Announcing the Annual Release Cadence for Microsoft Configuration Manager
Starting with version 2609, Microsoft Configuration Manager will transition to an annual release cadence. This change is a formalization of the direction we’ve communicated at events and in customer conversations. Microsoft Intune is the future of device management, and all new innovations will occur there. Configuration Manager will continue to serve your on-premises devices, with a renewed focus on security, stability, and long-term support. Why Move to an Annual Release Cadence? Historically, Configuration Manager followed a semi-annual release schedule. As the industry shifts toward cloud-native management, we’re aligning our release cycle to better support your long-term planning and operational stability. This annual cadence allows IT teams to: Plan upgrades with confidence - knowing when to expect new releases. Focus on stability and security - with each release prioritizing reliability over new features. Transition at your own pace - while Microsoft Intune receives all future investments and innovations. What Does This Mean for You? Here’s what you can expect from upcoming releases: 2509 (December 2025): Stability and quality updates, including ARM64 support. 2603 (March 2026): Enhanced security aligned with the Microsoft Secure Future Initiative 2609 (September 2026): The first annual release under the new cadence. 2709 (September 2027): Future-focused release (details to be determined). Focus on Security and Stability Annual releases will align with the Windows client security and stability cadence (H2). Our top priority is to maintain a secure, reliable Configuration Manager experience. This means: Applying critical updates and patches as needed. Providing hotfix rollups only when absolutely necessary (e.g., for critical security or functionality issues). Continuing to support existing environments, with advance notice for any feature deprecations. Support Lifecycle The support lifecycle remains unchanged; each version receives 18 months of support from its release date. Here’s a quick reference, but you should always refer to the lifecycle management chart here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/products/microsoft-configuration-manager Version Support Start Support End 2403 April 22, 2024 October 22, 2025 2409 December 4, 2024 June 6, 2026 2503 March 31, 2025 September 30, 2026 2509 December 2025 June 2027 Frequently Asked Questions Q: Is this a new direction for Configuration Manager? A: No. While we’ve discussed this shift publicly for some time, this is the first time we’re formally documenting it. The only “new” aspect is the official annual cadence and the clarity it brings to your planning. Q: Will there be hotfixes or out-of-band updates? A: Only if absolutely necessary - such as for critical security or functionality issues. Otherwise, updates will be bundled into the annual release. Q: What about support for existing environments? A: We remain committed to supporting your Configuration Manager environments. Any changes or deprecations will be communicated well in advance. Looking Ahead This annual release cadence is designed to give you predictability, stability, and the confidence to plan for the future. As you consider your long-term device management strategy, remember that Microsoft Intune is where all new innovation happens. Whether you’re getting started with Intune or currently using Configuration Manager, Microsoft provides clear guidance to help you modernize at your own pace. Explore the Intune deployment guide to set up or move to Intune, and see the section on using Configuration Manager for co-management or a phased transition. We’re here to support your journey - wherever you are on the path to cloud-native Windows. If you have any questions, leave a comment on this post or reach out on X @MSConfigMgrTeamUpdate 2309 for Microsoft Configuration Manager current branch is now available.
