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Windows Server News and Best Practices
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Easily enable Azure Arc on Windows Server 2022

Yash_Shekar's avatar
Yash_Shekar
Icon for Microsoft rankMicrosoft
Oct 13, 2023

Hi Windows Server Community,

 

On this month's Patch Tuesday (see KB5031364), we released a set of new in-box experiences for WS2022 that we're really excited about! We're making it easier than ever before to connect your server to Azure Arc, Microsoft's management platform for on-premises and multi-cloud servers. You've told us that you love the fact that Arc enables inventory of all your servers running everywhere: on-premises, on physical, virtual or even multi-cloud. Azure Arc provides this at no additional cost, click here to learn all about it.

 

The first change you'll notice is a new system tray icon that helps you get started with Azure Arc if you aren't yet using it. If you choose to set up Azure Arc, the entire process -- downloading, installing, and configuring the Azure Connected Machine agent -- can now be completed using graphical wizards on the server. You don't need to go to the Azure portal, generate a script, and run it in PowerShell anymore. When Azure Arc is installed on the server, the system tray icon and Server Manager both show the status of your connection to Azure and let you perform common agent management tasks. We believe these experiences will help admins by providing a convenient, interactive set of experiences for using Azure Arc with Windows Servers that include the Desktop Experience. 

 

Since this is all new on Windows Server 2022 as of October 2023, it is important to understand what has been added and what has not.

 

What is included:

  • A Windows Server optional component that includes the following.
    • AzureArcSetup.exe (installer wizard) and entry points to launch this on the Start Menu, in Local Server properties view in Server Manager, and via an icon in the systray (that requires discovery by clicking to expand)

 

    • A systray icon that becomes more interactive once the Arc installer wizard is used to complete successful connection of the machine to Azure

 

 What is not included:

  • The Azure Connect Machine agent, or any other agent (an admin must choose to install this as part of the installer GUI wizard)
  • Anything that changes the security posture or configuration of the local Windows Server
  • Anything that changes permissions, access, or policies of an Azure account

For more details on the new in-box Azure Arc-enabled servers onboarding workflow, learn more here.

 

The AzureArcSetup optional component (containing the graphical installer and system tray icon) can be completely removed by an administrator through Server Manager or PowerShell by following documentation here:  Install or Uninstall Roles, Role Services, or Features | Microsoft Learn.

 

Thanks,

Yash & the Windows Server team​; Ryan & the Azure Arc team

Published Oct 13, 2023
Version 1.0
azure arc
Windows Server

18 Comments

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  • GGearon's avatar
    GGearon
    Copper Contributor
    Oct 19, 2023

    What is included:

    • A Windows Server optional component that includes the following.

    Um no, optional means we can choose to install or not. By automatically installing it without any user interaction is not optional, it's forced. Please remove the auto install of this software with the updates. We all know how to add/remove features and roles, let us decide what we want and don't want on our servers. 

  • StephanGee's avatar
    StephanGee
    Iron Contributor
    Oct 18, 2023

    Yash_Shekar 

    If possible - with the next update: Remove it if not configured.

    I don't care if it is up there for a month. But i won't ask for an unplanned maintenance window (or wasting my time) to uninstall things that i did not install myself. 

  • BlackV's avatar
    BlackV
    Brass Contributor
    Oct 17, 2023

    FFS, yes we get it you want us to use your bloody cloud, but FU I dont need random extra software installed

  • SBSBOX's avatar
    SBSBOX
    Brass Contributor
    Oct 16, 2023

    Great feature removal requires system reboot, thanks for the extra work. I thought it was our job to decide what roles and features are installed on our servers not you.

  • StephanGee's avatar
    StephanGee
    Iron Contributor
    Oct 16, 2023

    +1

    I just logged in on our servers after a time-off - finding this message on every login.

    Like most admins i only want stuff installed on servers i actually use.

  • ErnieCostaCVLT's avatar
    ErnieCostaCVLT
    Brass Contributor
    Oct 14, 2023

    Yash, with all due respect, this blog could have come out months ago to prepare the world for this.

     

    This is an obvious "oops, we messed up the comms! Quick! Explain why it's a perfectly ok thing to have!" article.

     

    If you disagree with that opinion, then take a look at the Git commit history on the Docs page and convince me otherwise:

    https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/azure-docs/commits/main/articles/azure-arc/servers/onboard-windows-server.md

     

    Updates to that page were being done the day-of and after the KB went live. Edits that explain what it is, what it isn't, and how to uninstall. While I agree it's "benign", the fact it wasn't communicated in a normal, sane way is disrespectful to people who leverage Windows Server everywhere, especially at scale. Do you have any clue how many Citrix or VDI users were greeted to this thing when they logged in? Was that even a use-case on your radars?

     
    Now, I do agree that an MSI installer is a much better user experience than the "traditional" way of doing things. But to shove it down people's throats like a billboard on a highway? C'mon, don't insult us.
     
    -Ernie Costa
    Microsoft Azure MVP