Microsoft Releases Windows Admin Center 2610 With Major Virtualization Changes

Windows Admin Center 2610 is now available in public preview, and Microsoft is simplifying how IT admins deploy and manage the platform.

The biggest change in Windows Admin Center version 2610 is a single installer for Administration Mode, or aMode, and Virtualization Mode, or vMode.

Admins can choose the mode they want during setup instead of using separate installers. However, Microsoft says aMode and vMode still cannot run on the same machine.

Azure registration now requires fewer permissions

Microsoft has also redesigned the gateway Azure registration process.

Windows Admin Center now automatically requests the minimum permissions required for the user completing registration. This should reduce situations where admins need help from someone with higher privileges just to connect the gateway to Azure.

Azure Arc onboarding has also been simplified for organizations managing hybrid environments.

Microsoft removes the VM Conversion extension

Windows Admin Center 2610 removes the preview VM Conversion extension.

Microsoft says the change follows modifications Broadcom made to the VMware Virtual Disk Development Kit required by the extension.

There is currently no replacement inside Windows Admin Center, so organizations that need VM conversion will have to use external tools.

Microsoft has also improved several virtualization features, including networking, resume and retry functionality, backup and restore, certificate lifecycle management, and live migration.

The release fixes issues affecting the GPU tool, agent logging, agent health indicators, and some installer failures.

Three known vMode problems remain. Azure Arc status can display incorrectly when a table is collapsed, some extension links can redirect users to an aMode interface, and VM live migration can fail when source and destination nodes use different authentication methods.

In other news, Microsoft has confirmed Teams calling issues, while the September Windows updates are breaking File History backups.

Lastly, Microsoft has upgraded Windows 11 Cloud Rebuild with secure drive wiping.