Site infrastructure Introducing SQL ODBC driver support for Configuration Manager Starting with Configuration Manager 2309 release, Configuration Manager requires the installation of the ODBC driver for SQL server 18.1.0 or later as a prerequisite, SQL ODBC Download. This prerequisite is required when you create a new site or update an existing one and on all remote roles. Important Microsoft ODBC Driver for SQL Server 18.1.0 or later needs to be installed on Site Servers and site system roles before upgrading to 2309 version. Do not uninstall SQL native client 11 until we call out in further communications. Configuration Manager doesn't manage the updates for the ODBC driver, ensure that this component is up to date. For more information, see SQL ODBC driver for the site server Option to schedule Scripts execution time Starting in Configuration Manager current branch version 2309, you can now schedule scripts' runtime in UTC. The run Script Wizard now offers a scheduling option that enables administrators to schedule the execution of scripts. It provides a convenient way to automate the running of scripts on managed devices according to specified schedules. For more information, see Schedule scripts' runtime External service notification Run details from Azure Logic application. Starting in Configuration Manager current branch version 2309, when Azure Logic App generates notifications related to specific events, CM can now capture and display these notifications. This integration enables the monitoring of Azure Logic App notifications directly within the MCM console, providing a centralized location for tracking critical events, taking appropriate actions and maintains a high level of operational efficiency. For more information, see External service notification. New Site Maintenance task “Delete Aged Task Execution Status Messages” is now available on primary servers to clean up data older than 30 days or configured number of days Starting in Configuration Manager current branch version 2309, you can now enable this feature by utilizing the Site Maintenance Window or using PowerShell Commandlet. By default, it has been set to run on Saturday and delete the data older than 30 days. It does so by cleaning up [dbo].TaskExecutionStatus Table Example : PowerShell Commandlet: Set-CMSiteMaintenanceTask -Sitecode "XXX" -MaintenanceTaskName "Delete Aged Task Execution Status Messages" -DaysOfWeek Friday For more information, see Delete Aged Task Execution Status Messages. Software updates Update Orchestrator Service (USO) for Windows 11 22H2 or later with windows native reboot experience In Configuration Manager current branch version 2309, when installing software updates from Configuration Manager, administrators can now choose to use the native Windows Update restart experience. To use this feature, client devices must be running Windows build 22H2 or later. From the Computer Restart client device settings, ensure that Windows is selected as the restart experience. Branding information is included in the Windows restart notification for updates that require restart. For more information, see Device restart notifications Maintenance window creation using PS cmdlet We've extended the Offset parameter for Maintenance windows. The cmdlet New-CMMaintenanceWindow is used to create a maintenance window for a collection. Earlier the Offset parameter could be set only between 0 and 4. Now it has been extended between 0 to 7. Example : PowerShell Commandlet: New-CMSchedule -Start (Get-Date) -DayOfWeek Monday -WeekOrder Second -RecurCount 1 -OffSetDay 6 OS deployment OSD preferred MP option for PXE boot scenario Starting in Configuration Manager current branch version 2309, Preferred Management Point (MP) option will now allow PXE clients to communicate to an initial lookup MP and receive the list of MP(s) to be used for further communication. When the option is enabled, it allows an MP to redirect the PXE client to another MP, based on the client location in the site boundaries. For more information, see Install-and-configure-distribution-points Enable Bitlocker through ProvisionTS In Configuration Manager current branch version 2309, Escrowing recovery key to Config Manager Database is now supported using ProvisionTS. ProvisionTS is the task sequence that is executed at the time of provisioning. As a result, device can escrow the key to Config Manager Database instantly. For more information, see Preprovision-BitLocker-in-Windows-PE Windows 11 Edition Upgrade using CM Policy settings Starting in Configuration Manager current branch version 2309, administrator can now create a policy using edition upgrade in Configuration Manager to update the Windows 11 edition. For more information, see Upgrade Windows devices to a new edition Windows 11 Upgrade Readiness Dashboard Starting in Configuration Manager current branch version 2309, administrators can use this dashboard to devise their windows 11 upgrade strategy and discover the devices in the organization, which are ready for Windows 11 Upgrade. This Dashboard also provides a count by installed Feature update version and a view of all Windows devices inside the organization. Administrators can create a collection of Windows 11 ready for upgrading devices and roll out feature updates to them. For more information, see Manage Windows 11 readiness dashboard , For Co-managed devices, see Use Windows compatibility