Microsoft is introducing a new fee of $1.50 per CPU core per month for its Windows Server 2025 security updates, effective July 1. This change primarily affects companies that run servers outside of Microsoft’s Azure cloud.
This fee is associated with a hot patching capability, which allows businesses to apply security updates without rebooting their servers. This method is particularly beneficial for IT teams, as it reduces downtime and minimizes the need for late-night maintenance, thus enhancing user experience.
The backdrop to this change stems from recent security concerns highlighted by users and experts. A security patch earlier this month led to the emergence of an unfamiliar folder, prompting debate over its necessity and safety. Microsoft had to issue an advisory to users, clarifying potential vulnerabilities related to the update.
The hot patching feature has been available for free to users of Microsoft’s cloud services and will shift to a subscription model for Windows Server 2025 users starting July 1, 2025. In particular, to utilize this no-reboot security update feature, servers must be running Windows Server 2025 Standard or Datacenter and connected to Azure Arc.
With the implementation of this fee, Microsoft aims to streamline security update processes while still requiring servers to restart for major baseline updates, although the aim is to reduce the required reboots from twelve times a year to around four.
This shift raises questions among IT professionals regarding whether the benefits of avoiding server restarts justify the additional cost. Organizations currently in the free preview will be automatically transitioned to the paid plan unless they opt out by June 30.
For more information on the updates and implications, users can refer to the following links:
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