Update 2002 for the Technical Preview Branch of Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager has been released.
Orchestration Groups are the evolution of the "Server Groups" feature. They were first introduced in the technical preview for Configuration Manager, version 1909. We improved upon Orchestration groups in technical preview 2001 and technical preview 2001.2. In this technical preview, we've added the following improvements to Orchestration Groups:
- Reset Orchestration Group Member to clear the state, so you can rerun the orchestration.
- Start some basic operations like Resource Explorer and Enable Verbose Logging for selected members.
- Updates requiring restarts now work with orchestration.
Learn more about orchestration groups.
This preview release also includes:
Evaluate software updates after a servicing stack update - Configuration Manager now detects if a servicing stack update (SSU) is part of an installation for multiple updates. When an SSU is detected, it’s installed first. After install of the SSU, a software update evaluation cycle runs to install the remaining updates. This change allows a dependent cumulative update to be installed after the servicing stack update.
Disconnected WSUS support for Office 365 updates - You can use a new tool to import Office 365 updates from an internet connected WSUS server into a disconnected Configuration Manager environment.
Improvements to Microsoft Edge management - You can now create a Microsoft Edge application that's set up to receive automatic updates rather than having automatic updates disabled. This change allows you to choose to manage updates for Microsoft Edge with Configuration Manager or allow Microsoft Edge to automatically update.
Proxy support for Azure Active Directory discovery and group sync - The site system's proxy settings, including authentication, are now used by:
- Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) user discovery
- Azure AD user group discovery
- Synchronizing collection membership results to Azure Active Directory groups
Improvements to BitLocker management - The BitLocker management policy now includes additional settings, including policies for fixed and removable drives.
Additional improvements to task sequence progress - Based on continued feedback from the community, this release includes further improvements to task sequence progress. Now the count of total steps doesn't include the following items in the task sequence:
- Groups. This item is a container for other steps, not a step itself.
- Instances of the Run task sequence step. This step is a container for other steps, so are no longer counted.
- Steps that you explicitly disable. A disabled step doesn't run during the task sequence, so is no longer counted.
Update 2002 for Technical Preview Branch is available in the Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager Technical Preview console. For new installations, the 1911 baseline version of Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager Technical Preview Branch is available on the Microsoft Evaluation Center. Technical Preview Branch releases give you an opportunity to try out new Configuration Manager features in a test environment before they are made generally available.
We would love to hear your thoughts about the latest Technical Preview! Send us Feedback directly from the console. You may also use our feedback channels through the Feedback Hub app for product issues, and our UserVoice page for ideas about new features.
Thanks,
The Configuration Manager team
Configuration Manager Resources:
Documentation for Configuration Manager Technical Previews
Try the Configuration Manager Technical Preview Branch
Documentation for Configuration Manager
Microsoft Endpoint Manager announcement
Microsoft Endpoint Manager vision statement