reports for Windows 10 and Windows 11 updates in Intune Cloud-attached management New Cloud Management Gateway (CMG) creation via Console Starting in Configuration Manager current branch version 2309, We have enhanced security of web (server) app for the creation of CMG. For new CMG creation, users can select tenant and the app name using the Azure AD tenant name. After selecting tenant and app name the sign-in button appears, follow rest of the process as per the setup CMG. Note Pre existing CMG customers must update their web server app by navigating to Azure Active Directory Tenants node --> select the tenant --> select the server app --> click on "update application settings". For more information, see Configure Azure Active Directory for CMG New Cloud Management Gateway (CMG) creation via PowerShell You can now create CMG Server app via PowerShell cmdlet, you need to specify TenantID in the argument: PowerShell Commandlet: Set-UpdateServerApplication – 'TenantID' If you try to create the CMG before updating RedirectUrl, you get an error "Your server Application needs to be updated". PowerShell command: Set-UpdateServerApplication to update your App, and then try again to create CMG. Note For new customers, before creating CMG, create Azure AD web server app and execute the new PowerShell commandlet script. Deprecated features Configured resource access policies will block Configuration Manager 2403 upgrade, remove existing policies and move the slider to Intune. Please action before January 2024, read the FAQ. For more information, see Removed and deprecated features for Configuration Manager. For more details and to view the full list of new features in this update, check out our What’s new in version 2309 of Microsoft Configuration Manager documentation. Other updates Patching guidance for MCM customers migrating to Azure Migrating to Azure? Managing your on-prem infrastructure through Microsoft Configuration Manager (MCM) ? Have you figured out how you would patch your infrastructure on Azure? This article provides steps that you can follow to patch your migrated virtual machines on Azure. Note: MCM manages both devices and servers. This blog provides guidance for servers migrating to Azure. For devices, please refer to Microsoft Intune. Azure Migration tool has been helping you to programmatically create Azure virtual machines (VMs) for Configuration Manager and install the different site roles with default settings. Validation of the new roles, followed by removal of the on-premises site system role enables MCM in Azure, provides you all the on-premises capabilities and experiences in Azure. Additionally, you can leverage native Azure Update Manager to manage and govern update compliance for Windows and Linux machines across your deployments in Azure, on-premises, and on the other cloud platforms from a single dashboard, with no operational cost for managing the patching infrastructure. Azure Update Manager shares similarities with the update management component of MCM, designed as a standalone Azure service to provide SaaS experience on Azure to manage hybrid environments. Both MCM in Azure and Azure Update Manager can fulfil your patching requirements and the ultimate choice depends on your specific needs and preferences. MCM in Azure would allow you to continue using existing investments in Microsoft Configuration Manager and familiar processes for maintaining the patch update management cycle for Windows virtual machines. On the other hand, through Azure Update Manager, you can achieve consistent management of VMs and operating system updates across your cloud and hybrid environment. Moreover, you would not need to maintain Azure virtual machines for hosting the different Configuration Manager roles and would not need a MCM license, hence reducing the total cost for maintaining the patch update management cycle for all machines in your environment. For more details, please refer the actual CM on Azure FAQ For assistance with the upgrade process, please post your questions in the Site and Client Deployment forum. Send us your Configuration Manager feedback through Feedback in the Configuration Manager console. Continue to share and vote on ideas about new features in Configuration Manager. Thank you, The Configuration Manager team Additional resources: What’s New in Configuration Manager Documentation for Configuration Manager Microsoft Configuration Manager announcement Microsoft Configuration Manager vision statement Evaluate Configuration Manager in a lab Upgrade to Configuration Manager Configuration Manager Forums Configuration Manager Support Report an issue Provide suggestionsCloud Attach Your Future - Part II - "The Big 3"
When the global pandemic started, we were all thrust into the new (and very lightly explored) area of managing devices remotely 100% of the time. Of course, everyone rushed to their VPN solution only to uncover new obstacles and even more significant challenges which they had never anticipated. As I talk to customers and I listen to how their management of the Windows estate has changed, I am always surprised by the lack of the "Big 3": Cloud management gateway (CMG) Tenant attach Co-management These are the essential features that you need NOW as you continue to modernize and streamline your management solution.Update 2303 for Microsoft Configuration Manager current branch is now available.
