Today, we are releasing an update (also called a "hotfix") to our latest generally available version of Windows Admin Center! Windows Admin Center version 2110.2 is now generally available. Thank you to all of you, our customers, partners, and fans for helping us to continue to improve and make Windows Admin Center better! We’re working constantly to ensure our product has the best user experience by addressing user feedback as well as adding and updating features to suit your needs.
We’ve been working diligently to address feedback from our 2110 release in November of last year. In this 2110.2 release, we’ve made major bug fixes to Role-based Access Control (RBAC), the connections page’s search feature, as well as fixes in several extensions.
Platform updates
Windows Admin Center now enables HSTS support!
In this release, we’ve enabled HSTS support! HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) is a policy mechanism that helps protect your website by forcing the browser to only open websites with secure HTTPS connections only. This will reduce the risk of threats such as protocol downgrade attacks and cookie hijacking. HSTS will be on by default and always be enabled unless you manually disable it within your browser.
Session expiration & manage-as reauthentication
In the past release, we introduced the session expiration feature, where users can have their UI session of Windows Admin Center expire after some period of inactivity. With this release, users can specify the duration time and also require manage-as sessions to reauthenticate after a set time. To use this feature, navigate to the Settings icon on the top-left and select the General tab.
Bug fixes
RBAC
In the 2110 release, some users were unable to utilize gateway and server role-based access control. In this release, you should be able to effectively manage your gateway access roles again from the Settings page. The Allowed Groups table will now display the roles properly and allow you to add and delete as you see fit. In addition, reported issues for server RBAC have been fixed. You are now able to apply and remove RBAC on your machine(s) as well as delegate privileged and non-privileged roles.
Connections page
In the 2110 release, some users experienced issues on the connections page such as broken search and tagging functionality. We have fixed the following in this release:
- Fixed bug where connection list would initially appear empty after install
- Fixed bug where tags would disappear on import
- Fixed bug where connections were not displaying correctly when filtered
- Fixed bug where adding or removing a node of a cluster or a cluster would cause the cluster machines to disappear from connections list
- Fixed bug where shared connections header was not showing up
- Fixed connection search (by name/tag/etc)
Other bug fixes
- Accessibility fixes: Accessibility continues to play a crucial role throughout the product. This release is our most accessible version of Admin Center ever.
We are investing with a mindset of continuous improvement. To make sure you have all the latest fixes, please ensure that you have the latest versions of all Windows Admin Center extensions installed.
Extension updates
Cluster create
v.2.39.0 introduces new and intuitive messaging that will bring more clarity and ease for our users. In Stage 3.1, we have surfaced the DNS checks and display status messages while the user waits for the cluster to create such as “Creating the cluster” and “Verifying DNS resolution.” As always, this update comes with fixes to the wizard such as the cluster DNS replication issue, and an upgrade to Angular 11!
Partner Ecosystem
In our last release, we upgraded the Windows Admin Center platform to Angular 11. We also suggested our partners upgrade their extensions to take advantage of the features and security Angular 11 has to offer. Since November, we have had several partners upgrade their extensions with new features and upgrade to Angular 11. Additionally, we’d like to welcome Marvell Technology to the Windows Admin Center ecosystem with the release of their QLogic Fibre Channel QConvergeConsole Extension!
Marvell QLogic Fibre Channel QConvergeConsole Extension
The Marvell QLogic FC QConvergeConsole Extension is a Windows Admin Center extension to manage, configure and run diagnostics on Marvell QLogic Fibre Channel Adapters. The extension supports adapter discovery, port discovery, target discovery and Logical Unit Number (LUN) discovery information. It also supports Firmware Update and Universal SAN (Storage Area Network) Congestion Mitigation (USCM) status and statistics.
Watch a video demo of this extension in action here.
Other extension updates
- Dell EMC OpenManage v2.2.1 - In this update, the following changes have been made:
- Upgrade from Angular 7 to Angular 11
- Support for Azure Stack HCI version 21H2 (including the capability to do a full reboot in a cluster to apply BIOS/firmware-related updates even if Kernel Soft Reboot is enabled)
- Support for Windows Server 2022 on Azure Stack HCI clusters
- Lenovo XClarity Integrator v3.5.7 - In this update, the following changes have been made:
- Upgrade from Angular 7 to Angular 11
- Support for QLogic NICs in the cluster consistency table
- Enhancements to the system update workflow (cluster role migration is mandatory for cluster nodes)
- Support for THikAgile MX Best Recipe 2203
- Support for XClarity Administrator v3.5.0
- Support for the Lenovo ThinkEdge SE450 (7D8T), Lenovo ThinkSystem SR250 V2 (7D7Q, 7D7R, 7D7S), and Lenovo ThinkSystem ST250 V2 (7D8F, 7D8G, 7D8H) hardware models
- BiitOps v2.0.25 – The update to this extension features an upgrade to Angular 11.
- QCT Management Suite v2.6.0 - This version of the extension has been upgraded to Angular 11 and includes optimizations of the user experience for Driver auto-updates.
Download today!
We hope you enjoy this latest update of Windows Admin Center, the various new functionality in preview, and all the extensions now available. Learn more and download today!
If your current instance of Windows Admin Center is v2110 or higher, and you have enabled automatic updates, your instance of Admin Center will automatically update over the next 2 weeks! As always, thanks for your ongoing support, adoption, and feedback. Your contributions through user feedback continue to be vital and valuable to us, helping us prioritize and sequence our investments.
Windows Admin Center is continuously evolving and growing as a tool and a platform, and we are beyond thrilled to have you part of our journey.
To skill up on Windows Admin Center and Windows Server 2022, check out our Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Certification and other featured Learn courses.
Thank you,
Windows Admin Center Team (@servermgmt)