Event details

Windows Admin Center Virtualization Mode is a purpose-built experience for managing the infrastructure that runs your virtual machines. Instead of focusing on individual servers, it’s designed for virtualization fabric management—including hosts, clusters, storage, networking, and VM lifecycle. Get a first look at what’s coming next as Virtualization Mode heads into Public Preview 2, see live demos of upcoming capabilities, and learn how it’s evolving on the path to general availability.

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This session is part of Windows Server Summit 2026. Select Add to calendar to save the date, then click the Attend button to save your spot, receive event reminders, and participate in the Q&A. (Don’t see the Attend button? Sign in to join the conversation!)

Questions can be posted in advance and throughout event week. Drop yours in the comments below.

If you can’t make the live event, don’t worry. This session will be recorded and available on demand shortly after airing. Q&A with the product team will also remain open in the comments for the full week.

 

But wait, there's more! Register for the Windows Server Summit VIP Experience to receive post-event access to session presentation decks—and to be entered into a drawing for a chance to participate in a private virtual roundtable with the Windows Server product team.

Pearl-Angeles
Updated May 08, 2026

18 Comments

  • Arzan_Patel's avatar
    Arzan_Patel
    Occasional Reader
    May 13, 2026

    In the demo, a template was converted to a VM and the template itself no longer existed. How can one make use of a single template to create multiple VMs? 

  • KevW's avatar
    KevW
    Copper Contributor
    May 12, 2026

    I'm curious.  Why is PostgreSQL used for storage instead of Microsoft SQL Server for WAC Virtualization Mode?  It seems to me PostgreSQL would add additional complexity to environments where a customer typically runs SQL Server almost exclusively.  Being a different database also brings with it an entirely different ecosystem adding to the complexity. 

    • DanCuomo's avatar
      DanCuomo
      Icon for Microsoft rankMicrosoft
      May 12, 2026

      Hi KevW​ – Great question. First, our goal is to ensure that you don't need to worry about vMode or its components. PostgreSQL should be completely behind the scenes for the operation of vMode – We want this to feel like an appliance. We’ll handle all upgrades, etc. You'll simply back it up and any major backup vendor will be able to provide this functionality.

      In terms of complexity, PostgreSQL does not have any prerequisites and requires only the username/password at installation time. Additionally, it can provide the scale and HA functionality needed for vMode which can all be managed directly within vMode in the future.

      • KevW's avatar
        KevW
        Copper Contributor
        May 13, 2026

        I appreciate the feedback I just found it remarkable Microsoft chose PostgreSQL over its own SQL Server.  I just thought there must be some underlying reason (technical??) why it was chosen but that reason isn't readily apparent.  Obviously, SQL Server has HA functionality and can scale as well. 

  • PanuSaukko's avatar
    PanuSaukko
    MCT
    May 12, 2026

    Windows Admin Center vMode has really cool features! Need to test it out!

    Does Windows Admin Center vMode support air-gapped environments? 

    I have customers who have been using Virtual Machine Manager. What is your message to existing VMM customers? Move to vMode ASAP? 😀 I guess VMM agent and vMode agent cannot co-exist on the same Hyper-V host?

    • DanCuomo's avatar
      DanCuomo
      Icon for Microsoft rankMicrosoft
      May 12, 2026

      Hi PanuSaukko​ - Thanks for watching!

       

      Yes, WAC vMode supports disconnected environments though we recommend connecting those systems to Azure Arc (perhaps through a sovereign cloud if needed).

      SCVMM: If the customer is happy with SCVMM, they should feel free to continue using it.

      However, vMode has built-in support for more modern technologies and our engineering focus going forward is Windows Admin Center: Virtualization Mode.

  • dingold's avatar
    dingold
    Occasional Reader
    May 12, 2026

    Are there any plans to make RBAC available at the per-VM level?

  • Heather_Poulsen's avatar
    Heather_Poulsen
    Icon for Community Manager rankCommunity Manager
    May 12, 2026

    Thanks for tuning in! We hope you enjoyed this session and Windows Server Summit 2026. We’ll continue to answer questions here in the chat through the end of the week. If you missed the live broadcast, don’t worry – you can watch it on demand.

    In fact, you can catch any of this week’s great Windows Server Summit 2026 sessions on demand by visiting https://aka.ms/WindowsServerSummit.

     

    Share your feedback on Windows Server Summit. Click the image below to take our very short survey - thank you! 👇

    Share your feedback on Windows Server Summit by visiting https://aka.ms/WSS2026Survey

     

  • JohnMarlin-CitiGroup's avatar
    JohnMarlin-CitiGroup
    Occasional Reader
    May 12, 2026

    Does the VM Template options allow you to name the template at the time of conversion or does it have to wait until it is complete.  Same for converting from template to VM.

    • DanCuomo's avatar
      DanCuomo
      Icon for Microsoft rankMicrosoft
      May 12, 2026

      Hi JohnMarlin-CitiGroup​ - When converting from a VM to a template, or template back to VM, the existing virtual machine object's name is used.

      When deploying a new VM from a template, you can specify the virtual machine object's name in Hyper-V. Note: The new VM's guest OS host name is not updated and there are some well known methods to manage this from inside the template itself through either sysprep or a script that runs at first boot.

    • DanCuomo's avatar
      DanCuomo
      Icon for Microsoft rankMicrosoft
      May 12, 2026

      Hi pmwestervelt​ - We are working with storage vendors on integration so you can perform additional storage management tasks right from vMode. Please ensure you communicate your interest and needs with your storage vendor.

  • BTW97's avatar
    BTW97
    Brass Contributor
    May 12, 2026

    Demo shows logging in manually with username/password. Any support for Windows integrated logon? Or direct support for smart cards? We are killing off allowing passwords for admin accounts wherever possible

    • Davanna-White's avatar
      Davanna-White
      Icon for Microsoft rankMicrosoft
      May 12, 2026

      We understand why you might want to eliminate passwords for admin accounts. We're considering both Windows integrated logon and direct smart card support in our future roadmap. 

      • BTW97's avatar
        BTW97
        Brass Contributor
        May 12, 2026

        Thanks. Our security team won't allow us to deploy this without either smart card support or integration with our third party MFA provider.

  • pmwestervelt's avatar
    pmwestervelt
    Copper Contributor
    May 12, 2026

    Currently have Gateway Mode - how do you upgrade to Virtualization mode?

     

    • Theo_Tran's avatar
      Theo_Tran
      Icon for Microsoft rankMicrosoft
      May 12, 2026

      Hey pmwestervelt​, you can download Windows Admin Center: Virtualization Mode Public Preview 2 here. 

      You will have to uninstall the other version of Windows Admin Center first before you can install vMode. 

      If you would like to learn more about the differences between Windows Admin Center Administrative Mode and Virtualization Mode, please read this blog post.