Microsoft Configuration Manager product branding Starting with Configuration Manager version 2303 Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager is now Microsoft Configuration Manager. Microsoft Configuration Manager is an integrated solution for managing all your devices. Microsoft brings together Configuration Manager and Intune, without a complex migration, and with simplified licensing. Continue to use your existing Configuration Manager investments, while taking advantage of the power of the Microsoft cloud at your own pace. Cloud-attached management Improvements to Cloud Sync (Collections to Azure Active Directory Group Synchronization) feature Starting with Configuration Manager version 2303 collection member sync status (Success, In Progress, Failed - with reason for failure) is available in the Collection Cloud Sync dashboard for the chosen collection on the bottom pane. Earlier with Configuration Manager version 2211, the scalability of this feature has been improved with better throttling and error handling. Additionally, dedicated dashboards for user collections and device collections are added in Monitoring workspace to show Cloud Sync status. The dashboard displays the Cloud Sync status per collection with the mapped Azure AD group, total member count, synced member count, status (success, failed, in progress) and last sync details. For more information, see Synchronize collections to Azure Active Directory Group. Endpoint Security reports in Intune admin center for Tenant Attached devices Starting with Configuration Manager version 2303, you can now opt for Endpoint Security reports in Intune admin center for tenant attached devices. Once you opt in, Unhealthy endpoints and Active malware operational reports under Endpoint security node in Intune admin center will start showing data from tenant attached devices. Also, Antivirus agent status and Detected malware organizational reports under Microsoft Defender Antivirus in Reports section will show data from tenant attached devices. For more information, see Tenant attach - Create and deploy Antivirus policies from the admin center. Site infrastructure Authorization failure message in admin service now shown in Status message viewer We have introduced audit messages about authorization failure in admin service. You can now view request details and status messages. These messages are shown in “All Status Message” at “Status Message Queries” in “Monitoring” ribbon. Previously these failures were logged in log files. With the new audit messages, we intend to avoid the inconvenience of log files rollback. Details about the user, resource access attempts and the number of attempts for all the authorized requests made by user in a day will now be available. We are also auditing read operations for HTTPS requests and for cloud-initiated operations. This helps admins to scope permission and roles of users while also determining if there are any malicious users. All unauthorized requests are aggregated for 24 hours before being sent to the status message viewer. For more information, see Administration Service documentation. SQL Server 2022 version support added for Configuration Manager Starting with 2303, support is added for SQL server 2022 RTM version. You can use this version of SQL Server for the following sites: A central administration site A primary site A secondary site The following table identifies the recommended compatibility levels for Configuration Manager site databases: SQL Server version Supported compatibility levels Recommended level SQL Server 2022 150, 140, 130, 120, 110 150 For more information, see support-for-sql-server-versions. Software updates Unified update platform (UUP) GA release The Unified Update Platform (UUP) servicing is finally here for all Windows 11, version 22H2 updates delivered via Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) and Configuration Manager! Starting March 28, on-premises Windows 11, version 22H2 devices will receive quality updates via the Unified Update Platform (UUP). For more information, see What’s UUP? New update style!. The Unified Update Platform (UUP) is a single publishing, hosting, scan, and download model for OS quality and feature updates. It offers improved delivery technologies in response to IT admin requests for more seamless updates, more control over installation time, more battery life, and lighter download size. Note: A one-time 10-GB download to distribution points with your first UUP update. UUP is becoming the default and only way to download quality updates. This means that you should plan for an extra 10GB download to distribution points (not endpoint clients) with the March 28th update. That's a one-time 10GB download for updates for Windows 11, version 22H2 per architecture (AMD64 and ARM64). Let's look at the key benefits, version requirements. Quality updates for Windows 11 22H2 and above Quality updates with the UUP continue to be cumulative and include all released Windows quality and security fixes. All of these new capabilities are brought to you by UUP on premises! If interested in learning more about these improvements, read Faster, Smaller. Windows 11, version 22H2 update fundamentals. UUP on premises unlocks some amazing benefits going forward: Up to 30% smaller client downloads for monthly quality updates Cumulative update integration with feature updates (i.e., get current in one reboot) Seamless retention of installed language packs and optional features on demand (FODs) during feature updates Reduced client downloads for feature updates (i.e., inbox app downloads are conditional) Automatic OS healing during the update process1 that requires no action