This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.
Today, we are releasing an update (“hotfix”) to our latest generally available version of Windows Admin Center! Windows Admin Center version 2103.2 is now available in preview. Thank you to our customers, partners, and fans for helping us to continue to improve and make Windows Admin Center better! We’re working constantly to ensure users of our product have the best user experience.
This version of Windows Admin Center includes key bug fixes and feature updates to the Azure sign in process, support for Azure China, as well as additional updates to the Events and Remote Desktop tool experience.
Download Windows Admin Center v2103.2 today!
Platform updates
Bug fixes
“Access Denied” fixed
We know several users were met with an “Access denied” error upon starting Windows Admin Center and were unable to use the Windows Admin Center v2103 as a result. We have updated the logic of our automatic extension updates feature to fix this issue.
PowerShell commands fixed
In the v2103 release, many users were unable to utilize PowerShell to manage their Windows Admin Center settings and connections. In this release, you should be able to effectively use these commands to configure your Windows Admin Center gateway.
Certificate error fixed
We know some users were having difficulties navigating in v2103 and kept being presented with an SSL certificate error message. In this release, we have added a fix for this issue and this SSL certificate error message should not occur.
Windows Admin Center now supports signing into the Azure China cloud
The request for Windows Admin Center to expand their Azure support matrix to sovereign clouds has been a long-standing ask, especially as we continue to introduce additional hybrid capabilities to Windows Admin Center. In this release, when you register your gateway to Azure, you will be prompted to select the cloud you’d like to register in. The two options in this dropdown are Azure Global and Azure China, with Azure Global selected by default. After registering your gateway with your selected cloud, Windows Admin Center will assume that further Azure operations, like Azure sign-in, will be done through the cloud your gateway is registered in.
Some of the Azure services included in Windows Admin Center are not currently supported in Azure China. For more detailed information on the regional support for each Azure service, visit the Microsoft Azure website.
Other updates
- Option to “Install now” for automatic updates (in Windows Admin Center update settings)
- Improvements to the Azure sign-in process and bugfixes
- Updates to notification styling
- Accessibility improvements and bug fixes
Core management tools
Events tool updates
When we released the new look of the Events tool in our 2103 release, we did so with the caveat that not all the existing Events tool functionality was available in this new experience. In this release, we work towards rectifying that with the following improvements:
- The Details pane is now available in the new experience.
- We’ve fixed loading issues that occurred when changing event attributes while viewing events in stacked bar format.
- We’ve tweaked the dropdown menus slightly, so the displayed information remains accurate, even when you modify attributes of an event.
Remote Desktop tool updates
We’ve made a few changes to the Remote desktop tool in this release based on feedback we’ve received through UserVoice.
Windows Admin Center uses TLS ciphers in the Remote Desktop tool when connecting to a client machine. Historically, many of the ciphers offered by Windows Admin Center in this tool were cipher block chain (CBC) ciphers. In this release, we’ve upgraded the remote desktop web client library, and it now includes a wider selection of supported ciphers for you to choose from when you’re setting up RDP on your Windows Admin Center gateway. You should now be able to select ciphers from several suites, with options for both CBC and Galois/Counter mode (GCM).
Additionally, several users had reported through UserVoice that the language of their keyboard in the Remote Desktop tool did not match the language that had been selected. This was a large fix and it is currently only available to users who have access to our Windows Admin Center Insiders extension feed. To add the Insiders extension feed, navigate to the Feeds tab in Extension manager and add https://aka.ms/wac-insiders-feed to the feed list. Then, look for the updated “Remote Desktop” extension.
The Windows Time service extension is now in preview!
The Windows Time service extension uses the Windows Time service (W32Time) to synchronize the date and time for all computers running in Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS). Time synchronization is critical for the proper operation of many Windows services and line-of-business (LOB) applications. The Windows Time service uses the Network Time Protocol (NTP) to synchronize computer clocks on the network. NTP ensures that an accurate clock value, or timestamp, can be assigned to network validation and resource access requests.
This extension is currently only available to users who have access to our Windows Admin Center Insiders extension feed. To add the Insiders extension feed, navigate to the Feeds tab in Extension manager and add https://aka.ms/wac-insiders-feed to the feed list.
Other changes
- Azure hybrid center bug fixes – We want your experience using Windows Admin Center and Azure to be clean and seamless. In this release, we made several bug fixes to enhance the look of the tool.
- Azure Arc bug fixes – In this release, we improved the Azure Arc user experience by fixing several bugs. Users should no longer face issues with the links in the Azure Arc tool and the disconnect experience.
Partner ecosystem
Windows Admin Center continues to value the collaboration efforts we have with our partners, and these past few months have been a very active period! Since our 2103 release in March, five of our partners have released new or updated versions of their extensions. If you’re interested in developing a Windows Admin Center extension, visit our documentation to get started.
The HPE Azure Stack HCI Cluster Deployment and Update Snap-in is now available. The HPE Deployment snap-in reports the firmware and software inventory and status generated by HPE Smart Update Manager (SUM), then initiates installation of the selected components, followed by showing the completion status. The HPE Update snap-in reports the firmware and software inventory and status generated by HPE Smart Update Manager (SUM). The selected components will get updated on the cluster from Cluster-Aware-Updating (CAU) orchestration.
The cluster deployment snap-in will appear in the Azure Stack HCI cluster create wizard, and the update snap-in will appear in the update wizard in the Updates tool when connected to a cluster.
Fujitsu Software Infrastructure Manager (ISM) is now available. By installing ISM, multiple and various types of information and communications technology (ICT) devices can be managed in an integrated way. With this software, you can monitor the status of all the ICT devices in a data center or a machine room. You can also execute batch firmware updates for multiple devices and configure servers automatically. It can reduce costs of operation management and increase the operation quality.
Other partner extension updates
- DataON MUST Pro v2.1.0 – This version of DataON MUST Pro includes slight improvements to the inventory page.
- Fujitsu ServerViewR RAID v1.2.1 – The overview page has been updated to include a refresh button.
- Fujitsu ServerViewR Health v2.0.1 – There are several improvements in this release, including the addition of a refresh button to the overview page and new Windows Admin Center notifications for network error messages. Additionally, you can now perform health monitoring without ServerView agents.
- HPE Server and Azure Stack HCI v1.3.0 – The Inventory tab of the Server extension now reports SSD drive life expectancy and surfaces a warning message upon crossing a threshold. The Overview tab of the Azure Stack HCI extension has been updated with improved cluster classification and storage information reporting.
- Lenovo XClarity Integrator v3.1.23 – The newest release of this extension includes several bugfixes.
- QCT Management Suite v2.3.0 – Updates to this extension include Redfish support, a redesigned overview page, optimization for update experiences, and LLDP support.
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!
As always, thanks for your ongoing support, adoption, and feedback. Your contributions through user feedback continue to be very important and valuable to us, helping us prioritize and sequence our investments.
<3,
Windows Admin Center Team (@servermgmt)
Brought to you by Dr. Ware, Microsoft Office 365 Silver Partner, Charleston SC.
Recent Comments