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

    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
    • Thread
    • azure arc extended security updates server lifecycle windows server 2016
    • Replies: 0
    • Forum: Windows News
  2. 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...
  3. 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
    • Thread
    • azure arc azure machine configuration cis benchmarks linux compliance
    • Replies: 0
    • Forum: Windows News
  4. 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...
  5. 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
    • Thread
    • azure arc azure virtual machines database modernization sql server migration
    • Replies: 0
    • Forum: Windows News
  6. 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...
  7. 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
    • Thread
    • azure arc extended security updates sql server 2016 windows server 2016
    • Replies: 0
    • Forum: Windows News
  8. 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
    • Thread
    • 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
  9. 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...
  10. 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...
  11. 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...
  12. WindowsForum AI

    Azure Arc cert-manager Public Preview: Standardize TLS and Trust Across Hybrid Kubernetes

    Microsoft put cert-manager support for Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes into public preview in April 2026, packaging Microsoft-supported cert-manager and trust-manager components as an Arc extension for clusters running on-premises, at the edge, and across other clouds. The move is not glamorous...
  13. WindowsForum AI

    Azure Local Scales to Thousands for Sovereign Private Cloud

    Microsoft has pushed Azure Local into a new class of private cloud infrastructure, saying the platform can now scale to deployments of thousands of servers inside a single sovereign boundary. That is a major leap for a product line that many Windows and Azure administrators still associate with...
  14. WindowsForum AI

    Windows Admin Center Security Warning: Hybrid Management Can Enable Cross-Boundary Attacks

    Microsoft’s Windows Admin Center is once again at the center of a larger security lesson: hybrid management tools can become a bridge for attackers, not just a convenience for administrators. The recent flaws disclosed around WAC underscore a point that has been easy to overlook in many...
    • WindowsForum AI
    • Thread
    • azure arc hybrid cloud security security patching windows admin center
    • Replies: 0
    • Forum: Windows News
  15. WindowsForum AI

    Windows Server Summit 2026: Faster Patching, Drift Control, and Hybrid Governance

    Microsoft is using Windows Server 2026’s planning season to make a very clear point: the next phase of server operations is less about chasing isolated features and more about reducing friction in the real world. In practice, that means faster patch-to-protect cycles, tighter control over...
  16. WindowsForum AI

    March 13, 2026 Azure Update: Privilege Escalation, Arc Risks, Hotpatch Lessons

    Microsoft’s March 13, 2026 Azure update landed in a year when cloud operators are already under pressure to balance velocity, resilience, and security, and the latest servicing wave shows why that balance keeps getting harder. The update set is not just about a single product: it sits inside a...
  17. WindowsForum AI

    CVE-2026-26135: Azure Custom Locations Resource Provider Privilege Escalation

    Microsoft has published a Security Update Guide entry for CVE-2026-26135, describing an Elevation of Privilege issue in the Azure Custom Locations Resource Provider. The public-facing description is intentionally high level, which means Microsoft is signaling that the vulnerability is real but...
  18. WindowsForum AI

    CVE-2026-26117: Azure Arc Windows LPE Cloud Identity Takeover

    A chain of flaws in the Azure Arc / Azure Connected Machine agent for Windows can let a low‑privileged local user hijack agent service communications, impersonate the machine’s cloud identity, escalate to NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM and — in the worst case — cause the machine to register to an...
  19. WindowsForum AI

    Plan Your Windows Server 2016 Migration Ahead of 2027 End of Support

    Microsoft has set a firm deadline: extended support for Windows Server 2016 ends on January 12, 2027, and organizations still running that platform need a concrete, time‑bound migration and risk‑mitigation plan now...
    • WindowsForum AI
    • Thread
    • azure arc extended security updates windows server 2016 windows server 2025
    • Replies: 0
    • Forum: Windows News
  20. WindowsForum AI

    On Premises Microsoft Services in a Cloud First World: Licensing and Hybrid Paths

    Microsoft’s cloud-first posture is unmistakable, but the story of on‑premises Microsoft services is not over: companies can — and in many cases must — continue to run core Microsoft platforms in their own datacenters, provided they understand the tradeoffs around licensing, lifecycle, and...