from the enterprise admins End-user acquisition of language packs and FODs Note: To receive quality updates on Windows 11, we recommend that the latest security updates be installed on your devices. Minimally, devices should be updated through Windows 11 22H2. To take advantage of UUP on premises, you must be using a supported platform: Recommended version: 2203 Configuration Manager Current Branch and above Enable Software Update on client’s settings to Yes. For Client Operating Systems that can support delta download (Win 10 Version 10.0.16299 or up), delta download endpoint will always get turned on regardless of the Client Agent Settings, and the port number will be honored even if Delta downloads not enabled. If Delta Download disabled, only UUP update will do delta download, all other updates, regardless of if express or not, will all do full file download. If Delta Download enabled, all updates will go with delta download code path regardless of if express or not, unless the only DP available is cloud DP. Any supported versions of Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) Note If you're a WSUS Standalone admin, please apply the upcoming February and March updates promptly to ensure your readiness! And if you haven't yet, learn about Adding file types for Unified Update Platform on premises . Known issue: On newly installed CM client, Delta Download delays to start on. Patchdownloader.log shows incorrect download percentage. WSUS Servers running on server 2022, 2019 or 2016 likely to break after Feb 2023 LCU if custom mime types are added at a subsite level in IIS. Update to the default value of supersedence age in months for software updates With Unified Update Platform (UUP) general availability release, the feature update and non-feature update supersedence should be greater than 3. For new software update role installations, we're updating this to 6, existing customers can review and update to 6. Update to the default value of supersedence age in months for software updates. Known issue: Update to the default value of supersedence age in months for software updates will not impact existing configurations. Removing SUP role in Admin Console does not reset the supersedence age property in WMI. As a result, while reconfiguring the role, the previously configured value is shown in the configuration window. Enable Windows features introduced via Windows servicing that are off by default The Commercial control for continuous innovation in Windows is now integrated with Configuration Manager 2303 release. Commercial control for continuous innovation (Windows 11) For more information, see client settings in Configuration Manager Configuration Manager console Dark theme extended to delete secondary site wizard The Configuration Manager console now extends the dark theme for the delete secondary site wizard. This wizard will also have a new look for the normal theme. This is part of the ongoing effort to make dark theme and overall admin console experience better. To use the theme, select the arrow from the top left of the ribbon, then choose the Switch console theme. Select Switch console theme again to return to the light theme. For more information, see Dark theme for the console. Deprecated features Removed Community hub service and integration with ConfigMgr Removed Community Hub configuration from Hierarchy settings and Community Hub service integration. Learn about support changes before they're implemented in removed and deprecated items. Other updates Maintenance window schedules Offset for recurring monthly maintenance window schedules. Based upon your feedback, you can now offset monthly maintenance window schedules to better align deployments with the release of monthly security updates. For example, using a maximum offset of seven days after the second Tuesday of the month, sets the maintenance window for next Monday. Removing Microsoft Store for Business and Education new config capability As part of Microsoft Store for Business deprecation, we are making these changes to the customer experience with using this feature: Removing a user's ability to create new Microsoft Store for Business in Configuration Manager. Display a warning message box when user triggers a sync from Microsoft Store for Business. Display a warning in the Create Application Wizard when user attempts to create a new app from Store license information. For more information, see removed and deprecated items. For more details and to view the full list of new features in this update, check out our What’s new in version 2303 of Microsoft Configuration Manager documentation. For assistance with the upgrade process, please post your questions in the Site and Client Deployment forum. Send us your Configuration Manager feedback through Feedback in the Configuration Manager console. Continue to share and vote on ideas about new features in Configuration Manager. Thank you, The Configuration Manager team Additional resources: What’s New in Configuration Manager Documentation for Configuration Manager Microsoft Configuration Manager announcement Microsoft Configuration Manager vision statement Evaluate Configuration Manager in a lab Upgrade to Configuration Manager Configuration Manager Forums Configuration Manager Support Report an issue Provide suggestionsUpdate 2203 for Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager current branch is now available
Update 2203 for Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager current branch is now available. One of the exciting new features is the content distribution status visualizer. With it you can now monitor content distribution path and status in a graphical format.
