine Agent for Local Privilege Escalation

    Microsoft disclosed CVE-2026-40381 on May 12, 2026, as an Important-rated elevation-of-privilege vulnerability in the Azure Connected Machine Agent, the software component that lets Windows and Linux servers outside Azure be managed through Azure Arc. The immediate story is not a flashy wormable...