Recommendations and insights to enrich the Configuration Manager site health and device management
You can now use the Microsoft Intune admin center to view recommendations and insights for your Configuration Manager sites. These recommendations can help you improve the site health and infrastructure along with enriching the device management experience. With so many features and updates available, implementing the right available resources for your infrastructure management is essential. You might be new to the management world, or even if you have been managing your company’s infrastructure for a long time, this feature will provide you with insights that can help you to level up. We are currently providing recommendations that can help in following ways: Help you to simplify your infrastructure by reviewing your hierarchy. Assist you to enhance device management through co-management enablement. Refine gathering of device insights via endpoint analytics enablement. Improve the health of the site by reviewing current peer cache and delivery optimization settings. These recommendations will be based on your current site infrastructure and settings. Applying the recommendations is solely the admin’s discretion. We have created recommendation for TA customer solely based on their Site Configuration without interfering customer's privacy. Each recommendation points out how customer is leveraging features provided in site configuration. Recommendations are derived from database. Each recommendation is evaluated and updated in the next cycle. Recommendation will not be visible in the next cycle if fully applied or recommendation insight will be changed if partially applied. Every cycle we inspect the customer DB through static query and then flow this insight to cloud to show the recommendation. How can you view the recommendations? A user with global admin rights will be able to view recommendations for configuration manager sites that are version 2211 or higher and tenant attached. To view recommendations, open the Microsoft Endpoint Manager admin center, and go to Tenant administration > Connectors and tokens > Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager, and select a site to view recommendations for that site. Once selected, you’ll find the Recommendations tab that displays each insight along with a Learn more link that opens details on how to apply that recommendation. We are open to adding more recommendations in future and would love to hear from you!Configuration Manager technical preview version 2303
Dark theme extended to one customer voice (OCV) wizard The Configuration Manager console now extends the dark theme for the one customer voice (OCV) wizards. All 'Send a smile' and 'Send a frown' wizards will adhere to dark theme starting in Technical Preview 2303. This is part of the ongoing effort to make dark theme and overall admin console experience better. To use the theme, select the arrow from the top left of the ribbon, then choose Switch console theme. Select Switch console theme again to return to the light theme. Known issue. Console restart is required on doing the theme switch, as the node navigation pane might not properly render when you move to a new workspace. SQL Server 2022 version support added for Configuration Manager Starting with technical preview 2303, support is added for SQL server 2022 RTM version. You can use this version of SQL Server for the following sites: A central administration site A primary site A secondary site The following table identifies the recommended compatibility levels for Configuration Manager site databases: SQL Server version Supported compatibility levels Recommended level SQL Server 2022 150, 140, 130, 120, 110 150 Prerequisites for the site server roles now include ODBC driver for SQL Server Starting with technical preview 2303, Configuration Manager requires the installation of the ODBC driver for SQL server as a prerequisite. This prerequisite is required when you create a new site or update an existing one. Configuration Manager doesn't manage the updates for the ODBC driver. Ensure that this component is up to date. For more details and to view the full list of new features in this update, check out our Features in Configuration Manager technical preview version 2303 documentation. Update 2303 for Technical Preview Branch is available in the Microsoft Configuration Manager Technical Preview console. For new installations, the 2302 baseline version of Microsoft Configuration Manager Technical Preview Branch is available on the link: CM2302TP-Baseline or from Eval 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. 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 Configuration Manager Forums Configuration Manager Support
